Training camp shows two key differences between Caleb Williams, Bears and other rookie QBs

Training camp shows two key differences between Caleb Williams, Bears and other rookie QBs originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

LAKE FOREST, Ill. –General manager Ryan Poles has said the Bears hired him to “break the cycle.” The cycle is vicious, and countless past Bears regimes have tried and failed to find and develop a franchise quarterback.

It’s one thing to say you’re going to “break the cycle,” but concrete evidence is needed for it to be more than a line in a stump speech.

One of Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus’ first moves upon drafting quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in April was to ensure that line doesn’t ring hollow.

In a stark departure from what the Ryan Pace regime did with Mitchell Trubisky and Justin Fields, Poles and Eberflus immediately named Williams the starting quarterback and did not bring in an established veteran to challenge or push him.

It has been Williams’ show from the jump.

“No conversation. He’s the starter,” Eberflus said before the start of rookie minicamp.

“For me, it’s just believing in Caleb,” Eberflus later said at the start of Bears training camp. “Putting him in there and let’s go. I think that the expectation is for him to be the starter. He is the starter when we drafted him and that’s where we put him in; put him in the position to do that. And we’re going to do a great job of supporting him to get him ready for the first game.”

While the Pace regime initially gave Mike Glennon the nod over Trubisky and picked Andy Dalton over Fields, the current Bears are pouring all of their energy into developing and empowering Williams, who is the best chance they’ve ever had at finding a star quarterback.

It’s rare in the modern NFL for a quarterback picked in the first round not to be the Day 1 starter. Patience is scarce when jobs and futures are on the line.

But when the rest of the NFL teams reported to camp earlier this week, the Bears’ decision to immediately hand the keys to Williams turned…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/training-camp-shows-two-key-144816076.html

Author : NBC Sports Chicago

Publish date : 2024-07-25 14:48:16

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