The Chicago Bears defeated the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, putting on their finest offensive display of the year.
Caleb Williams, the rookie quarterback, continued to develop in week four. This afternoon, we’ll talk about what went well and what still needs work.
Not only did Williams continue to grow this past week, but the offence improved collectively as well. Shane Waldron, the offensive coordinator, began to settle into a rhythm on Sunday, particularly in the second half. I want to examine a couple plays from the first half that demonstrate improvement in terms of schematics and design, as well as one area where the Bears still need to make some adjustments.
On Sunday, Caleb Williams and the Bears offence made significant progress.
Many, including me, were critical of the Bears’ third-down screen play on the opening drive of the game as it failed to move the ball beyond the chains. Cole Kmet was awarded the screen, which Rome Odunze had created. The problem was that D’Andre Swift and Odunze were the play’s blocks, and the play developed slowly with an eye towards the sideline. I now detest the personnel choice more than the design after seeing the movie. It most likely would have been a successful play if Kmet had been blocking in his spot and Odunze had been the receiver.
Even though the play happened early in the game, it was a great example of what Wadlron’s plan and personnel usage would look like throughout: they were almost there, but not quite.
Williams maintained possession of the ball on a read option play for a big gain on another play in the first half.
The drama appeals to me for several reasons. First of all, it’s a solid design and evidence that Waldron is still use his toolkit, which was scarce during the first three weeks. Second, Williams makes the perfect read, identifying the C gap rusher (Jared Verse) who was sold on the handoff to Roschon Johnson and takes off for a big gain.
Everywhere there was good execution, variation, and creativity. Positives include giving Williams room to manoeuvre and gain yards without being struck, giving the design a second look, and offering defences something different to think about.
However, the first half wasn’t entirely positive for Waldron and the Bears. This coverage sack is the result of subpar design.
The Bears are playing just static routes, which have no chance of succeeding against man coverage, while the Rams are in man coverage. Williams is astute in not trying to force something that doesn’t exist. We need a man-beater on the opposite side of the pitch if we have static pathways on one side against man coverage. Simply put, this wasn’t a good design, and Caleb deserves praise for not pressing the matter.
The day’s message from Caleb Williams was to avoid pressuring the matter. He was a turnover-free football player who threw flawless passes when he did find himself in a tight situation. These are two throws that Williams made seem simple on Sunday and that not many rookies can make.
The touchdown pass to DJ Moore comes first:
Real-time, this was an A+ throw; with the All-22 angles, it’s an A+++ throw. Williams stands tall in a messy pocket, looks left to drag the safety to that side of the end zone, and hits DJ Moore in a narrow opening at the back of the end zone. This throw is the ideal representation of Williams’ exceptional arm skill and composure under duress.
A noticeable distinction between this week and previous weeks for Williams was his unwavering determination to stay in the pocket and create something positive, yet not at the expense of caution. This week, his elegance and vision were amazing.
Even more amazing was Cole Kmet’s subsequent throw:
This one is very simple: after a play-fake, Williams hits Cole Kmet up the seam for a huge play and a first down with the game on the line in the fourth quarter. With a flawless throw, Williams keeps the reception point in front of the safety and passes the ball over the hands of the linebacker.
A brief observation: The offence was operating in the no-huddle when both throws were made at the same pace. Shane Waldron excelled in keeping the Bears offence both A) ahead of the chains and B) in rhythm during the second half. It made Williams comfortable and allowed him to show off his skills.
Now, let’s discuss a miss that resulted in six points remaining on the field towards the end of the first half.
It was an overthrow, this one. However, it appeared that Moore’s slowness on his path led to the overthrow. The most troubling—though not overly alarming—aspect of this sequence, in my opinion, is the pattern of Williams and Moore disagreeing on certain paths. We witnessed it in Indianapolis last week, when Moore accepted responsibility, and once more in this prominent location.
What’s good is that after the drive, Williams and Moore talked about the route on the sideline right away. They will keep building continuity and figuring out what Caleb wants Moore to do on these routes in this fourth game.
This week, Williams’ accuracy with the deep ball has been the lone criticism.
Let’s examine his four mishandled tosses that travelled more than twenty yards in the air.
1. This is a disposable item. I don’t have a problem with the throw-away in this instance, but you are free to argue that Williams might have placed the ball in front of Odunze on the sideline.
2. Odunze won his battle in the end zone with this look. Williams made a valid overthrow and miss. Even though his receiver is the only one with a chance, it’s still a miss.
3. I’ve already discussed and shown the Moore miss in the end zone in the video, so let’s go on to the next one.
4. Moore sees this as another end-zone look, and it appears that the two are once more confused on an option route. Williams throws left, Moore turns right, and there’s an incompletion.
I can appreciate your displeasure at not having had more success with deep balls, but nothing about this seems like it can’t be fixed in-season.
Although Jayden Daniels’ season has been a huge hit so far, he isn’t exactly experiencing lasting success. This is his passing chart for Week 3:
Daniels completed just one pass that went over 20 yards in the air in Week 4, and the other was intercepted. Additionally, Week 3’s passing chart shows how much more restricted he is to the right side of the field. This suggests to me that the quarterback has trouble completing his progressions or that the coaching staff doesn’t have confidence in his ability to complete his reads.
Williams’ passing chart for the fourth week is even on both sides, and the footage shows that he is making progress on the majority of dropbacks. Three reads led to DJ Moore’s score, while several of Roschon Johnson’s and D’Andre Swift’s dumps were post-progression plays determined by the pocket and coverage.
In the end, Williams performed at his best in Week 4. It was the peak of the offence. The youngster has shown growth in each of his first four games, and it appears that he and the offence will work things out amid the team’s light schedule.
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