Caleb Williams has been the talk of the town since he arrived in Chicago in April. On Sunday, he will try to live up to those expectations. That could be daunting for some, but this rookie quarterback doesn’t seem fazed.
“When the feet touch the grass, it’s going to be business as usual.”
Williams spoke to the media for his first regular Wednesday availability of the regular season, and started by complimenting the defense for helping him grow during training camp.
Caleb Williams on the benefits of playing against the Chicago Bears defense during training camp
There was a period in camp, somewhere in between the pure joy of seeing players on the field again and seeing Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears offense execute well in the preseason games, where it seemed like the sky was falling at Halas Hall.
Every day was worse than the previous, and Caleb Williams and the offense looked “clunky,” “disjointed,” and “mistake-prone.”
Some took that as an indictment on Williams and the offense. Some understood that Williams and the Bears’ offense were tasked with going up against a defensive unit that finished the 2023 season as one of the best in football and returned 10 of 11 starters. You know, the whole iron sharpens iron thing. Williams said today that those practices against that unit, one that features one of the best secondaries in the league, at least on paper, made him a better quarterback.
“I think that the way we practice, I don’t think many other teams that practice the way we do,” Williams said on Wednesday. “Being able to go versus a defense like this and how tough they are on QBs and things like that, going through all of this is going to help.
“Obviously, there’s going to be times when I do struggle, but when those times come, you know how to get back on track. You know how to react in those moments, and I think going versus this defense every single day has helped.”
Williams took his fair share of proverbial lumps this summer, but one thing he gained from facing the Bears’ defense every day was the ability to stay composed in the face of adversity. If you recall that two-week stretch, he and the offense faced plenty of it.
“For the adversity part of it, when it does happen, I think it goes back to communication. Understanding that in the situation I’m in, bad things are going to happen every once in a while. You’re going to throw a pick. You’re going to fumble. When those moments of adversity strike, it’s more about encouraging. It’s more about understanding that we can get out of the situation and not bring more negativity to the situation.”
Williams is ready to do whatever it takes to win, including leaning on his teammates
When it comes to the regular season, and the adversity Williams and the Bears will face, he’s ready to do whatever it takes to win, even if that means leaning on his star-studded cast of playmakers around him to do some of the heavy liftings.
“If we come out and decide that the offensive line is dominating, the wide receivers are dominating blocks, we’re extending runs and things like that; coach always talks about ‘backside wins championships, front side wins games.’ If we’ve got guys out there giving that type of energy, and we’re handing the ball off, and we’re getting five a pop, it’s hard to beat that.
“If that’s the case, that’s the case. As long as we get a win at the end of the day, 100 yards, 400, it all becomes the same. You go into the locker room, you celebrate, you cheer, and then you’ve got your 24-hour period to enjoy the win before you move on and get ready for the next team.”
It’s nice to hear that Williams is more than happy to throw for 100 yards while the rushing attack dominates the day, especially when you’re confident he can put up 400 when he has to.
More Caleb Williams Quotes:
- On being selected as a captain: “I’m extremely grateful. I can’t really think of how many rookies are captains, especially with a team as talented as this. We’re a young team, but we have a pretty good amount of vets, so to be named a captain by my peers, colleagues, teammates, and friends and brothers, [I’m] extremely grateful.
- How have his previous experiences helped him hone his ability to learn fast? “I wasn’t the starter immediately when I came in. I had to learn a whole offense and put myself in a position to start, whether in the first game or, like in college, the sixth or seventh game. Those times have helped me develop the ability to learn fast.”
- On adjusting to the speed of the NFL game: “I think the biggest difference from college is that there are guys that have been in the league for 12 years, so they’ve seen a bunch of different things. Then there’s a guy that comes into the league and he’s been there for four months, like myself. I think it’s more the information that we have. The older guys have seen so much more; they have a lot more information; they’ve seen a bunch of offenses, formations, different routes, and how people ran the routes and things like that, so I think the biggest adjustment is understanding that those guys have a lot more knowledge and information … The rookies, we don’t have that, so we have to find ways to be on time, know our offense in and out, and then from there you can grow.”