Bear Digest

GM Ryan Poles Sees No Problem with Caleb Williams' Pace

The Bears rookie might not have had the very early explosion of Jayden Daniels but he's getting where he needs to be at his own pace says the Bears personnel boss.

Gene Chamberlain

Ryan Poles likes the progress Caleb Williams shows and sees bigger plays coming ahead as the offense blossoms.
Ryan Poles likes the progress Caleb Williams shows and sees bigger plays coming ahead as the offense blossoms. / David Banks-Imagn Images
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Bears GM Ryan Poles still likes his pick of Caleb Williams No. 1 overall regardless of who is impressing people with their performances in the early season, Jayden Daniels being the primary consideration here.

Speaking with reporters covering practice in London, Poles views Williams as progressing, improving and exactly where the Bears need him to be at this point in development.

"Yeah, I think he's learning how to play professional football, and when I say that that means to have a winning mentality in terms of what does it take t win football games from the quarterback position," Poles said of Williams. "And you've seen that in terms off the (passing) efficiency."

The specifics of what Poles likes about the first pick overall include how he has cut back on turnovers, how big plays are starting to come along and his efforts.

"So he's right where he should be and he's continuing to get better," Poles said.

The steps forward did come against some of the weaker defenses the Bears will face.

"It's the NFL and I get the record part, but his operation part, I thought, was really clean," Poles said, referring to Sunday's win specifically over Carolina. "I thought from watching his eyes and just going through the process (he's) more poised and controlled and he knew where to go with the ball faster.

"So those are all promising things to see regardless of if you're going against the scout team."

Williams wasn't going like this at the outset, though.

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"And then, look you say shouldn't these things be ready to go at the end of the preseason?" Poles said. "It's (preseason) a different speed, there's different combinations of guys out there and I think he's done a good job overall improving over the past few weeks."

More well defined, Poles likes he Williams is "protecting the football, taking what's given to him (by the defense) and then as going into this last game now, explosives are starting to show up.

"So I really like his progress. I really love his work ethic and the time he's put into it. The grit, toughness, the ability to bounce back from tough games."

Williams has his passer rating up to a 81.3 after it was in the 50s following two games. He is 107 of 170 for 1,091 yards with five TDs and four interceptions.

But he's no Jayden Daniels, is he? Daniels, chosen second, has a 106.2 passer rating, averages 8.7 yards per attempt and has completed a league-high 77.1% of his throws. He has one less TD pass (4) than Williams.

"The human side of it is you want your guy just to take off and roll, but everyone's journey is going to be different," Poles said. "I think The important thing is for Caleb to understand that, as well, and run his own race. And he's done that well in terms of just focusing on how can I get better, how can I put our team in position to win games."

Poles also credits coaching and some of the changes made to the offense with helping make it easier for Williams. A more effective D'Andre Swift now in the running game, the addition now of Keenan Allen as a receiver, and other changes are going to lead to more Williams improvement in Poles' opinion.

"He looks definitely more comfortable in the pocket," Poles said. "I think it helps that we created more depth to the pocket. That's important for him because once he gets vertical he has the ability to manipulate and stay alive and keep his eyes down the field.

"But he does look mor poised and  I think that's part of getting the reps and also understanding where everbody is going to be. And that trust, too. I thought early there were some reps where he was drifting a little bit to the left side. It caused even more pressure. So he looks more calm collected and moving through his progressions."

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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.