Bear Digest

How Bears Can Get Caleb Williams and the Offense Working Early

Analysis: Caleb Williams crashed against the 49ers and the offense continues to struggle early but there is a simple way to get both the QB and the attack functioning at the right time.
Gene Chamberlain|
Giving D'Andre Swift the chance to carry the ball more is one way to get the Bears offense rolling early, but they usually give up on it at first sign of problems.
Giving D'Andre Swift the chance to carry the ball more is one way to get the Bears offense rolling early, but they usually give up on it at first sign of problems. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The overreaction to Caleb Williams' performances this season have become tiresome.

When Williams started off poorly, he became fodder for critics who dislike something about him, ranging from attitude or personality to college affiliations or his fingernails.

When the Bears beat three straight struggling teams and Williams' passing stats soared, he was simply beating up on weak opponents to them. On the other hand, his supporters mistakenly put him in the running for rookie of the year then.

Another downturn and the critics were out again, but then came the three-game stretch against NFC North opponents when Williams made huge strides as a passer who threw effectively against Green Bay, Minnesota and Detroit. The critics couldn't be heard but his supporters went overboard again.

It turned back the other way Sunday with the road egg he laid. The cries that he only padded his stats this year through late-game passes thrown underneath zone coverage are totally invalid because he only really had the one time it happened and this was Sunday. They were in the game against New England until late in the third quarter and they really didn't get blown out against Arizona until late. 

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Williams' passer rating is better than Trevor Lawrence's both as a rookie and this year, better than Bryce Young's as a rookie and this year, almost exactly the same as a rookie as C.J. Stroud's is now in his second year. You can go down the line and his numbers are comparable or better than most first-round quarterbacks chosen in recent years and the weak stuff about padding stats at garbage time is entirely invalid because all QBs do that at times unless they're leading all the time like Patrick Mahomes.

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Bo Nix has stats a little better than Williams in some areas. Definitely Jayden Daniels has better production but has one less TD pass and one more interception than Williams.

In the case of Nix and Daniels, who has had the better coaching this year, Nix and Daniels or Williams? 

It's a laughable question and one far more valid than the assertion he pads stats late in games they hopelessly trail. Williams is on his third offensive coordinator and second head coach right now. Both Nix and Daniels are backed not only by experienced, successful offensive coaches, but better defenses and running attacks.

Coaching means everything to rookie QBs.

They come in ready to be molded, nowhere near finished products. It's why the next Bears head coach almost certainly needs to be from the offensive side or have a someone he plans for as coordinator who is a proven success developing a QB.

One way the Bears can start helping their quarterback more in the final four games is that running game.

They have lost seven straight and in those they have made it a habit in games to abandon the run at times or all together.

On Sunday, they trailed 24-0 at halftime and D'Andre Swift had four carries.  They only had one first down, which is terrible, but by running it four times you're empowering mediocre pass rushers to throw your QB around. And it happened, with seven sacks for 56 this season.

Swift had three carries at halftime on Thanksgiving when they fell behind 16-0. They had 10 rushes for Swift against the Vikings in the first half, a good amount, but only 20 yards. What did they do? They quit using him as a ball carrier as he had only three more rushing attempts in the game because of an injury, but used Caleb Williams to run a little more and made a comeback later when they fell behind.

They're averaging 22. 5 runs a game in the last six games. They averaged almost 29 in the first seven.

The run might not have been working early Sunday, but then when you stick with it often later it opens. They did run repeatedly against Green Bay and should have won that game when they had 179 yards on the ground, but had the field goal blocked at the end. They have run for more than 84 yards only in five of the 13 games and only once in the last six games.

Arm Willliams with a running attack again now that he has 13 games of experience and they might see something even his detractors can't criticize.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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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.