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Caleb Williams’ NFL career has not gotten off to the hottest start and the personnel around him may be to blame.
The Chicago Bears fell to 1-2 on the season after a 21-16 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Williams went 33-of-52 for 363 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions and four sacks in the loss.
While the performance was an improvement in some ways for Williams, his interceptions and sacks were still a cause for concern. While he could certainly clean some things up, some around the league believe the offensive line and coaching staff deserve the majority of the blame.
“The Bears’ problems, in my opinion, start with the offensive line and the construction of it,” an evaluator told Mike Sando of The Athletic. “Then it’s (offensive coordinator Shane )Waldron, especially when you look at the other coordinators in the division. He is clearly fourth. The head coach (Matt Eberflus) is fourth. Right now, the quarterback is surviving on his own.”
Williams has thrown for 630 yards with two touchdowns, four interceptions and 13 sacks through the first three games. The bulk of those yards came in Sunday’s game, but the sacks are the stat that is most concerning.
If Williams does not have the time to let plays develop, it will be difficult for him to show significant improvement. That limits the impact that receivers D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze and Keenan Allen can have and also makes Williams more prone to mistakes.
Eberflus is in his third season with Chicago and has compiled an 11-26 record during his time with the franchise. This is the strongest roster he has had but it is also likely his last chance to save his job. Waldron is in his first season in the offensive coordinator role but a potential Eberflus dismissal would likely signal the end of his job as well.
Williams still has plenty of time to improve but the pressure is on everyone around him to make his development a little bit easier.
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