Bears QB Caleb Williams details where he fell short and what areas he must clean up going into his second season with Ben Johnson
It’s clear what the next steps are going into his third season with the Chicago Bears.
The second season for quarterback Caleb Williams with the Chicago Bears was a much improved year for everyone involved, but one that unfortunately ended abruptly in the team’s overtime playoff loss against the Los Angeles Rams.
“In these moments, you feel like you let your team down,” Williams told reporters after the loss. “It’s a good lesson for us; first time being in this situation for me and for us as a team. I’m excited for what’s to come.”
As disappointing as it is to see a promising season end that way, excitement is building in Chicago with Williams at quarterback working with head coach in Ben Johnson. Year 1 of this relationship went way better than anyone could have possibly expected and there’s still so much room for growth going into the offseason.
Caleb Williams pointed toward some of the areas he can look to improve at this offseason
Going into this first season under Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams aimed to clean up some of the sack issues and improve his downfield passing ability. Johnson’s goal was to reconstruct Williams’ foundation and footwork to help his new QB adjust to his scheme and play more in structure.
For the most part, the two were successful in creating improvement in those areas. Williams became one of the league’s best at avoiding sacks this season and his downfield passing ability was evident playing in this offense. And by the end of the season he had a lot of confidence running the offense.
Every year is a different story and filled with areas to improve as a player. And it’s already clear to Williams what areas need to be improved in his game this offseason.
“I gotta go watch the film and talk to coach. From there, it’s just work on accuracy and work on my feet in the offseason,” Williams explained. “It’s get with the receivers and work with them throughout the offseason so that we’re on the same page. We’re starting off hot for training camp, OTAs, and then going into next season.”
Williams finished the regular season with a 57.5 completion percentage that ranked 35th among 36 quarterbacks with 250+ drop backs. Accuracy was certainly a major issue for him this season and nowhere close to the high bar Johnson set for him going into the season.
Part of that is his footwork and being able to deliver a good ball, and part of that is on his connection with the receivers as well. The Bears finished fifth in the league with 29 drops during the regular season and Williams led the league passing yards lost due to drops.
Those concerns were glaring in the team’s loss on Sunday night. Williams had a few critical misfires, some miscommunication issues, and the receivers had some brutal drops that all played a major role in the result of that game that ended the team’s postseason run.
“I’m obviously frustrated about the outcome, but that’s over with,” Williams added. “I can’t go back and change it. And so I’m going to go back to watch and figure out how I can be better for the near future and help this organization get to where we want to be.”
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