Caleb Williams believes Bears have his back amid struggles

“I think those guys are good and easy. We talked about that,” Williams said. “I think I got all the support from them. I got texts or calls or people reaching out to me, with this situation that just happened, and saying, ‘We’ve got your back, we’re with you.’ You know, stuff like that and ‘Let’s go.’ That kind of mentality and attitude has been what it’s been the last few days and that’s just what it’s been.”

Williams’ play has regressed in three straight losses to the Washington Commanders, Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots. The rookie had the highest QBR (88) during consecutive wins in Weeks 5 and 6, but ranks 32nd since the start of Chicago’s streak. As of Week 8, Williams ranks 32nd among quarterbacks in completion percentage (50.5), tied for 31st in touchdown passes (0) and last in yards per attempt (4.9) and catches (18).

“You’ve got to have support for him no matter what,” wide receiver DJ Moore said. “He goes out there, works his butt off, tries to learn everything at once, and defenses are throwing a lot of things at him. So you can’t be mad at him. You just have to keep rooting for him. Whatever he’s doing, he goes to improve and we are with him.

Coach Matt Eberflus confirmed that Bears players had expressed frustration to him about the state of the offense in recent weeks, but denied that they had asked for a change in offensive coordinator. The decision to fire Waldron, Eberflus said, was his alone.

“They just want to do more,” Eberflus said. “They want to be more productive. More effective. Score points for our football team. Just do more as a group and then more individually in terms of helping the group. It was always in a winning way. In a respectful way. It was always from that point And for me it was really good to see that they really wanted to get better and it just didn’t happen at the right time.”

Eberflus reiterated that Williams will start Sunday against the Green Bay Packers (6-3, 0-2), but did not commit to remaining a starter for the rest of the season.

“I would just say we’ll look at it week by week,” Eberflus said when asked if benching Williams is off the table. “You always do that, what’s best for the football team.”

“I’d probably say he’s too nice a guy. I think in OTAs, in training camps, we fell into the trap of letting things slide, of not holding people accountable, and obviously those things go down a really steep slope.” slippery.”

 

Keenan Allen, on the firing of Shane Waldron

What Eberflus felt was best for the Bears entering Week 11 was switching offensive coordinators from Waldron to former passing game coordinator Thomas Brown. The Bears coach cited a need for more “creativity” on offense and believes the unit can undergo “significant” changes even on short notice.

“That’s what we’re looking for: significant change and efficiency,” Eberflus said. “We want an efficient and effective offense from the run game to the screen game, to the play-action pass and the drop-back pass, from A to Z. I know that if we put our minds together and all work together, we will get that done. ”

Moore said it was “shocking” to see the Bears fire Waldron despite players openly expressing their frustrations with the offense for weeks. Fellow receiver Keenan Allen offered an honest assessment when asked why things fell short of expectations during Waldron’s tenure.

“I would probably say [he’s] He’s a really nice guy,” Allen said. “I think in OTAs, in training camp, we fell into the trap of letting things slide, of not holding people accountable, and obviously those things go down a really steep slope.” slippery.”

What do players hope will be different with Brown running the offense?

“Different personality,” Allen said. “I think he’s more of a ‘take no nonsense—‘ kind of guy. He won’t take it either, so let’s see how it goes.”