Former QB With Ties To Caleb Williams Warns Bears To Stay Away
The Chicago Bears know what they do over the next three months will likely determine the course of their franchise for the next half-decade. It involves once again trying to solve the quarterback equation. Everybody knows the story by now. This organization hasn’t secured a legitimate franchise player at that position in the Super Bowl era. Jim McMahon and Jay Cutler came close, but each fell short for different reasons. It was hoped Justin Fields might finally break the cycle, but that hasn’t happened yet. Now GM Ryan Poles is left with a tough choice. Does he give Fields another year with a revamped offensive staff or does he start fresh in the draft, perhaps with consensus top guy Caleb Williams?
Waddle & Silvy of ESPN 1000 decided to speak with somebody who has a good perspective on this. Brock Huard is a former NFL quarterback with deep west coast ties dating back to his playing days. He now does commentary on games for FOX College Football. He’s done several USC games with Williams at quarterback. Not only that, but his brother Luke Huard is an assistant on the Trojans staff. So, he has a unique perspective on the situation. In his mind, the Bears should avoid Williams.
It comes down to believing he would never embrace the type of football Chicago wants to play. One of tough, hard-nosed, “bully ball,” as Huard called it. Better to stick with Justin Fields, who has already bought in.
The Bears aim to find out who Caleb Williams is.
Huard admitted he doesn’t have a precise gauge of how the USC star thinks. He bases this on how the kid has played his entire college career. Everything has been built around him throwing the football. The Bears would be asking him to make sacrifices in order to make their offense work. Presuming they’re keeping the Shanahan/McVay system in place with a new offensive coordinator, quarterbacks tend to throw the ball 25-30 times per game. Williams averaged around 35-40 in his college career. That means he’d be sacrificing 5-10 chances to throw the ball and make plays.
Some guys don’t like having the ball taken out of their hands. Huard seems to worry Caleb Williams will be one of them. Fields has already stated he doesn’t care how many times he throws the ball each week. His only concern is winning. That makes him perfect for Chicago. Then again, maybe that isn’t fair to Williams. It isn’t like he forced Lincoln Riley to gear the entire offense around constantly throwing the ball. This is why the Bears will meet with the young QB multiple times. They will want to understand the type of player and person he is.
Is he a “me” guy or a “we” guy? That assessment will determine everything to follow.