As Caleb Williams' confidence grows, communication still holding the Bears back

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — If there’s one thing you can always rely on Caleb Williams to say during his weekly media availability, it’s that the rookie quarterback is willing to do whatever it takes to win on Sunday.

Despite the losing results, the growth is there for the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft. DJ Moore sees it, too. “I can see growth week in and week out even though the losses can hide some of it. But he’s been good.”

Where is that growth most noticeable? “Confidence. Even with a loss, he’s taking away the positive of that loss. He wants to bounce back and figure out what he can do for the team, for himself just to keep growing.”

Williams broke the Bears’ rookie record for most passing yards in a game (363) on Sunday, surpassing Mitchell Trubisky’s 314-yard performance against the Lions in 2017. In just his third professional game, No. 18 also beat Justin Fields’ career-high (335).

But it comes with a slight caveat: Caleb threw the ball 52 times — something a Bears quarterback hadn’t done since Nick Foles went 36/52 against the Tennessee Titans in 2020.

Despite being relied upon as the sole driver of the Bears’ offense in Indianapolis, Williams didn’t see it that way. “I was talking to Shane [Waldron] this morning and … I was like if I’ve got to throw the ball 50 times, I’ve got to throw the ball 50 times. But if we’re in a flow, we’re running the ball, we’re getting four yards a pop on the play, let’s keep handing the ball off to our running backs and let them be special. So like I said on Sunday after the game, whatever it takes to win the game is what I’m going to do and what I’m happy to do. It’s what I’m here to do is win games”

Communication is key

As Caleb Williams continues his upward trajectory and growth throughout his rookie season, there’s one buzzword that sticks out like a sore thumb in each presser: communication. Unfortunately for Chicago, through three weeks, the emphasis is still on fixing the communication.

Caleb Williams’ and DJ Moore’s miscommunication on the Bears’ first pass attempt on Sunday avoided disaster, and Williams was able to extend the drive on third down with a completion past the sticks to Cole Kmet. But a miscommunication on the second play from scrimmage in a scripted set is still a glaring error.

As for who was to blame, DJ Moore, invoking his dry sense of humor, sheepishly took responsibility. “It was unusual. We [were] on two different pages. It might’ve been on me because I converted it and he threw it, so I’m going to take that one.”

In the grand scheme of things, it’s one play, and an incompletion on the first pass of the game is hardly what prevented the Bears from winning in Indianapolis, but it’s the idea that communication is seemingly a hardcore focus, yet still popping up in scripted plays.

Caleb Williams hasn’t shied away from taking and accepting blame. It’s what any good quarterback would do. But the great ones aren’t accepting blame for the same issues every week. “First, it starts with me being able to be a better communicator to the coaches, the players, and things like that … like a little bit more for certain situations and being a little bit more communicative and talking to those guys that are out there with us, you know, what they are seeing and things like that.”

DJ Moore shared a similar sentiment about communicating on the bench. “I feel like that on the sideline, we tell him what we’re seeing, but not really what plays we’re liking. But when we’re out there, we definitely talk about what coverages they’re doing.”

How do the miniature collaboration communication issues get solved without snowballing into losing stretches? “When we are in practice, when we are in throughout the week, in our off time throughout the week, making sure to communicate properly to make sure we’re running things that work well with us.”

Head coach Matt Eberflus harped on how it’s the first step to fixing the offense during his Wednesday availability, too. “That’s of the utmost importance, right? Communication. So working with the guys in terms of skill sets, in terms of communicating what they like, what works, building off of stuff that you’ve done the week before because it can’t look the same every week.”

Whether it comes down to collaboration or communication, it’s up to Williams and the coaching staff to prevent it from being a talking point each and every week. Winning tends to change the subject, too.

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