Close, but no cigar. That is how we should feel about Caleb Williams after his first year in the league and heading into his second NFL season with the Chicago Bears. The talent is undeniably there. Williams' footwork and lively arm can help keep a dead play alive when it has to go off-script. This is the area of the game where Williams thrives. For him to make that big leap, he has to be more refined.
Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times captured the vibes from Bears training camp surrounding Williams. Whether it be offensive coordinator Declan Doyle or backup quarterback Case Keenum, they know what all lies ahead for Williams, but it is only up to him to become a more precise passer within the context of an NFL offense. How does he keep a drive alive to end in six points, not three?
Doyle provided some insight into what could make Williams great, as well as what he must work on.
‘‘The best thing he does is the unscripted stuff, the two-minute stuff. [That’s] where he’s able to go out and really play and show the competitiveness that makes him who he is.’’
The following quote from Doyle came after a touchdown pass from Williams to tight end Cole Kmet.
‘‘That’s what you watched at USC. His ability to evade. The arm talent.’’
But when Williams tried to fit a ball in a tight window to D.J. Moore and got picked, Doyle offered this...
‘‘We’ll get it corrected. And we won’t make the mistake twice.’’
And while Doyle is more of the teacher, Keenum is sitting back there, taking it all in as the observer.
‘‘The majority of games in this league come down to one possession. The great ones, they want the ball in their hand, and you can tell Caleb wants the ball in his hand in those moments.
Keenum continued about saying why Williams is so great going off-script and inside two minutes.
‘‘Two-minute is a drill where you can rely on guts and instincts, your past training and . . . the fire of competition and who’s a competitor. There’s certain guys, when the lights turn on, that switch just flips. And he’s got that switch where he can turn it on. And I can’t wait to watch it at Soldier Field and all over the league this year.’’
Overall, Williams has the skill set to be a star but that will only manifest with better decision-making.
Caleb Williams' ad-libbing nature will sink or swim his sophomore season
There were other parts of Finley's article that resonated with me. The first is Williams loves the two-minute drill. Doyle believes that is because it is eerily similar to the uptempo concepts he ran at USC for years under Lincoln Riley. It is more read and react, without a ton of pre-snap verbiage or whatnot. Frankly, it is more reminiscent to backyard football, an area in which Williams undeniably flourishes in.
As far as where I have my concerns, this may run counter to what is necessary to be great in new head coach Ben Johnson's system. There is a ton of pre-snap motion. Williams has not mastered the audibles at the line of scrimmage. Even more concerning, taking the snap directly under remains an issue for Williams. It is a consequence of playing out of almost entirely shotgun in an Air Raid system.
What I am getting at is Johnson's offense he is bringing over from the Detroit Lions appears to be more by the book than anything Williams ever ran in college or high school. Above all else, Johnson loves to run the football and have his quarterback maestro at the line of scrimmage directing traffic and throwing the ball to his tight ends more often than not. It is quite the deviation for Williams here.
Overall, I do fully expect that Johnson, Doyle and the rest of the offensive coaching staff will smartly implement some of what Williams ran in college at USC into this offense. This is not going to be a perfectly smooth transition, adaptation or whatnot, but it is extending the olive branch in some regards. Again, Williams has all the skills to be great from the shoulder down, but he has to be smart.
As soon as the game slows down for Williams, Chicago may need to add another star to its city flag.