The Chicago Bears are preparing for their second game of the 2024 preseason as they will travel to Buffalo to play the Bills on Saturday, which will mark rookie quarterback Caleb Williams’ professional debut. Williams and the rest of the Bears’ starters are expected to play anywhere from 20-25 snaps before coming out of the contest. With all eyes on the first overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft, Chicago fans must not make a mistake that has become a recurring theme whenever a first-round quarterback makes his debut.
Caleb Williams doesn’t deserve the same fan reaction that Mitchell Trubisky and Justin Fields received
On Saturday, all eyes will be on the first quarter of the Bears vs. Bills game for Caleb Williams making his debut as the contest will be televised nationally on NFL Network. What the rookie quarterback does in the small time he is in the game will be extensively analyzed by local and national pundits for the next week, until the next game against the Cincinnati Bengals next Saturday. Although it is expected and understood that Williams’ performance against Buffalo will be overly analyzed by a vast amount of sports media figures, Bears’ fans must not irrationally react to the rookie quarterback’s debut.
Since 2017, the Bears have drafted two other quarterbacks in the first-round of the draft, as they took Mitchell Trubisky in 2017 and Justin Fields in 2021. When Chicago took either quarterback in the first-round, Bears’ fans believed that the franchise had finally found the quarterback that would be a franchise-altering talent that has been an issue at the position for over 30 years. With Trubisky being let go after the 2020 season and Fields being traded to the Pittsburgh Steeler this past offseason, fans now view Caleb Williams as the can’t-miss elite-level talent to solve the franchise’s quarterback woes.
Trubisky and Fields both dealt with an unfortunate situation in their rookie seasons, which was how their play in their first preseason game was immensely analyzed with fans putting unfair expectations on each signal-caller afterwards. After the first preseason game in 2017 and 2021, Chicago fans unjustly placed high expectations on each quarterback, with calls for them to be deemed the starter for the offense to begin the season. Although Caleb Williams will already be the Bears’ opening-day starter on September 8th, fans could still overreact to what is seen by the rookie on Saturday against the Bills based on what transpires.
In 2017, Trubisky made his debut against the Denver Broncos, coming in to play in the second quarter for starter Mike Glennon, who had thrown an interception return for touchdown on his first pass with the team. The second overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft, came in and completed his first ten passes, including a 2-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Victor Cruz. Immediately after the game, fans believed that Trubisky deserved to work with the first team offense and be the season-opening starter against the Atlanta Falcons.
The fervor that fans had against Glennon was a contributing factor for when the team made the rookie quarterback the starter in Week 5 against the Vikings, despite wanting to let him sit and learn for as long as possible. There was similar angst against signal-caller Andy Dalton in 2021, as fans were outraged when Fields wasn’t named the starter to begin the season. With Trubisky and Fields, both rookies weren’t able play free from burdening expectations from those that faithfully and somethings obsessively support the Bears.
Fields made his debut for the Bears in the 2021 preseason game against the Miami Dolphins, and despite struggling at first, recorded a rushing touchdown, along with a passing touchdown. The rookie led Chicago’s offense on three consecutive scoring drives, making fans believe that the rookie was the quarterback the franchise had been waiting for. Similar to Trubisky, fans were adamant that Fields be named the starter over Dalton, despite needing to sit and learn, yet were critical when it appeared that Fields was not entirely ready to start.
Two Groups Will Instantly React To How Caleb Williams Plays on Saturday Against The Buffalo Bills
There will be two types of fans depending on what outcome happens in Caleb Williams’ debut against the Bills on Saturday. There will be one group that will be significantly critical if the rookie plays poorly in his limited appearance, saying that the Bears’ drafted the wrong quarterback and that he might not be ready to be the season-opener starter. If Williams has multiple incompletions, turnovers, or issues executing the offense, this group will be highly vocal after Saturday’s game.
Another type of group that will likely be vocal depending on how Caleb Williams’ performances will be the group that is highly favorable to him. If Williams makes several impressive throws, shows advanced command of the offense, or throws a touchdown, this will be the group that sets high standards for the rookie heading into the regular season. This group of fans will also make excuses for Caleb Williams if he struggles during the regular season, pointing to others on offense as the cause for the struggles, something that was seen immensely during Fields’ rookie season in 2021.
The overzealous nature of the Bears’ fan base will be very active over the next three preseason games, with Caleb Williams being the prominent debate topic, depending on his play over the three contests. The issue that will manifest will be an unhealthy overreaction to every throw made by the rookie quarterback, with impossible expectations being unfairly placed on a player who will have an extensive number of expectations on his plate already. Although Williams is seen as a generational talent, it is unfair to react so abruptly to how he performs in his first preseason game, but Bears’ fans have an unfortunate trait of doing so.
The reason why Caleb Williams is the starting quarterback for the Bears in 2024 is because signal-callers like Trubisky and Fields failed to live up to the hype that fans placed on them. Chicago’s rookie deserves to be given time to learn the position and come into his own, free of being burdened by expectations that need to be instantly met by supporters of the team. Over the next three preseason games against the Bills, Bengals, and Chiefs, it is vital for Bears’ fans to remember not to instantly reaction and develop foregone conclusions for a rookie taking his first snaps in the NFL as a starting quarterback.
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