The Chicago Bears are finally preparing for Week 1. All the talk is over, and now is the time to act. Caleb Williams wants to do just that and prove his doubters wrong.
After a long hopeful offseason in which Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Poles did his best work yet at building a contending team, it is finally time to raise the curtains on the 2024 season. All the talk is over and it is time for action.
With all of the new additions to the roster, the biggest and most important one was the one made at quarterback. Despite being a fan favorite, Justin Fields could not get the job done. There were various reasons for that but the bottom line was that it did not happen.
Poles decided to move on from FIelds and use the number one pick on USC quarterback Caleb Williams. Many people considered Williams a generational talent. With Poles and the Chicago Bears having the number one pick (thanks to arguably the greatest trade in franchise history made in the 2023 offseason), the Williams pick was a no-brainer.
The Chicago Bears coaches threw everything at Williams even before he was drafted. They had him put his nose in the playbook so he could get everything down by Week 1. The Bears announced right away that Williams would be the starter. Poles overhauled the offense to tailor it to the rookie so why make him wait?
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Now, starting this Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, Williams has to show that Poles’ confidence and plan was well placed. A lot is riding on Williams’ shoulders. Everything done to the offense was to ensure the rookie’s success. He is entering what many feel is the best situation any number one overall pick at quarterback has ever entered.
For his part, Williams is ready for the challenge. He is a different breed. He wants the pressure and it seems that he needs the pressure. On an episode of Hard Knocks, he was asked about being nervous before his first professional game.
I don’t get nervous. Not since my first game in high school.
Some feel that Williams is the football version of Michael Jordan. The people of Chicago already had the privilege of watching Jordan. To have it happen again would be incredible.
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While Williams is ready to help bring back the Chicago Bears’ winning ways, he also knows that there are many detractors ready to pounce on him. He wants to prove them wrong while he soars. He hears the critics and he is ready to turn the tables and pounce on them.
The other part, and this feeds into knowing myself, is all athletes try to act like they don’t see it. I see it, and I use it. I take screenshots of people. People don’t know it. I have notes and things that I screenshot. I save the links, all of that. I use it…I know how hard I work. I know the confidence that I have, from my work that I’ve put in for many, many years now.
Caleb Williams is extremely confident because of how hard he works. Not to belabor the point but that was the case with Jordan as well. Both players worked so hard that when the games began it was easy. It was like that for Williams in college. Now he is ready to show it at the professional level with the Chicago Bears.
There was a narrative about Williams from his last two seasons in college. Some considered him a spoiled brat who was too preoccupied with becoming the top pick in the draft and resting on his Heisman Trophy mantel. However, the critics do not see his work ethic and his obsession with being the best.
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The Chicago Bears know all about it. They did their due diligence and spent time with him as well as his coaches, teammates, and others. They went in-depth on Williams’ father, Carl. Some said that Carl would be overbearing and could be a problem. They found out that would not be the case. The coaches told them about having minimal contact with the older Williams.
That is why the Chicago Bears were all in on Williams quickly. They saw the real Williams and felt he had to be the player to lead the organization back to their winning ways. Head coach Matt Eberflus is very impressed with Williams.
I’ve been around guys like that, elite competitors. They’re very good at what they do, and they have very good clarity of who they are. They’re able to look at their weaknesses and look and see where they can improve, and also look at the other guys and say, Hey, I know this receiver can do this and do that. I understand the limitations of that, but I also understand the strengths. He’s very comfortable in his own skin.
That is why Eberflus and the rest of the Chicago Bears brass were comfortable enough with Williams to quickly name him the starter. They felt he could handle the crash course of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s offense. No matter how much they threw at him, they knew he could handle it.
Now it is time for the rest of the NFL world to find out what the Chicago Bears already know — Williams has an elite work ethic and will to become the best. Williams begins his quest to exhibit that and show his critics how wrong they are about him. That quest starts this Sunday.
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