Bears Lose MNF and Oh Boy... Do We Have to Talk About Caleb Williams

Breaking a cycle of behavior is unquestionably difficult.  To see a pattern of thinking is hard enough to do, but to find the will and the strength to actively work towards ending that pattern of thinking is nearly impossible.  Ask yourself now, “how often have I told myself that I should drink less, or I should swear less, or I should be less judgmental?”  How often do you think “I need to stop with this negative thinking, or this pattern of self-doubt?”  It happens to the best of us.  We are not perfect, and we find comfort in our negative patterns rather than digging down and putting in the effort to change – even if it is in our own best interest.  It is always in your best interest to try to change, to be your ideal self, to stop the cycle of negativity surrounding your thoughts, on the Chicago Bears and Caleb Williams.

                Caleb Williams and the Bears have been on the receiving end of the typical Chicago fan malaise and doubt and negativity and overall apathy.  Left hand up, I am just as guilty of this as you all are!  It is HARD for a Bears (especially a general “Chicago”) fan to approach any game or player with a shred of optimism.  I’m sure a lot of you reading this now that watched the Vikings game, went to bed last night repeating the mantra “same old Bears!”.  Some of you said this with glee, I’m speaking directly to you sickos and perverts that read this as Packer fans.  Mind you, maybe your domination of the Lions was because they were missing a certain key element of their offensive play calling…

                My job today is the seemingly insurmountable task of convincing YOU that Caleb Williams IS good and CAN be great.  To convince you that Ben Johnson IS the answer to our endless coaching woes.  Enter this with an open mind and if you think I’m full of it by the end – the comment section exists for a reason.

                Pocket presence: This was a huge question rolling right into the 2025 season.  Last season we saw a Bears QB that (typical) looked lost, confused, and was scrambling for his life.  Ben Johnson came in and implemented a lot of plays starting from under center.  A lot of plays starting from under center for a team that in recent history has had a terrible offensive line.  Caleb was tasked with not just learning a new offensive scheme, but also with increasing his football awareness and simultaneously decreasing time held on to the ball.  Caleb had great pocket presence making his reads (in the first half) and getting the ball out fast.  Last year he held onto the ball for some 3 seconds or more, one of if not the longest hold time in the league.  I saw multiple throws (in the first half) that were out in 2 seconds or under and were ACCURATE.  A lot of you right now want to argue with me given the regression in the second half and I will address this.  The fact is that for a majority of that game, Caleb Williams did have better reads, presence, time to throw, and accuracy than he did last year.  That is a marked improvement during a season in which just about every sports pundit predicted a regression.  Edelman said it Sunday morning on Fox kick off when asked his thoughts on Williams.  It was to the effect of there would be a regression considering the new offense.

                We have established that Williams performed better overall than last year.  Let’s talk about the wheels coming off.  Brian Flores.  Brian Flores began blitzing 5 men in the second half which completely overwhelmed Williams.  This was where I saw the regression – the lost and confused scramble out of the pocket while throwing to no one.  This was followed up with a heroic run to end zone late in the game in a desperate attempt to close the gap on the scoreboard.  I did predict a win, and I was wrong, hand up again – but I would have put that more on a discombobulated Minnesota Vikings team than the Bears.  The Vikings outperformed the Bears late in the game, but if Santos makes that kick, we are tied and if Ben Johnson does not challenge that play – we have a chance.

                I might be on an island here and I accept that.  It is hard to break the cycle of “same old Bears”.  I do not believe these are the same old Bears, I believe we have a QB who objectively showed a lot of improvement with a better built O-Line and a competent coach who for the most part did game plan very well against the Vikings.  You cannot game plan against your kicker whiffing one, but you don’t have to challenge plays.  The pieces are finally there.  If the Bears and Williams can continue to improve off of this performance game-by-game, I truly believe we have a 10+ win season in 2026.  Even the “sloppier” QB plays at the end of the game where over-throws that where remarkably close to target.  These are things that can be improved.  Look, I am tired of the negativity surrounding this team.  We have a chance to be good, and I am fully buying in.  I am happy with how Williams performed as a WHOLE, and I think he CAN be great.

                Overall I think Ben Johnson game-planned well and put Caleb in positions to win.  Caleb mostly took advantage of this.  Shout out Swift, that guy is a certified dog.  Bears lose but I remain optimistic.