Rodney Peete knows a thing or two about playing quarterback in the NFL. He was a sixth-round pick in 1989 for the Detroit Lions and spent 15 years in the league as a starter and backup. His final record was 45-42, and he even won a playoff game in 1995. Few have a better understanding of the challenges the league presents to a quarterback. He also knows quite a bit about new Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams. Peete went to USC in college and covered Southern California sports for an L.A. radio station, so he watched every game the rookie played over the past two years.
If anybody has an informed opinion about Williams, it would be him. Not only did he play quarterback in the NFL, but he’s also watched the young man play. That is why veteran radio man Dan McNeil brought him on The Danny Mac podcast to talk about it. One would think Peete would remain careful about his comments, not wanting to get Bears fans’ hopes too high. That wasn’t the case. He made it clear in the first 60 seconds of the interview that Williams is everything the franchise needs and more.
Caleb Williams has the mentality needed for Chicago.
Not only does he have the charisma to win over teammates and fans, but his poise and grit on the field will carry him through the inevitable growing pains to come. Peete may not have the same gravitas as Tom Brady but don’t be fooled. You don’t last almost two decades in the NFL without knowing football. His glowing report on Williams is the latest encouraging sign that Chicago may the right decision. This is not another case of taking the wrong QB like Mitch Trubisky or going after one that other teams didn’t want. The rest of the NFL would’ve killed to be in their position.
Credit to GM Ryan Poles for recognizing the opportunity.
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Nobody is foolish to say Caleb Williams has arrived. That doesn’t happen in this league. He may have some early success as a rookie like C.J. Stroud did. However, he has lots of work to do before he reaches the level of Brady, Peyton Manning, or his idol Aaron Rodgers. Word is he’s already making swift strides in learning the offense, even finding ways to frustrate the defense with eye manipulation and ball placement. Peete believes he will surpass expectations. So far, so good.
It’s just nice to know that we have a possible very good QB for now and hopefully the next 10 years or so. Now if the Bears Defense plays like a top 5 unit and Tory can punt the ball close to his capabilities Caleb won’t have to play like a top 15 QB to win a game.
We’ll probably see the glimpses we need to see in order to become believers ourselves. Sure hope so anyway. But I think it will be a roller coaster rookie year.
We’re going to have to take the bad with the good as we really are starting over on a new Offense and new QB. I don’t think it will be terrible but I do think we’ll have some quarters and a couple games where we’re disappointed.
I think it’s unreasonable to expect a zero learning curve. There’s a lot of adjustment and adapting to be done for every NFL rookie.
The story is well-grounded optimism for Caleb’s future. But I am hard-pressed to forget Bagent as a good back-up QB.