Bear Digest

Caleb Williams' Checklist Aims at Details for the Final Push

Bears QB has a few goals for the final two games of his rookie year while looking for something really big against Seattle, like possibly a win.

Gene Chamberlain

Caleb Williams dons a Santa hat and addresses media at Halas Hall Monday as the Bears set out on a short work week.
Caleb Williams dons a Santa hat and addresses media at Halas Hall Monday as the Bears set out on a short work week. / Photo: Chicago Bears Video
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Caleb Williams came appropriately dressed when he met with media Monday for what normally is a Wednesday press conference, pushed up two days because the next Bears game is Thursday at Soldier Field with Seattle.

He wore a Santa hat and seemed in the giving mood as he talked about giving teammates Christmas presents.

"The hat? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was actually sitting right in front of me when I was going down the stairs," he said. "And so I figured it was pretty cold outside. I wanted to wear a hat. And it's Christmastime. So ..."

And Santa is getting ready to shower teammates with presents

"Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Always," he said. "They've got gifts on the way. So it'll be nice."

What he doesn't want to be giving away is the football. It's a part of his final two-game push toward the end of his rookie season.

On Sunday, he managed to avoid an interception again to run his streak of throws without one to 326, but couldn't avoid the giveaway entirely as he blamed himself for the failed end-around handoff to Rome Odunze.

"I would say obviously we have to find a way to secure that ball whether it's between myself or Rome," Williams said. "But I will say that I could have given a better slot for the ball, putting it where it needs to be.

"I think it was a little bit too much on his hip. And, ya know, from there? It gets pretty ugly. So."

Williams has had eight of the 15 Bears fumbles this season and the Bears lost five of his fumbles. By comparison, Justin Fields had 12 as a rookie, but never improved at protecting the ball. He had 16 in his second season and 10 his last year. The Bears lost 11 of his fumbles.

So when he discusses what he wants to accomplish in the last two games, protecting the ball was right at the list he was making, and he didn't need to check it twice to know they're naughty and not nice.

"I think these fumbles that I've had for 2-3 weeks now, I think turnovers, they're obviously a part of the game, but trying to eliminate those only helps our chances of winning," Williams said of Goal No. 1. "I say that's one. Being able to just keep being efficient, the most that I can, and that doesn't just mean when I throw the football. That's with all the alerts, the time, the play clock, making sure cadence and things like that, helping offensive linemen out, whatever the case may be. Alerts, all of that. I'd say that's, I gave you four or five things right there."

At one point, Williams struggled badly with all of those aspects of the offense.

"I would say I'm a lot more comfortable with that," Williams said. "Getting up there, being faster with the cadence and things like that. Getting up there, sending the motions of when they need to be snapped or sending the motion and using my cadence with the motion to be able to undress, to be able to figure out what they're in or figure out what they're about to do or have an idea at least.

"I think through this year and through this time, I think I've gotten more comfortable—actually a lot more comfortable, I feel like, with those things."

His 100.9 passer rating on 64.4 completions for 10 touchdowns without an interception for the last six games says he has improved in all aspects, though the critics see him taking too few chances with the ball. However, he is just over 7.0 yards per attempt in those games and that's a solid rate, far better than earlier this year.

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One thing Williams did well Sunday was the deep shot down the sideline against zone to Keenan Allen for a 45-yard touchdown. They had failed to connect the previous game but Thomas Brown kept giving him the chance.

"Keep swinging," Brown said. "So shooters shoot, and he definitely shoots, which I appreciate. So I'm going to give him opportunities to shoot. 

"I think to be able to understand just the rhythm and timing within how plays develop but also just taking the extra effort just to go through a couple of different plays from a practice standpoint, there's always going to be some carry-over to not just the pass game but run game."

If the Bears can ever consistently get a running game going, the deep passing could open up through play-action. It's getting late for it, now, though.

As for the idea Williams isn't willing to throw it into danger and is getting soft yardage, Williams scoffs.

"I don’t think it's an issue of having to push," he said. "Again, Ive kind of gotten the question the last few weeks, even on different subject about him not turning the ball over, him not being aggressive.

"I mean if you watch games it's not a lack of him being aggressive at all."

Charitable, generous and festive yes, passive, no.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.