This isn’t the year anybody wanted for the Chicago Bears. Least of all, Caleb Williams. The #1 overall pick made it clear his sole agenda was winning games. To go from 4-2 to 4-11 after Sunday against the Detroit Lions must’ve felt deflating. Yet you wouldn’t know it from how the rookie played. It was a meaningless game against the best team in the NFC; he racked up 334 yards passing and two touchdowns for a 107.5 passer rating. This came despite three starting offensive linemen being out with injuries and his original head coach and offensive coordinator getting fired weeks ago.
People refuse to acknowledge that what Williams is accomplishing is not just impressive but special. This game gave him 3,271 passing yards for the season, which is sixth-best in franchise history. That 334 yards also marked the fourth time he’s done it this year, tying the franchise record. Oh, and he still hasn’t thrown an interception since October 13th, extending the NFL rookie record to 326 attempts. He is only 77 away from overtaking Aaron Rodgers’ overall record of 402.
Caleb Williams is thriving in the absolute worst circumstances.
That isn’t supposed to happen. Veteran quarterbacks have had better situations in Chicago and not played this well. Sure, Williams hasn’t been perfect. He’s airmailed some easier throws and leaves himself open to some unnecessary sacks, but the big picture is clear. This young man deserved to be the #1 pick in the draft. He continues to have impressive moments every week, even as the team around him can’t get out of its own way. Too many penalties. Bad blocking. Dropped passes. One giant mess.
The Bears have some important decisions ahead of them. First is deciding what to do with GM Ryan Poles. This situation is largely his making. He hired the coaches and put together this flawed roster. Does he deserve another chance? Then, it’s about finding the next head coach. All signs point to it being somebody who can partner with Caleb Williams and help him ascend. Last but not least, they have to fortify the trenches, especially on offense. If these objectives are accomplished, next season could be a positive one.
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Arnie, I skimmed a bit, and I can kind of see where you are coming from. Let the guy learn from his mistakes and grow as a GM because every single one has made a mistake or two. Warren should sit down with him and see exactly where his head is and exactly what his off-season outline is. I wish someone would have last year before he made pick #9. There was way too much instability on both lines for him to make such a luxury pick on a position with lesser impact.
Arnie makes for an excellent public defender or as a legal partner with Dr. M. He can rationalize and spin every nuance of the crime scene. (Sorry for butting inside the inner sanctum.)
@TGena Here’s the issue, much like coaches have their precious “system”, GM’s all have “their type” or “their guys”, and unless a coach orca GM has proven absolutely incapable of doing their job (meaning they not only make constant mistakes, but they lack the ability/willingness to admit to them, correct them and learn from them). And a big issue that those in the “fire everyone” camp never seem to acknowledge is that there’s value, sometimes tremendous value, in continuity. In this case, the point I was making before is that with this team, as constructed, there are holes, but none… Read more »
Those numbers aren’t special at all. They’re simply a hard reminder of the low expectations from the QB in Chicago. Caleb is not having a great year, his int-less streak isn’t impressive because of his completions and yards during that streak. Easilu]y could have the same streak by grounding the ball every time. The bears franchise records are obliterated by a rookie nearly every season. It’s just another reminder of how they need to enter this century. Now, on cue, go fuck up Caleb with some hard ass Vrable hires as the OC. Ignore the guy who was on the… Read more »
Watch the video in which. KC Chiefs GM, Brett Veach appears on the Pat McAfee show on ESPN
Veach makes it pretty clear that Andy Reid is not involved in the selection of players — The area of player acquisition belongs to Veach.