The hype around Caleb Williams this summer got a little out of control. Let’s just be honest. The #1 overall pick was earning comparisons to Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers. Everybody was saying he’s the next big thing. Nick Saban warned Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus that expectations can be a killer for a young quarterback. The developmental process is what matters. Don’t worry about the speed bumps. Stay focused on the process. It appears the Bears had that perspective after the rookie’s frustrating debut against the Tennessee Titans.
Williams managed only 93 yards passing, completing 14-of-29 throws. Critics pounced on him for having such an atrocious performance. However, former Bears long snapper Patrick Mannelly disagreed with those assessments. He explained why on 670 The Score.
Titans safety Quandre Diggs told Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune after the game that Williams’ struggles weren’t a surprise. Tennessee threw a lot of different looks at him. Looks he never saw in college. The rookie also deserves credit for something overlooked in that game.
“We made it hard for him with different things we do defensively,” Titans safety Quandre Diggs said. “He’s learning. I think today was a good learning experience for him. No matter if people say he played bad, he was able to get a win today. We had the momentum. If we would have gotten the ball (from Williams), that would have really flipped it.”
Caleb Williams did enough to win.
Most rookies would’ve started pressing a lot more in that game, trying to make something happen. That almost always leads to turnovers. Williams had enough presence of mind not to do that. He protected the football, knowing the defensive and special teams were building momentum in the second half. He also led a critical field goal drive late in the 3rd quarter to close the gap 17-13. Then, after the defense got the lead with their pick-six score, he led a drive that killed three minutes and 30 seconds of crucial clock.
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Besides, it’s not like Williams was the only problem in that game.
Keenan Allen dropped a clear touchdown in the first half. Coleman Shelton struggled all day at center, leading to consistent interior pressure. Asking a rookie like Caleb Williams to handle that is unfair. The entire offense needs to shoulder the blame. Other guys need to step up, too. The important thing is neither Williams nor the Bears seemed panicked by the outcome. Coaches knew it would take time for the quarterback to learn. In the meantime, the defense would shoulder most of the burden.
@barry I have known both kinds of orphans when I was young–I lived close to 40-50 of them. But I did not approach the movie like that and never will. For 6 months I was a phd grad student intern/employee of a State Foster Care Unit/Program in a State Capital. That experience was unforgettable. 50-60% of the foster families neglected, abused, or alt-tortured those foster children. Those are the bad vs good foster parents that I remember, not the quality/outcomes of the orphans themselves.
@Dr. Sallie I can’t really explain why, but Jaylon Johnson *seems* like an orphan. The good kind who perseveres against all odds, and has earned the confidence and swagger that they now posess. Not the kind who burns down their own house because they lost a game of Tecmo Bowl against the Nintendo. That’s the bad kind of orphan.
@barry May I have her name and number? BTW, the movie, Orphan, that many people walked out on is in my personal collection. Oh, and one of my very best friends is an orphan that was adopted. Share the wealth. You have surpassed scooby.
Are any of the Bears’ players orphans, the new big “O”?
Sam and Dave, Buckwheat, Napoleon Dynamite, and Bordom30-something now to the kiddies’ table.
One thing that really bothered me this game is we spent $8 mill a year for a solid receiving RB. Then we don’t use him in that fashion at all. He had zero receptions. Thats one hell of an expensive decoy…
My therapist says that, like many orphans, I am terrified of being abandoned and unloved, like I was when I was a child, and that this is the reason why I long to be perfect and to never make any mistakes at all. She says that I put this expectation on Bears quarterbacks because I view them as a proxy for myself to avoid the self-loathing and existential dread that caused so many problems for me before. I don’t understand what I ever did to her to make her dislike me so much, but that’s what she says. I don’t… Read more »