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MaroonBells · 07-29-2025, 06:21 AM

It's not an awesome thing to start the season against a division rival, in prime time, in their house, but getting Caleb Williams early might be a lot of fun. If he's struggling to get the new offense, just wait til he sees what Brian Flores has in store for him.

Ben Johnson on Caleb Williams...

Sometimes there's multiple calls. You know, there's shifts, there's motions, there's a lot more going on mentally than probably there's ever been for him. And so at some point, this thing will start slowing down, and he's going to be able to catch up and his physical ability will take over from there. But right now, because mentally it is what it is, he's playing a little bit slower than what he's capable of.

StickierBuns · (This post was last modified: 07-29-2025, 06:47 AM by StickierBuns.)

(07-29-2025, 06:21 AM)MaroonBells Wrote: It's not an awesome thing to start the season against a division rival, in prime time, in their house, but getting Caleb Williams early might be a lot of fun. If he's struggling to get the new offense, just wait til he sees what Brian Flores has in store for him.

Ben Johnson on Caleb Williams...

Sometimes there's multiple calls. You know, there's shifts, there's motions, there's a lot more going on mentally than probably there's ever been for him. And so at some point, this thing will start slowing down, and he's going to be able to catch up and his physical ability will take over from there. But right now, because mentally it is what it is, he's playing a little bit slower than what he's capable of.

It may turn out that Johnson is going to ask or require more from Caleb than he's capable of providing consistently. Jared Goff is very cerebral and Williams 'aint no' Goff. Caleb may turn out to not work with a Ben Johnson offense. Not sure he's got the processor for it.

pattersaur · (This post was last modified: 07-29-2025, 11:40 AM by pattersaur.)

I cannot stand Sean Payton and have no affinity for the Broncos, but Nix looked like a player last year.

The "low ceiling" chatter that grew to a deafening roar on Nix was always silly to me. What does that even mean? He's not Josh Allen? Ok, neither is anyone else. Pretty sure Nix threw for 400 and 4 in an NFL game last year. If that's his ceiling, he's just fine I'd say. The NFL is full of starting QBs who didn't have Trevor Lawrence's "upside" on draft day.

Jayden Daniels looks very good and his surrounding cast is decent. I'm interested to see if Deebo Samuel is washed up or not. They'll re-sign McLaurin and Daniels might turn it over more this year, but I think he'll have another impressive season.

Penix- I wasn't impressed last year. We'll see if he can make a big year 2 jump, running the same offense as last year. Seems like the kind of player who might. Having maybe the best RB in the league behind him is gonna help.

Caleb Williams- Got thrown into the fire last year and is being thrown into the fire again. The talent is there but there's also a chance we're watching David Carr 2.0 where the organization ruins him. He has weapons sure, but just about everything else in Chicago is messy. Or maybe Ben Johnson is the savior Bears fans think he is. I lean towards no, at least not this year.

Drake Maye- Defensive-minded coach and Josh McDaniels as the OC, who has been extremely up and down with his results. Maybe they catch lightning in a bottle but the skill players are brutal and this could go pear-shaped quickly. Pats look kind of like the anti-Bears on paper. Stable org. Steady coach. Ugly roster.

medaille · 07-29-2025, 09:26 AM

(07-29-2025, 06:21 AM)MaroonBells Wrote: It's not an awesome thing to start the season against a division rival, in prime time, in their house, but getting Caleb Williams early might be a lot of fun. If he's struggling to get the new offense, just wait til he sees what Brian Flores has in store for him.

Ben Johnson on Caleb Williams...

Sometimes there's multiple calls. You know, there's shifts, there's motions, there's a lot more going on mentally than probably there's ever been for him. And so at some point, this thing will start slowing down, and he's going to be able to catch up and his physical ability will take over from there. But right now, because mentally it is what it is, he's playing a little bit slower than what he's capable of.

Yeah, while I’m not sure exactly how to feel either of Ben Johnson as a HC or Caleb as the QB who can make it, I do think it benefits us to get them early in the season, before they get the kinks worked out. That said it's a little early to think he won't figure the scheme out as there's plenty of offseason left.

Kentis · 07-29-2025, 05:36 PM

I believe a large portion of Johnson’s offense has the QB under center, something Caleb has not been asked to do much. Could be a mismatch of scheme & talent for sure.

purplefaithful · 07-29-2025, 05:41 PM

Bears are a +1.0 and the over/under sits at 43.5 today.

I would definitely take the under

MaroonBells · 07-30-2025, 07:26 AM

Dan Orlovsky on Caleb Williams...

"It is fixable, but Chicago fans, it is not going to happen in September. He has to erase a decade worth of playing a certain style of football and rebuild the habits....It is going to take, candidly, years."

StickierBuns · (This post was last modified: 07-30-2025, 09:54 AM by StickierBuns.)

(07-30-2025, 07:26 AM)MaroonBells Wrote: Dan Orlovsky on Caleb Williams...

"It is fixable, but Chicago fans, it is not going to happen in September. He has to erase a decade worth of playing a certain style of football and rebuild the habits....It is going to take, candidly, years."

He's not going to get years. But I agree with Dan's sentiment and mentioned it earlier in this thread. Ben Johnson's offense is meant for a veteran QB or a rookie QB to sit for a year to absorb, because most college QBs RARELY do that stuff. He also has to unlearn what he learned last year. This is a dicey situation because Caleb was mostly hero ball in college. Hey Tennessee: better keep it simple for Cam Ward.

hogjowlsjohnny · 07-30-2025, 01:21 PM

Caleb doesn't throw picks, he takes sacks. His response to pressure is to bail out of the back of the pocket and run around in circles. He doesn't seem to process rapidly and isn't an on time QB, at least not yet. Time will tell if he can be fixed!
I think Bears fans are going to be pretty disappointed when Flores gets after him, under the bright lights at home, for the season opener. I've seen some here say they are worried about that game. I think the Vikings will win by 10 points or more.

MaroonBells · 07-30-2025, 01:35 PM

(07-30-2025, 01:21 PM)hogjowlsjohnny Wrote: Caleb doesn't throw picks, he takes sacks. His response to pressure is to bail out of the back of the pocket and run around in circles. He doesn't seem to process rapidly and isn't an on time QB, at least not yet. Time will tell if he can be fixed!
I think Bears fans are going to be pretty disappointed when Flores gets after him, under the bright lights at home, for the season opener. I've seen some here say they are worried about that game. I think the Vikings will win by 10 points or more.

I tend to side more with you on this one. In fact, I think if Flores does to Caleb what I think he'll do (make him look stupid), we could hear some boos in Soldier Field, especially if McCarthy plays well. It's early and I'm not going to put the cart before our chickens are hatched, but there could be a lot of pent up frustration let loose in Chicago if Williams continues to look like a bust...especially after Trubisky and Fields.