Caleb Williams will play hero for Bears’ lost offense, but that wasn’t the plan originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — During his time at USC, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was a one-man band. With the Trojans having a leaky offensive line and the appearance of a 10-man defense, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner was the lead vocalist, drummer, bassist, and songwriter that made the Trojans sing.
That weight led to Williams being forced to play a lot of hero ball, which resulted in highlight-worthy plays and decisions that draft analysts and scouts worried would develop into bad habits in the NFL if Williams landed in a similar situation.
That wasn’t supposed to be the case in Chicago.
The Bears drafted Williams and spent the offseason building out the supporting cast around him. Running back D’Andre Swift, wide receivers Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze, and tight end Gerald Everet were supposed to solidify an arsenal that would make Williams’ life easy as he got his feet wet in the NFL. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, lauded as a great teacher and versatile play-caller, was supposed to help take the weight off Williams early on by letting the Bears lean on the run game and not asking Williams to be the entire offense.
Through three games, nothing has gone according to plan for the Bears’ offense.
The Bears can’t run the ball. They rank 30th in Expected Points Added per rush and 31st in rushing success rate. Their offense is dead last in DVOA, and they have asked Williams to drop back over 50 times in each of their last two games while being unable to provide adequate pass protection.
“I threw the ball 52 times? Jeez,” Wiliams said after the Bears’ 21-16 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 3.
The “take the pressure off” Williams plan appears to have gone out the window without a viable run game.
On the season, Swift is averaging 1.8 yards per carry. He is averaging less than 2 yards per carry both before and after contact. That means the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/caleb-williams-play-hero-bears-200752729.html
Author : NBC Sports Chicago
Publish date : 2024-09-25 20:07:52
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