National Football League

Caleb Williams and the Bears still very much a work in progress

Updated Sep. 23, 2024 1:29 p.m. ET

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Carmen Vitali

NFL Reporter

Week 3 was, again, not the result the Chicago Bears and quarterback Caleb Williams were looking for.

This isn't the column I wanted to write, again.

But you have to Bear with this team if you're a Chicago fan.

First off, you don't really have a choice. So much was made about the additions made to the roster and yet somehow, not enough understanding is being given to the fact that the offense is almost entirely new, including the offensive coordinator.

It is a frustrating watch. There's no way around that. The unit with the most continuity — the offensive line — doesn't look like that's the case. The Bears cannot find a way to effectively run the ball or get their backs involved (Chicago averaged just 2.3 yards per carry against a Colts team that had been giving up an average of 237 rushing yards per game). But if you expected this to look figured out by Week 3 or any time before the halfway point of the season, that's on you.

Shane Waldron is clearly going the baptism-by-fire route with Williams. They've put a lot of responsibility on the rookie's shoulders in the form of pre-snap decisions and diagnoses. That's why you see the play clock tick down to nearly zero more often than not. It's why you see certain miscues on timing with running backs and miscommunications all along the offensive line. Williams is setting protections against defenses he hasn't seen before.

The play calls aren't helping Williams, either. Williams finished 33 of 52 for 363 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions in Sunday's 21-16 loss to the Colts. Asking your rookie quarterback to throw the ball 52 times isn't the answer to your rushing woes. There are other ways to get your diverse backfield involved than just handing the ball off up the middle.

That said, there was a bright light on the drive preceding Williams' first-ever NFL touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, though. It was a 13-play drive, with nine pass attempts and four rushes from the offense. Williams' pass attempts went for shorter distances and were quicker decisions. He wasn't required to sit in the pocket and get through a full progression. Williams moved the offense down the field, sustained an offensive drive to give the defense a breather and then capped it off with a connection to Rome Odunze, one of six connections on a day where Odunze went over 100 yards for the first time in his NFL career. That relationship, specifically, seems to be blossoming. 

But that well-balanced drive with multiple concepts, utilizing multiple offensive weapons, was the Bears' best of the afternoon. The fact that a drive like that ended in a score isn't a coincidence. That drive is what this offense should look like all the time. It has the capability of doing so if both Waldron and Williams can contain themselves. Yes, Williams has a big-time arm, but there's no reason that on third-and-4, Williams needs to air it out. Your receivers are very rarely going to beat their man outright. This is the NFL. The field of talent is level and NFL defenses can sniff out a play like that and account for it better than college offenses can.

Williams is still learning that. That was clear by some of the decisions he made, throwing the ball into double coverage. He was bailed out by penalties and drops for a lot of the game, until he wasn't. The two interceptions marred Williams' stat sheet before he was able to add two touchdowns to it. 

The Bears are betting on Williams coming out the other side of the fire, though. Otherwise, they're just being stubborn. And perhaps both sentiments could be true. But we still need to give Williams a chance to do exactly that. A three-game sample size isn't enough for an opponent to look over in gameplan preparation. Teams review a minimum of four games from a team before they feel like they have a good enough evaluation of them. Surely fans can give Williams and the Bears' offense that much. 

Tyquan Lewis of the Colts pressures Bears QB Caleb Williams during Sunday's Week 3 contest. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

I know Bears fans are impatient. They have more of a right than anyone to be anxious and to rush to judgment given the team's history with offense and quarterbacks, in particular. But you cannot hold the sins of past offensive regimes against the current one, especially this early into it. 

I'll make you all a deal, even. If by the time the Bears open division play in Week 10 things still look this bad, I'll drink from the Chalice of Hate. But until then, I'm going to be a realist, as I've been all offseason. This is still going to take some time and not enough has gone by for us to make any conclusions on what this team will be. That should make Bears fans feel better, if anything.

Carmen Vitali is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. Carmen had previous stops with The Draft Network and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She spent six seasons with the Bucs, including 2020, which added the title of Super Bowl Champion (and boat-parade participant) to her résumé. You can follow Carmen on Twitter at @CarmieV. 

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