The Caleb Williams vs. Jayden Daniels debate was inevitable. That is what happens when quarterbacks go #1 and #2 in the draft. They are constantly compared to each other. It was true of Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson, and Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud. If one player gets off to a great start while the other struggles, fans and media jump on the team that got the “wrong” guy, even if it’s only his first season. That was proving the case when the season began.
Williams had a clunky first three weeks with the Bears, struggling to find a rhythm and avoid turnovers. Meanwhile, Daniel and the Washington Commanders got off to a hot start and have maintained it for the most part over the first five weeks. They sit at 4-1 and lead the NFC East. Williams has rebounded from his slow start with two quality performances against the Rams and Panthers. Chicago won both games to reach 3-2 ahead of their matchup with Jacksonville in London. Plenty of people think Daniels is a far superior player. Former Bears scouting director Greg Gabriel disagrees.
He believes people aren’t seeing the real picture of what’s happening.
People can argue with, “Look how good Jayden Daniels has played,” and that could be a solid argument, but I don’t look at it that way. Daniels is with a different team, playing in a far easier offense and not being asked to do that is even close to what Caleb is being asked to do.
I’m not going to take away anything from Daniels, as he has played well, but I’m also not going to compare him to Williams. If you see what the Bears offense is doing, we see that they do more each week. Last Sunday versus Carolina was a perfect example. Caleb was asked to and did audible more at the line of scrimmage than probably the first four games combined. That means that he sees and understands defenses much better and knows exactly what to do to find a successful play.
Caleb Williams didn’t want simplification.
That is often what teams do for young quarterbacks. They keep the offense simple so guys can execute at fast enough speeds. Gabriel says this is what Washington has done for Daniels. Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury has built his system around a lot of what LSU did the past two years. They’re keeping his reads simple, giving him easy decisions to either throw the ball or tuck and run. Daniels has the speed to make that offense work, similar to Lamar Jackson in Baltimore.
The trouble is NFL defenses tend to adapt quickly. Once they figure out what the Commanders are doing, they will start deploying countermeasures. Sooner or later, Daniels will have to start reading the entire field and playing from the pocket. That is where Caleb Williams is ahead of him. He never once asked the Bears coaching staff to keep things simple. He wanted the entire playbook from the start. For weeks, he made a concerted effort to stay in the pocket. His improvement is hard to miss.
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In the long run, he might be the harder one to defend.
@Dr.Sallie: I agree, but while six is two few, perhaps we should wait until after 51 games (3 seasons if they play every game, not counting playoffs). That’s when we’ll start to have some idea who they are. Wentz looked better than Goff for a few years, but we know how that comparison turned out. Is Sam Darnold the hot mess he was with the Jets and Panthers, or the solid starter he is now with the Vikings? That took 6 years, including a year backing up Lance and then Purdy in SF. So let’s give it some time. The… Read more »
The two teams are asking their respective QBs to do seemingly different things with very different approaches with different responsibilities, and within different short- and long-term goals: thus, different performance outcomes. Such divergences make comparison of the two QBs much more difficult, if not error-ridden, in the span of only, say, six games.
Good point Erick
We’ll find out more in Week #8 — Oct. 27, 2024.
Chicago Bears vs. DC Commsnders