Bear Digest

First-round QB blasts Kirk Herbstreit for Caleb Williams hot takes

Caleb Williams caught some undeserved flak on Saturday night, and this former quarterback wasn't having it.
Pete Martuneac|
David Banks-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears' miraculous Wild Card win over the Green Bay Packers was a legacy game that almost never happened. Another slow start almost buried the Bears, and when everything is going wrong, it becomes very easy to place blame on the quarterback, even when it's not deserved.

That's what happened on Caleb Williams' first interception from that Wild Card game. On a fourth-and-six at Green Bay's 40-yard line, Ben Johnson elected to go for it, but the play was doomed even before the snap. Rookie wide receiver Luther Burden was lost in the sauce, having to be directed by Williams to his correct spot. Williams then took the snap, hit the top of his seven-step drop, and ripped the ball to where Burden needed to be, except Burden was nowhere near his spot and the ball was picked off. The interception goes on Williams' stat sheet, but the blame lies with Burden.

That would be news to Kirk Herbstreit, however. Herbstreit, who calls NFL games alongside Al Michaels on Amazon Prime, seemed to be under the impression that Williams had simply thrown a wildly inaccurate ball and had some harsh words for the Bears' quarterback as the offense left the field.

Many Bears fans were frustrated by Herbstreit's nonsensical explanation, but they're not the only ones. Former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf, drafted second overall in the 1998 NFL draft but infamous for being arguably the biggest bust of all time, co-hosts "The Opening Drive" NFL radio show with Solomon Wilcots, and on Monday morning he fired back at Herbstreit.

"Early on, [Caleb Williams] seemed a little overwhelmed," Leaf said. "You could really tell how frustrated he was. I think there were some mistakes being made. And you know, Kirk Herbstreit, whatever he’s doing, I have no idea. He’s so lost on an NFL broadcast. Commenting on things that he has no idea about. He really put a lot of blame on Caleb Williams. I gotta give [Caleb] a ton of credit for bouncing back the way [he] did."

Broadcasters don't seem to like Caleb Williams

If I had a nickel for every time this year an NFL broadcaster seemed to have a real problem with Williams, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. Back in Week 6, Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman relentlessly criticized Williams for every mistake while offering nothing but praise for the other quarterback. Joe Buck jumped into Aikman's beef with Williams and doubled down on what ended up being a ridiculous feud about a missed phone call.

To be fair, it's not like this is a weekly occurrence. But that is twice now that Williams has caught undeserved flak on a national broadcast. The fans will call it out, of course, but fans are easy to ignore. That's why it's important for people like Leaf, who have a real voice in the NFL world, to call it out when they hear it, too. That's how you nip an unfair and inaccurate narrative in the bud.

There are plenty of legitimate critiques to be made about Williams' game. His inconsistency is one of the reasons why oddsmakers have the Bears as big home underdogs to the Rams next week. Manufacturing bogus points of contention does no one any good, and these commentators need to make sure they understand what they're seeing on the field before knocking the quarterback down.

Caleb William
Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.

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