Bear Digest

How Caleb Williams Benefits Even While Bears Losing Continues

Rookie QB sees areas he still needs to work at over the final four games but displays confidence a turnaround can come quickly in the future.
Gene Chamberlain|
Knowing when to get out of the pocket and scramble or make a pass on the run is what Caleb Williams says he needs to master.
Knowing when to get out of the pocket and scramble or make a pass on the run is what Caleb Williams says he needs to master. | Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The search for meaning in a losing Bears season fails to impact quarterback Caleb Williams more than others.

Whatever happens in the win-loss column, Williams needs the passing and play reps to finish the season in order to grow as a passer and leader.

It’s tough,” Williams said. “It’s interesting, is the way I put it. I’ve never had a streak like this of losing in my playing.”

Williams and all the Bears need to find it a little less interesting then because it’s seven straight losses and counting.

“There’s belief—belief, hope and faith—that we’re gonna get this right and however it may happen, that’s how it’s gonna happen,” Williams said.  “That’s kinda where I’m at with it. They drafted me here to go win games.

“If we’re down, find a way to come back. If we’re up, find a way to stay up and win games. Haven’t been able to do that so far. The guys are frustrated about it, as am I.”

Williams has confidence losing won’t be a regular thing with the Bears in his career because he says he believes in GM Ryan Poles, himself and teammates.  

His confidence in the GM is from his time being around Poles and knowing him rather than his work, although he sees no reasons to dislike personnel decisions made.

“I think he's, so far, done a good job,” Williams said. “He's gotten people here like Keenan (Allen). He's gotten people here like Rome, myself, a bunch of others.”

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The confidence in himself is the other reason for his optimism, although there’s much to improve.

“I still want to keep working on my feet and things like that,” he said. ”I think that's one of the things, making sure, just being completely in rhythm throughout the whole game, I think that's one that I want to work on.

“And I think (iterim head coach) Thomas (Brown) and I have done a solid job so far. Obviously can be better. There's small mistakes that maybe the snap point of certain motions and things like that that I can get better at.”

The main issue the Bears say he has had is not throwing deep, as critics have suggested. This criticism revolves around lack of big plays and the very low 1.1 interception rate he has.

"He's not playing scared," interim coach Thomas Brown said. "He's ripping footballs in tight windows."

In early season, the big problem was blitz recognition, which becomes a factor against a team like Minnesota. But overall, Williams thinks his improvement needs to be at realizing when exactly he should use his knack for making plays on the run.

“The most important part of that is me being able in that moment, right in that moment, to be able to hone in on the right moment to go make that play and so I think it’s a quick switch I have to have,” Williams said.

The situation came up in the last game with Minnesota in overtime. Instead of knowing when to get out and make a play, he stayed in the pocket, kept looking for a receiver as the lanes closed, took a sack, the Bears punted and the Vikings drove for the winning points.

“In these situations that have happened this year, I know we’ve messed up on a bunch of them, myself included, taking sacks the last time we played the Vikings, taking a sack in OT, a stupid sack,” he said. “But we’ve messed up in multiple situations, including me.

"And so being able to learn from whether it was necessarily me taking a sack or mismanagement or all these different things, plays and things like that, being able to take all of that in and learn it for the end of this year and the rest of this year and this football season and further in my career.”

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.