Bear Digest

Former players discredit notion no one helped Caleb Williams watch film

Analysts and former players found much to be suspicious about with the ESPN story about Seth Wickersham's book saying Caleb Williams didn't get help reviewing film.
Gene Chamberlain|
Caleb Williams, at the Bulls-Heat NBA play-in game. Doubt is being cast on a claim in a book saying he wasn't given proper guidance watching film last year.
Caleb Williams, at the Bulls-Heat NBA play-in game. Doubt is being cast on a claim in a book saying he wasn't given proper guidance watching film last year. | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

A day after the storm comes the pushback, and the Caleb Williams uproar over the story from ESPN giving out details of Seth Wickersham's book has produced its share.

The story that Williams had no one on the Bears coaching staff tell him what to watch on film was the target of criticism.

The Bears QB doesn't come out looking like the victim as much as someone seeking to blame former coaches for his failures, according to some analysts. Or at least his father was looking like this because virtually every relevant quote in ESPN's story about the Wickersham book was credited to Williams' father, Carl, or was Carl saying what he recalled his son had said. That includes the quote about the film.

This quote from the story about the film situation is typical: "No one tells me what to watch," Caleb Williams told his dad. "I just turn it on."

So the quote came from Williams' father and not from Williams.

Something smelled fishy to former NFL players who serve as Fox Sports One analysts regarding this report that Williams didn't get help with watching film properly, and that he had to watch it on his own. Former NFL players James Jones and Emmanuel Acho, on the FS1 program "The Facility," directed fans to normal procedure in NFL practice facilities and said the entire report about the film situation sounds unlikely.

They fixed the blame more on Williams, if he didn't get what he needed from film review.

"Caleb Williams does not get his hand held in the NFL because nobody gets their hand held in the NFL," said Acho, a former Eagles linebacker who played 288 snaps on defense in 20 NFL games in 2013-14. "So there's a difference between not helping your quarterback and babying your quarterback

"I do not know of any coach telling you what to watch. I do know of a coach telling you what to watch out for but there's a difference: 'Hey, if you see a nickelback leaking in he might be blitzing. Watch out for that.' But  coach is not going to tell you what to watch. That's you're responsibility. You're a pro athlete, not an amateur athlete."

The most poignant criticism of Williams came from former Packers wide receiver James Jones, who regularly loves taking shots at the Bears and did so again in this case before he got to this more relevant concern. And that was whether this report could even be trusted.

"I don't know Caleb Williams personally, man, you know what I mean? And I don't want to call nobody a liar, but I played a long time in the National Football League. We (on the FS1 panel) all did," Jones said. "There is time in a day to where we watched film as an offense, to where we watch film as a position group.

"So you're not going to sit up here and tell me that you ain't watched film with your quarterbacks or you didn't watch film with your offense because you do. They put that in the schedule."

From the sound of the report, it was when Williams was supposed to be watching film on his own, or away from the meeting room or offense, that was the issue.

Jones said his own receivers coach would give them the CD with cut-ups on it and players watch it on their own when they're not doing it at meetings, basically because there isn't enough time in the day for coaches to sit and do extra film-review sessions with players.

"Caleb, you came from USC with Lincoln Riley," Jones said. "Don't tell me you cant go in here and watch some film on yourself.

"You can't tell me you can't do that. You don't need nobody to do that. You're lying to the people talking about you're just sitting here watching film by yourself, not knowing what to do. In fact that's disrespectful to your coaches, man, because I know your coaches and NFL coaches in particular put in a lot of time and they don't leave that building."

Ultimately, Jones had the finger of blame pointed at Williams.

"We blame the Chicago Bears coaching staff for a lot," said Jones, who played nine years and led the NFL in TD catches with 14 in 2012. "There were a lot of situations, end-of-game management where they did deserve blame, but I'm not just going to pile on all the blame for the Chicago Bears coaching staff when Caleb has to take accountability."

As for the entire report, Jones added: "It's just inaccurate."

Jones' description of the film review process for players is entirely consistent with what has been described by players over the years at Halas Hall, and by other players in the league at their facilities.

Players get cut-ups of plays labeled with down-and-distance situations, schemes, etc. They're supposed to review those on their own and, with quarterbacks, FS1 panelist/Bears backup QB Chase Daniel said it's imperative for QBs to stay a day ahead in their film work.

"I think ultimately, it falls on Caleb," Daniel said.

He pointed out if there was a problem regarding how to watch film, Williams had it within his own means to ask for help, if not from coaches then from other former players in the league that he knows. Daniel cited Drew Brees as helping him get through this task when he was a young QB.

Acho said he has received calls from people telling him what Williams was said to have said in the article, is "...just a fallacy." He suggested it was on Williams to let coaches know if there was a problem.

"Closed mouths don't get fed, bro," he said.

Acho summarized his feelings about the report with this for Williams: "It seems like you are trying to deflect the onus and the blame from yourself."

Whatever happens, the Bears must have communication lines open enough with their new coaching staff to make sure this sort of thing isn't occurring again.

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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.