Bear Digest

Caleb Williams' solid numbers and what means even more to Bears QB

Williams has elevated his play through four weeks over his 2024 numbers but he's taking pride in something else that has coaches believing he's capable of so much more.
Gene Chamberlain|
Ben Johnson and the staff have their eyes on Caleb Williams' passing fundamentals and this is the key to his better numbers.
Ben Johnson and the staff have their eyes on Caleb Williams' passing fundamentals and this is the key to his better numbers. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Caleb Williams takes pride in the start to his second season, although perhaps not in a way many Bears fans would think.

His season definitely is a step in the right direction statistically as he has been successful in the analytic coach Ben Johnson wanted to see elevated. That would be expected points added (EPA), the number Johnson had said during the offseason was so critical to winning in today's NFL.

Williams' 9.81 EPA passing is 14th among NFL starting quarterbacks and ahead of starters like Justin Fields (18th), Aaron Rodgers (19th), Tua Tagovailoa (20th), Justin Herbert (21st), Kyler Murray (23rd), Trevor Lawrence (24th) and Jayden Daniels (47th). He's 20th in overall EPA and 13th in rushing EPA among QBs, all according to Sumer Sports analytics.

However, it's not the EPA rise he is most proud of, nor is it the passer rating of 97.8 or eight TD passes to two interceptions he has recorded.

"I would say my footwork and just being more comfortable with everything that Ben and the guys have thrown to me," Williams said when asked what he's most proud of to date. "Being able to grasp it all but also be able to go out there and play a game and play well for the team, that's most important.

"I think those two things and then things that, whether it's  from game to game or in the game, where we call a play a second time or a third time and I made the adjustment and the corrections in the moment. If it's game to game, you see something, footwork, and you go correct that and you call the same play or a very similar play. You do the same thing you did, the same thing I did, but completing it or just being in rhythm with the concept and moving on or whatever the case may be."

Fundamentals and understanding the offense and demands lead to the better numbers, so Williams definitely is not putting the cart before the horse.

He does need to improve is his completion percentage, which is actually worse (62.3%) now than when he struggled last year (62.5%). His yards per attempt needs to go up, as it as dipped to 7.1 after an acceptable start of 7.5 or higher. Possibly the lowest number in need of elevation is yards after the catch, where Williams ranks only 18th in an offense that produced top five numbers in three straight years at Detroit.

All of the numbers will improve if Williams is trying to improve passing fundamentals.

Last year this much was overlooked by Williams as a rookie, naturally, and by the coaching staff. It was GM Ryan Poles who admitted this during the offseason when he said "steps were skipped."

Now nothing is skipped now and Williams understands this.

“It’s been consistent," Johnson said. "We don’t waiver, either of us. We meet every day and we go over the plan, we go over things that are on our mind."

Everything is clear in the QB-coach relationship and the fundamentals continue to be stressed.

"I think it’s really critical in our relationship that we continue to have open and honest communication," Johnson said. "We’ve been very good with that.

"On game day I trust that he’s put in the preparation, and I just let him go out there and play ball. We stress them enough over the course of training camp the over the course of a weekly practice schedule that come game day this thing should flow free for them. That’s really what he adheres to."

Four games is not a season. However, the fact steps are not  skipped, that the right numbers are improving, that Williams is doing all of this while aided by a running attack ranked only 25th in yards per carry, are positive signs for the rest of the year.

Beyond this, the positive relationship with Johnson and attention to detail portend further long-term development.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.