It was a tough night in Houston for Caleb Williams. He threw two costly interceptions that earned him some criticism. However, most don’t blame him for the game because he was pretty much running for his life all night. The Texans defense pressured him 36 times, sacking him seven times. It is almost impossible to play well under such conditions. That said, he did play better compared to his debut against Tennessee. He was poised and never seemed to panic. There was also something else noteworthy.
Throughout the game, it became clear that Williams had a lot of control at the line of scrimmage. He made adjustments and called protections, and longtime expert Nate Tice found examples of this.
Rest assured, this is not what you’d call normal for a rookie quarterback. Teams never give that much freedom to somebody unless they’re sure he has mastery of the verbiage and the calls. Matt Eberflus and Shane Waldron trusting Williams already is an excellent sign of his progress within the offense.
The next step for Caleb Williams is the blocks working.
Calling the right protections is one thing. The offensive linemen doing their jobs is another. It isn’t clear why the front five have struggled so much to start this season. They’re returning four starters from last year. There shouldn’t be this many miscommunications and mental lapses. Perhaps the problem lay with the change in the offensive scheme. Shane Waldron brought a brand new system with him from Seattle, one completely different from what Luke Getsy ran over the past two years. That can often lead to an adjustment period up front.
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Whatever the case, Caleb Williams can’t take the next step until that problem gets resolved. The good news is he’s already mastering the intricacies of conducting an entire offense. He doesn’t seem overwhelmed by the information that needs processing. This was a problem that bedeviled many previous Bears quarterbacks. It is a reasonable assumption that if and when the protection gets better, the rookie will get to show how good he can be.
Yes, we did. What is it we missed? He certainly doesn’t have the deep arm strength and accuracy of Fields. The Bears are either incompetent or they drank the PR Kool-Aid drooling over Williams. With the Texans bringing five guys 42% of the plays just imagine what a good QB would do to that blitz.
“Look, Caleb was making noise with his mouth while not moving the ball, taking seven sacks, and regularly throwing ducks into coverage.” Unbelievable.
I would kindly ask the writers on this site to stop gaslighting us.
I don’t place too much in the measurables of the OLmen. A physical specimen is great, but I’ve seen many bust. The OL needs time together, and unfortunately, our IOL has been decimated to start the season 2 years running.
I will not discount Blake Shelton. I would need to see his heart, and whether he would lay it out there on the field.
“How ’bout that Bears game?”
-TEN DEEP
It’s TBD for me. There have been some good and some bad. The trenches have been his most significant miss, which is where you would think you would start. The records are misleading, as you well know. An aging roster in salary cap hell with no draft capital? That is a little harsh for year 3 of a complete rebuild, IMO.
@Beardown54 —
In my book, GM Ryan Poles gets all the credit; and GM Ryan Poles gets all the blame.
Break it down to: offense, defense, special teams, coaching, culture, cap space, roster age, etc., etc., etc., — if you like.
Bottom line: 11-25.