Football 301 Playbook: This is the Caleb Williams we’ve been waiting for

In a loaded NFC North division with heavyweight players, units and teams, the Chicago Bears have been keeping up with the class of their conference. Their defense is solid, talented at all three levels and makes it a slog for any offense that isn’t at the top of their game. They have an absolute weapon at punter (no, seriously) in rookie Tory Taylor, who has been worthy of the Bears social media team’s weekly highlight videos.

Defense and special teams? Sounds like typical Chicago Bears. But something else is going on this Bears. The offense, bolstered by a decline in defensive quality after playing the veteran-laden Titans defense and a feisty and speedy Texans unit in the first two weeks, is starting to trim fat that seemed to have too much going on. As the offense begins to crystallize, their No. 1 draft pick, and potential savior of the franchise, begins to translate his sophisticated process into tangible results. And that process and those results are as exciting as any player in the NFL, rookie or otherwise.

Caleb Williams drew lofty comparisons as a prospect, from Aaron Rodgers to Patrick Mahomes to my own personal high-end projection of Drew Brees. His combination of arm talent and creation was mouth-watering for evaluators desperate for high-end play at the position. After a shaky first two weeks of the season and a strong stretch of play by fellow rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, the whispered sounds of “did the Bears get the wrong guy again” started to turn into louder and louder conversations and talking heads . But even as he weathered the storm of a shaky offense with injuries at the skill positions, too much action and an offensive line dealing with their own communication issues, Williams was a steady and calming presence whose own process created this offense – and team. up to succeed.

And now the results are visible.

Caleb Williams’ intelligence and polish are just as important as his arm talent

Let’s get to the obvious first: Williams’ arm talent jumps off the screen. Whether it’s throwing touch passes to Keenan Allen in the end zone or going toe-to-toe with Matthew Stafford on another windy day in Chicago, Williams can put the RPMs on the ball and change the angle of his arm and touch whatever he wants.

It’s not just that arm talent that leads to excitement about what he can become. Williams’ shine at the position is also well advanced. The thing about Williams is that he is a methodical player and a clean operator. The extended plays and loop-the-loops he performs on defenders will be cut for highlights and I will compare him to Brazilian football legend Garrincha. And that ability to create outside of structure is so important for a quarterback in the modern NFL.

But while it’s important, modern quarterback play requires consistent handling if things go according to script. And Williams’ intelligence, knowledge and ability to operate within the boundaries of the offense, and determine what those boundaries are for any given play, is what makes his long-term vision so exciting.

First, there are Williams’ mechanics. I’ll use the word “clean” again because that’s exactly what his mechanics are. His footwork shows no wasted movements. The ball consistently comes out on time, even when attacking down the field. Even his transfers are a learning bond.

Williams turns into a machine when he attacks underneath, a Gatling gun shooting line drive strapped to the chests of his pass catchers. It’s especially evident in the red zone and on third down, when spaces tighten and timing and decision-making become even more critical to success.

Bears put their trust in Williams, and he paid it back

While Williams’ zip on the ball and his accuracy shine on straight dropback plays and in quick play, his decision-making and sense of when to move the ball shines when the Bears line up in empty formations, without other players. in the backfield and only five pass protectors making timely decisions essential to a successful game.

Since Week 2, Williams is one of 13 NFL QBs with 20 or more dropbacks from empty formations. He ranks fourth in dropback success rate among those 13 QBs, behind only Joe Burrow, Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield. And he succeeds by attacking the entire field, not just with quick submission or cheap screen passes; his average air yards on those pass attempts rank third at 9.5 yards among the same group of 13 qualifying QBs.

The Bears have even gone on entire drives with Williams operating out of empty formations, with some plays allowing Williams to handle the final play call (more on that later). Even when teams try to run common coverages to mess up spread formation plans, like the Jaguars dropping eight defenders into coverage to flood the throwing lanes in the clip below, Williams will quietly hang in the pocket and carry on to the intermediate option on high-low concepts.

Williams’ complete control of the Bears’ offense was evident early, even as it struggled on national television against the Texans’ tenacious pass rush. There was Williams, who changed protections and communicated playmaking like a player with 100 NFL games under his belt.

Williams changes who ‘Mike’ point is in this play to number 29 of the Texans. What he does is tell the offensive line that they are responsible for the four-man defensive line and now number 29 with their protection responsibilities, while the RB and TE operate from there.

Even Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair recognized that Williams had created the blitz look.

Williams’ control is reflected in the Bears’ extensive use of no-huddle. No-huddle doesn’t always mean warp speed to break the ball as quickly as possible. It could also be offenses that reach the line of scrimmage, give a dummy cadence, and then watch a play that they think best fits the situation. The Bears use no-huddle at the second-highest level in the NFL, according to TruMedia, and it’s not because they’re massively behind in games. They will take at least a drive or two per game without huddling and let Williams determine the best play to achieve.

Here he is against the Texans giving the Bears offensive line the protection call and the pass catchers the route concept (“Twig” is a code word for a common “Stick” concept).

Williams had a noh-uddle sequence against the Panthers that featured nothing but plays out of eEmpty (a double whammy of pre-and-post-snap operation).

And he had a similar series without a huddle against the Jaguars, where he called plays at will. There are even examples where Williams solved a blitz problem by signaling a quick exit and sidestepping the problem altogether.

I have to emphasize how impressive this is, for an NFL coaching staff to not only give their rookie QB some leeway to change the style of play, but full control to outright adjust the offensive line’s protection calls and essentially draw plays in the sand using hand signals and code words. And he gets these calls and adjustments consistently correctat. Showing off the homework and preparation Williams put in early in his career.

Williams’ advanced operation also appears after the snap. During DJ Moore’s touchdown against the Panthers, Williams moves a deep safety with his eyes before jumping back and delivering a great throw to Moore.

You can see the helmet at the bottom of the screen begin to spin and sprint as Williams eyes watch the bubble and pump concept. He has the safety to take the bait before making the cast.

Most quarterbacks would simply check or throw the ball away if this concept got muddy. Williams was already interested in the option at the next level.

This is Caleb Williams the Bears’ No. 1 overall pick

This combination of smarts, physical talent and the Bears’ offensive staff’s confidence in Williams is starting to pay off, with a small boost coming from an easier defensive line. As of Week 3, Williams ranks fifth in EPA per dropback and sixth in dropback success rate among qualifying NFL QBs, alongside household names like Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, as well as fellow rookie Jayden Daniels.

(More on Daniels and the Commanders’ offense in the coming weeks. They play the Bears this week and are also running no-huddle at the highest level in the NFL, so it should be a fun style matchup this weekend. Especially if Daniels plays with his rib injury.)

Williams and the Bears’ offense should be able to continue to trend upward after the bye, with a continued series of toothless defenses in the coming weeks before entering the NFC North Battle Royale in November. All of the Bears’ NFC North games have taken place over the past eight weeks, starting with the Packers at home on Nov. 17.

Despite some shaky box scores and interceptions early on where he had a bit too much to see what he can get away with, Williams has just been great with his adjustment to the NFL. He’s already showing how well he can handle an entire offense, more than some highly paid quarterbacks have ever been asked to do, in high-pressure situations in his first month as a pro. Damn, his first week as professional.

I can safely say this is the best Bears quarterback I can remember. It’s a low bar, but I say this as a fact. And I don’t mean what Williams can potentially be; I mean what he is now.

This is the total package of accuracy, arm talent, creation, toughness and intelligence. This is a franchise quarterback.