Bears Find Different Caleb Williams Than Originally Advertised

Analysis: The predraft talk about Caleb Williams being soft and a diva are leaving the Bears wondering who and where it all started because they're seeing the opposite.

Caleb Williams might have been perceived as soft or disinterested in something like tough football before the draft but the Bears are seeing otherwise. / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The more they're around Caleb Williams, the more the Bears laugh at the predraft analysis calling him a diva and mocking him as soft because he has painted fingernails.

The popular suggestion at one time even before the combine said he wouldn't come to the Bears, and would be difficult to handle. In a city like Chicago, such behavior is usually frowned upon with any athlete. His lack of an agent and father's involvement were said the be sure indications of trouble ahead.

The Bears say they see a real competitor and it isn't just something apparent at offseason practices.

The most recent example of Williams' competitiveness came at a junket with teammates to Top Golf, the popular driving range chain where shot-making games and competitions are conducted through use of computer.

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Tight end Cole Kmet and Brett Rypien were among those involved. Rypien is the team's long hitter.

"Scratch player, scratch player. It's impressive. Impressive to watch," Kmet said.

Kmet, himself, was the winner at the Top Golf excursion, one that ran so late it spilled over into the next day. It ran way late because of Williams' competitiveness. He couldn't stand losing, and he was when the machines went off and they chased out everyone.

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"They (Top Golf people) were like, it's 1 in the morning, we've got to get out of here," Kmet said.

The Bears at the facility convinced the workers to stay until they were done because Williams hadn't been on the winning team and needed to see the last game through to completion so he could try to gain victory.

"So they shut off the game and his team was up and then we couldn't get the points loaded back on because it was already too late," Kmet said. "Ended up getting it back on somehow.

"And yeah, then I beat him. So."

Kmet called the Top Golf example typical of who his new quarterback really is.

“Yeah, I mean, just getting to know him as a person, you don't really know somebody until you meet them," Kmet said. "Yeah, getting to know him over the past couple months now has been pretty fun and you realize how competitive he is."

Kmet had heard the predraft talk about a diva and laid-back "California" guy. This was the QB crying in his mother's arms and wearing strange clothes?

"I personally think L.A. is a little bit different than Chicago," Kmet said. "The people here, this (NFL) is close to their heart and this means a lot to a lot of people here. So there's that element to it, but he doesn't shy away from it.

"You can tell that and he wants to compete and he wants to be remembered for a very long time. So I think he's ready for this opportunity and he just has the demeanor about him that you have that feeling that he can succeed here, for sure." 

Williams is entering a different phase of his playing career, in a city where his every waking moment seems to be watched closely by fans.

Kmet and some players saw this at Wrigley Field on Saturday when several went to the Cubs game, fans were in an uproar there over the QB and also were afterward at a local establishment.

"It's cool, it's cool to see everyone as excited as they are for him," Kmet said. "More importantly, he's super excited to be here.

"I think he's starting to get the understanding of what this means to the city and what he means to the city. He's definitely embracing all that."

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Mike Ditka once called his Bears team the Grabowskis and the L.A. Rams "the Smiths." The Bears were built on toughness from Walter Payton to Dick Butkus and even George Halas.

From what Kmet and other Bears see of Williams' competitiveness, he's fitting in just fine in Chicago.

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