Most NFL analysts, many of them former players in the league, have said Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams will have a steep learning curve this season. After two games, Williams doesn’t seem to think the NFL game is much different than college.
Williams’ stats heading into Week 3 should be humbling for the former Heisman winner. He has a 56.1% completion percentage, 267 yards, and two interceptions in his first two NFL games.
The Bears offense as a whole has been terrible. The running game has been non-existent, and that’s not helping the passing game open up. The offensive line has been inept in both facets of the scheme.
Caleb Williams has made rookie mistakes
Still, Williams has appeared to make rookie mistakes. He took a 19-yard sack against the Tennessee Titans in Week 1 that took the offense out of field goal range. He ran backward against the Houston Texans to take a ten-yard sack when the Bears were in field goal range on Sunday night.
Former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver and NBC broadcaster Cris Collinsworth chalked up those plays to Williams learning he’s not the best athlete on the field in the NFL relative to what he was in college.
If the rest of the world can see Williams has a lot to learn about the NFL, the Bears rookie quarterback doesn’t see it that way.
The Chicago Bears QB1 is operating at the college level
During Williams’ media availability on Wednesday, ESPN‘s Courtney Cronin asked Williams how much he had learned about the league in two games.
Cronin: Are there things that you’ve learned in two games that you might have been successful in college that you can’t get away with in the NFL?
Williams paused for a moment. “Um, no,” he said.
No?
That’s a pretty incredible statement from a quarterback who has yet to throw a touchdown pass in either the preseason or regular season.
Williams said he needs to play his game better, presumably the same game that made him the No. 1 pick coming out of USC.
“Play your game, play within the way that we need to play, the way that I need to play for the offense, be efficient and make less mistakes each week,” Williams said. “Don’t make the same mistake over and over.”
Williams wants to correct the “stupid mistakes”
Williams was frustrated with the two interceptions he threw on Sunday night. After the game, he said it wasn’t his “thing” to turn the ball over multiple times. On Wednesday, he said he wouldn’t make those plays again.
“Obviously, I had the two stupid mistakes that won’t happen again,” Williams said. “But I think rhythm, pass game, getting the ball to receivers, I think I got better with getting the ball out of my hands, trying to stay in the right range of timing, the offensive linemen, myself, and the routes, I think those are the few spots I’ve gotten better at.”
What is crazy about Williams’ answer here is that the two stupid mistakes he made are plays that might have been successful in college but won’t work in the NFL because of the speed and size of the defense.
At some point, if he wants to be successful, Williams will need to figure out how the NFL game is different from college.
What week on the schedule will that be?
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