Bear Digest

Patience Is Key Word for Bears as Caleb Williams Era Begins

Analysis: The Caleb Williams era starts with great anticipation but the difficulty of bringing along a rookie quarterback needs to be on the minds of the Bears and fans alike.

Gene Chamberlain

Caleb Williams signs autographs during preseason. Bears fans are in love with him now but times can be tough for rookie QBs.
Caleb Williams signs autographs during preseason. Bears fans are in love with him now but times can be tough for rookie QBs. / Kevin Whitlock / Massillon Independent / USA TODAY NETWORK
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In days gone by, former Bears coach Lovie Smith loved the phrase: "Fourth Phase."

Even if it was a cheap knockoff of the Seattle Seahawks' "12th man," it was something that stuck. The first three phases, of course, referred to the offense, defense and special teams.

The fourth phase was Bears fans.

They had someone parade around waving a No. 4 flag, maybe Staley the team mascot, and they tried to rile everyone up the way they did with the Bear-Raid siren.

After an offseason and preseason when the Bears ditched their support for Justin Fields, traded him and restarted the quarterback clock with Caleb Williams, it all comes to a head today at Soldier Field against the Tennessee Titans.

What happens today will only be partially about Williams. It will also be about that fourth phase again, and not some cheap contrived attempt to stoke the emotional fire fans feel. It's about how much leeway those fans give Williams, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and coach Matt Eberflus—even GM Ryan Poles.

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The emotions of Chicago have reached a fever pitch with Williams' minor successes in preseason. Any amount of success in the first game and it's going to blow the lid right off this city.

However, it's never an easy thing starting out with a rookie quarterback. It doesn't matter who it is. They aren’t always like Justin Fields’ first start in Cleveland, but they can be pretty rough.

It's still not as rough as starting a season with what happened to Green Bay and Jordan Love.

C.J. Stroud, last year’s rookie phenom, had a 78.0 passer rating in his first start, got sacked five times and the Texans lost 25-9 to the Ravens. 

The fact Williams was the No. 1 overall pick means little. It's actually been a jinx when it comes to first starts, with 15 straight starts by a quarterback picked first failing to win. Actually, more than a jinx it’s been a sign of how bad those teams with the first overall pick were.

But it’s still tough using a rookie QB no matter where they were picked.

There will be those lumps, the interceptions, the fumbles on sacks and dumb throws into coverage.

A lot of people compared Williams to Andrew Luck, saying the Bears got the best prospect at quarterback since the top pick in the 2012 draft class. Luck got beat in his first NFL start on the same field Williams is starting out his career on, as the Bears picked him off three times in a 41-21 win over the Colts.

Failure is going to happen and that fourth phase needs to expect it. Instead of booing Matt Eberflus, Ryan Poles,  offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and even Williams at the first sign of difficulty, they'll need patience.

The Bears are in their third year under Eberflus but it's not Williams' fault he's starting his career after the rebuild already began. And Eberflus and Waldron deserve the opportunity to bring along a young, hand-picked passer.

If it becomes a complete disaster, it could be tough to move on to Week 2, but there is no other choice.

Hard Knocks has shown the level-headed approach Eberflus takes dealing with players and tough situations, if it has shown anything about him other than that he has bees and a pool at his house.

It's going to take a while, and patience is necessary. The fourth phase’s supply of this is definitely running short these days, but there's no other option.

Impatience for Williams can begin in Year 2, not Week 1 of Year 1.

In Year 1, it's about letting him figure out his offense and the NFL defenses, while relying on the talent they've put around him to make plays.

It's only the first of many Sundays for Williams.

As No. 1 overall, Williams needs to be accorded the respect and time someone deserves who really could be worth developing.

The Bears already have seen what happens when it wasn't wortheir effort, way too many times.

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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.