Bears QB Caleb Williams' confidence can carry him through a tumultuous offseason
It will take more than a 5-12 season, two midseason firings and an offseason tempest to kill Caleb Williams’ confidence.
The Bears quarterback made that clear during a 15-minute press conference Wednesday in which he admitted to being infatuated with the Vikings last year — and skeptical of the Bears’ history of developing quarterbacks — before eventually deciding he was comfortable coming to Chicago.
Williams seemed sheepish about dragging a distraction into the Bears’ already busy offseason — Seth Wickersham’s upcoming book describes how he and his family considered trashing the Bears before the draft because Chicago was, in father Carl’s words, “where quarterbacks go to die.”
That humility seemed to fade, though, when he talked about his own play. He referred to the calamity of last season — in which head coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron were fired and Williams finished with the third-most sacks in NFL history — as a mere “bump.” There were bad things, he admitted, but also some good.
“Being able to look at that and understand that I still threw six picks in the National Football League, and I had 3,500 total (yards), or something like that, or whatever it was, and 20 touchdowns,” he said. “That’s not where I want to be, that’s not where I’m going to be, but it’s a step in the right direction.”
Since 1970, 67 quarterbacks have thrown 300 or more passes in their rookie season. Williams ranks 15th among them with an 87.8 passer rating, 15th with 3,541 passing yards, tied for 16th with 20 touchdowns and tied for fifth-fewest with six interceptions.
It wasn’t what the Bears hoped when they drafted Williams first overall and declared the situation awaiting him ready-made for success. But Williams hopes navigating through the ups and downs taught him something he can apply to his game this offseason.
“You have to understand that all the good, all the bad and all the indifferent is going to be good for me in many years to come — that’s how I look at it,” he said. “I still have all the confidence in myself. I think my teammates believe in me. I think that’s shown on game day.”
That confidence will serve Williams well. Those who came before him eventually cracked.
Halfway through his third season, quarterback Mitch Trubisky said he was “trying to get some of these TVs in the building turned off” so the Bears could better tune out their critics.
Two games into his own third season, quarterback Justin Fields said he was playing too robotic and not like himself. The reason: “Could be coaching,” he said.
That head coach, Eberflus, was fired and replaced by Ben Johnson. The Bears doubled
Eberflus’ pay to land the former Lions offensive coordinator and, they hope, boost Williams in Year 2.
Williams’ one-time longing for the Vikings will simmer until the Bears’ Week 1 “Monday Night Football” game against the same team. The best way for Williams to ensure it doesn’t linger in the minds of Bears fans beyond the opener is to play well early in the season.
Winning is the great sanitizer. Losing amplifies controversy.
When Trubisky talked television, the Bears were in last place in the NFC North and the quarterback had a passer rating of just 80. Fields referenced coaching after the Bears’ 12th loss in a row.
In addition to teaching Williams his playbook, Johnson has focused on other aspects of his game — Williams’ footwork, body language and film-watching efficiency.
“He’s been very attentive,” Johnson said. “He’s been very detailed in terms of the meetings. He’s taking great notes, he’s asking excellent questions. The more we’re out on the grass together, we’re figuring out what we can put in the morning and what we can execute later on in the afternoon.”
Williams scoffed at the report that he was forced to watch film without the Bears coaching staff last year.
“It wasn’t that I didn’t know how to watch film,” he said. “It was trying to figure out the best ways and more efficient ways so that I can watch more film, I can gather more information. . . . so that when I get out there, I can gather it, I see it, I can react, and it’s not me sitting there thinking so much about the rules.”
Johnson is looking to see how far he can push Williams — and others — when it comes to information. A major test looms: Williams and the rest of the Bears will receive the practice plan for their mandatory minicamp this weekend. The three-day session begins Tuesday.
“For everybody, there’s a saturation level that we’ve got to find what that point is, so that as coaches we don’t ask too much out of any player over the course of the season,” Johnson said.
“We’ve got to be able to download a game plan and execute it.. . . . You can really see guys separate, not just at the quarterback position, but really all around on offense and defense who’s in their book a little bit extra than the next guy.”