Pockets of fans have suggested that Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams took a league-high 41 sacks over the season’s first 11 weeks largely because Chicago’s offensive line routinely betrayed Williams during games.
For a piece published Friday, analyst Aaron Schatz of ESPN debunked the theory and noted Williams must be better about getting the ball out of his hands quicker moving forward.
“Despite all those sacks,” Schatz explained, “the Bears rank 17th in ESPN’s pass block win rate (59.3%) and 21st in pass block losses (114). According to FTN Data charting, Williams has the second-highest time to pressure in the league (2.7 seconds). The issue is less that his offensive line is folding immediately after the snap and more that he is making his own pressure by holding onto the ball too long.”
Some analysts noted before the Bears made Williams the first overall pick of this year’s draft that he was often guilty “of holding the ball and being inconsistent with his reads” on pass plays. The 23-year-old’s play then regressed amid Chicago’s three-game losing streak this fall before the Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and before individuals within the organization reportedly had “conversations” about possibly sitting the first-year pro “to give him a break.”
As The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain pointed out, however, Williams flashed signs of improvement with passing game coordinator Thomas Brown serving as Chicago’s offensive play-caller in last Sunday’s 20-19 loss to the rival Green Bay Packers that dropped the Bears to 4-6 on the season. In total, Williams completed 23-of-31 passes (74.2%) for 231 yards with no touchdowns, no interceptions and three sacks taken in that defeat. He also rushed for 70 yards on nine carries.
The Athletic’s Adam Jahns is among those who believe Brown could “emerge as a potential head-coach candidate if his connection with Williams thrives over the second half of the season” and the team moves on from Matt Eberflus in January as many expect. For now, Williams will simply look to build upon his performance against Green Bay when Chicago hosts the 8-2 Minnesota Vikings this Sunday.
As of Friday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Chicago as a 3.5-point underdog for that contest.
