The Chicago Bears came into this season with the unrealistic expectations of making the playoffs. Of course, some fans wouldn’t call it unrealistic given the offensive weapons the Bears acquired in the off-season. Wide receiver Keenan Allen coming over from the Los Angeles Chargers, and DJ Moore returning off his stellar season with Justin Fields. Then the Bears even added Washington Husky Rome Odunze to the mix, to go along with first overall pick Caleb Williams.
On paper, the Chicago Bears looked ready to compete for the NFC North. What people often forget is, the case of CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans last year is an anomaly not the norm. Teams rarely turn it around in one season with a rookie quarterback. However, making matters worse for Williams and the Bears is seeing the success fellow rookies Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix have had over the course of the season.
Chicago Bears Quarterback Carousel
The Bears have seemingly swung for the fences and missed on not only head coaches but quarterbacks in recent memory. The last sustainable quarterback the Bears had was Jay Cutler. Though Mitchell Trubisky delivered the Bears some bright spots, Trubisky could never come close to living up to where he was drafted. Especially, with the constant reminder that the Bears passed on Patrick Mahomes to select Trubisky. A franchise altering move, that has not paid off for the Chicago Bears organization.
Since Trubisky, the Bears made the move to draft another young signal caller in Ohio State stud Justin Fields. The Justin Fields era in Chicago was and up and down ride that seemed to be building in the right direction as of last year. Fields and the Bears got on a run late last season and was in playoff contention at one point. Star wide receiver DJ Moore would lobby for the Bears to keep Fields as the quarterback of the future this season, but the Bears brass ultimately chose to trade the former Buckeye to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Clearing the way to draft former Heisman winner out of USC, Caleb Williams.
The Bears selected Williams with the first overall pick, a pick they acquired from the Carolina Panthers the previous year. Many hailed Williams as the best quarterback prospect since Patrick Mahomes or Andrew Luck. On paper, Williams fit the bill to be a potential franchise quarterback, but he is in need of development. Like any rookie quarterback in the NFL, they need time to develop and adapt to the speed of the game.
The thing many Bears fans fail to realize is much of what Williams learned at USC is simply not transferable to the NFL level. Williams has struggled with getting the ball out on time and trusting his reads, leading to frustration from his number one receiver, DJ Moore. Two games in a row without a single touchdown has led to the firing of Offensive Coordinator Shane Waldron. A move most likely made by Head Coach Matt Eberflus in an attempt to save his own job.
Chicago Bears About to Hit Reset Button
At this point in the season, many Bears fans have already called for the firing of HC Matt Eberflus. Barring a drastic turnaround this season, which is highly unlikely given the Bears are about to hit the hardest stretch of their schedule. It would be more of a surprise if Eberflus remained in Chicago than if he was fired at the end of the year. Chicago has a habit of caving in and firing coaches faster than most franchises. The Bears have had three different coaches since 2015. An average of three years per coach, Eberflus doesn’t seem likely to get that third year.
It may seem like a good move to change coordinators and try to get a spark for their young quarterback, but needing to learn a new play caller mid-season will likely cause some regression in an already struggling Williams. If the Bears do in fact decide to part ways with Eberflus at the end of the season, it will mean Caleb Williams would need to learn an entirely new system in his second year at the helm of the Bears. One of the quickest ways to slow a quarterback’s progression is to continually change coordinators and offensive schemes for him.
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