The Chicago Bears have approached the Caleb Williams challenge with much more gusto this off-season than last year. It started with hiring Ben Johnson as the new head coach, one of the best offensive play callers in the NFL. He could finally build a coherent system around the young quarterback. Next was the offensive line. After allowing 68 sacks last season, the Bears had to shore that unit up. Two trades and a pricey free agent later, they’ve completely replaced the interior with Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson, and Drew Dalman.
They’ve even improved the depth at wide receiver. Only one area seems left to be addressed, and that should be included in the draft next month. They need a legitimate workhorse at running back. However, one person feels the Bears still have a lingering issue. Will Hewlett has coached Williams privately since he was in 7th grade. He knows the young quarterback better than almost anybody. He believes the Bears made one crucial mistake last year that led to some of the struggles. He explained it to Tyler Dunne of Go Long TD.
A veteran QB is needed on this roster.
One of the negatives with Caleb’s situation last year was the lack of quarterback experience in the building. Who’s the vet, right? Patrick Mahomes had Alex Smith. When you come in as a rookie and you’re going to start right off the bat, it’s like, ‘OK, who’s the guy that he can go to that’s played the position and says, “Hey, I know this read is here to here, but in this situation you have to consider this and this and this?” I’m not saying you can’t be a great coach without playing quarterback. I don’t believe that for a second. But there is a nuance to being a player and having someone in your shoes that can step out of the headset and get in the helmet in some capacity and walk you through, “Listen, here’s how I did it. Here’s what you want to consider. And then find your version of that.” Having the guys in the room — the coaching staff in the room — that seem to be able to speak and talk to a young quarterback is important. That’s less of an issue when you have a seven-year, 10-year vet, those guys know what they are, they know what they like, they’ve worked that stuff out.
Caleb Williams could use a grizzled vet to mine for information.
The organization has done this in the past with reasonable success. When they drafted Jim McMahon, they had Bob Avellini on the roster. He’d started multiple years in the league. Kordell Stewart and Chris Chandler were both brought in the same year Rex Grossman arrived. Mark Sanchez signed on in 2017 when the Bears grabbed Mitch Trubisky. Each of those players ended up having at least some level of success in Chicago. McMahon won a Super Bowl. Grossman reached one. Trubisky made a Pro Bowl and won a division title.
For whatever reason, the organization didn’t feel the need to add some experience last year. They preferred to stay the course with Tyson Bagent. While that isn’t bad, the former undrafted free agent had little to offer. He’d only been in the league for a year. Meanwhile, viable names like Marcus Mariota and Jacoby Brissett landed in Washington and New England. Is it a coincidence Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye didn’t seem to struggle as much as Caleb Williams? Hewlett may have a point.
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Here’s the deal, when they(the proverbial they, being the media the Bears org and the CW13 hype machine) sold us Caleb Williams(moved on from Fields and drafted Williams) they promised us a ham sandwich, one of the most hammy sandwiches in ham sandwich history that was immediately going to fill the stomachs of all Bears fans with so much swiney goodness we’d all forget how long it’s been since the last time we had one. No condiments, no lettuce, no accoutrement whatsoever, just two slices of bread and 100% delicious succulent ham fucking sandwich. Shortly after the draft “they” started… Read more »
If my job were to coach up the most allegedly “generational” QB1 to come out of college since Andrew Luck, the last thing I’d do is point my finger at the guy’s backup, who by all accounts has done exactly what’s been asked of him both on the field and in the locker room, and say “look, everyone, it’s all that guy’s fault.” And if your reaction is to sigh and say, “look, Barry, that’s not what Hewlett is doing there,” then I implore you to read the quote again. His complaint is literally that Bagent isn’t much older than… Read more »
We are becoming that team that has the best merch and is good for fantasy football but just never fucking wins. We’re becoming the Bengals.
After contemplating it (smoking a dogwalker, showering, and smoking another), I realised that my comment points to a broader criticism I’ve had and continue to have about QB1. 99% of my frustration when it comes to pro sports in general, and Chicago Bears football in particular, comes from the annual hype cycle around free agency, the draft, et cetera. Most people in the country are literally invested in professional football, in that at the very least they pay the taxes that pay for the real estate that NFL owners, i.e., the billionaire class, extort from the public. The point is… Read more »
Christ, Hewlett is out there literally doing press for QB1. I am 100% serious when I say that I bet there’s a publicity clause in his contract.