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.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
That’s cool, Bears24. I agree with some, and If we wanted to trade back, I said I was good with that as long as we got Penix Jr. JF is a gadget player, not an NFL QB, and definitely couldn’t make a play in the 4th qtr. If we wanted to maximize the value of pick 1.01, we still needed to upgrade our QB position, even if it was Bagent.
@jmscooby I’ll respectfully disagree. This season’s disappointment is not on Caleb or Rome. It’s on a GM who essentially blew up his own rebuild. I believe even Flus, Getsy and JF would have continued to add to the win column with the very doable additions of Alt, Verse and Frazier (not hindsight). That’s not even scratching the surface of FA.
We’ll never know for sure but the Vikes have Sam Darnold and that’s working out. JF had some big hurdles with this organization as well but Moore and Kmet weren’t complaining.
@Bears24. It was the appropriate time to select Caleb, IMHO. How many wasted resources have we spent just to position ourselves to select a QB with nowhere near the talent or upside? Those are resources we don’t have to spend again for a while. I don’t like not having a draft pick until the 3rd round.
@jmscooby —
All the “Girls from the boat” applauded your selection!
And R0 says “Yo.”
There’s no doubt Caleb was an upgrade at qb and he had to be. He’s mentally strong and physically tough (most sacked in team history but still standing). That said, it still doesn’t mean his draft selection was the best choice for this team at the time. His talents can’t be fully exploited without shoring up the areas on the roster that allow them to be exploited. One season of rookie contract has been wasted and without an immediate upgrade to draft proficiency going forward there’s nothing to stop him from shopping those talents when that contract expires. As it… Read more »