Throwing for 174 yards and two interceptions was going to get Caleb Williams criticized after the loss in Houston. Any time a quarterback doesn’t put up good numbers, it means he was bad. That is the nature of the beast. To his credit, the Chicago Bears rookie accepted responsibility. He admitted to some stupid mistakes and communication errors, laying the groundwork for that performance. However, multiple quarterback experts have come out in force to defend Williams.
Derrik Klassen of Bleacher Report is renowned for his detailed tape analysis. Quarterbacks are his biggest strength, and he was unexpectedly impressed at how much control Williams showed pre and post-snap. The problem is there is nothing he can do to overcome his awful protection.
Former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel saw the same things, with an additional point. The wide receivers also weren’t getting open most of the night. Houston had them locked down, which only added to Williams’ problems. They really missed Keenan Allen.
Lastly, Nate Tice of Yahoo Sports summed it up. Most people don’t realize that what Williams is doing is rare for even veteran quarterbacks these days, much less a rookie.
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Translation? Caleb Williams is not the problem.
He is doing everything he can to help the offense. The problem is that the rest of the offense isn’t holding up its end of the bargain. Receivers aren’t winning their matchups in coverage, and the offensive line can’t protect him or generate a push in the ground game. It is a massive confluence of problems, most of which were entirely unexpected. There is too much talent on that side of the ball to be playing this poorly. Matt Eberflus and the coaching staff need to get it sorted out fast.
If and when things finally come together, there is enough evidence to suggest Caleb Williams will have a significant breakthrough. His ability to process information is exactly what you look for in franchise quarterbacks. The trick is getting him to a point where he feels comfortable running the offense. That hasn’t happened yet. Chicago expected things to be a little bumpy early in the season. Probably not this much. Even so, they must stick to the plan while making adjustments.
Rookie QB Caleb needs a solid OL and an effective running game. Where are they? Why not? After three sinister years, it’s not only unbelievably ridiculous, but also insidiously criminal.
It won’t matter how good he is if he doesn’t even have a functioning line. So I’m watching the lowly Patriots play the lowly Jets and find myself thinking “why can’t the Bears even have an offense half-ass like these guys?”… Brissett dumps off to a TE and gets a first down. We can’t even do that. We’re already treating first downs like TDs. I can’t deal with this. Something has to change immediately. I’m not waiting 6 months for Pro Football and then getting this. Meanwhile Klint Kubiak whom we could have made a go for is putting up… Read more »