The Bears Found A Solution For Caleb Williams But Refuse To Use It

One thing has become apparent through the first three weeks of the 2024 season. The Chicago Bears offense is still a mess, but for once, the quarterback isn’t one of the primary reasons why. Quite the contrary. Caleb Williams has been the only one able to generate actual scoring drives. It hasn’t been perfect. He’s thrown four interceptions over the past two weeks. Turnovers are something you can’t have. However, when your offense also boasts one of the worst rushing attacks in the league, one has to be more understanding of the situation.

What really makes Bears fans irate is that the coaching staff hasn’t done enough to help him. They don’t seem to have any answers on making life easier for the rookie. Well, in actuality, they do have a solution. Unfortunately, they seem dead set against implementing it. Over the past two weeks, Williams has thrown 11 passes from under center. He is 7-of-11 for 125 yards in those situations. His only blemish is an interception on Sunday that hit Rome Odunze in the hands.

It is plainly evident that the quarterback hits chunk plays far more often when working under center. So, of course, the Bears only implement it a few times per game.

For Caleb Williams, it can’t be about what is familiar.

The primary reason for the overabundance of shotgun plays is that the quarterback ran them at USC. Chicago probably wants to ensure he’s comfortable. The problem is that this offensive line is incapable of blocking those formations consistently. One of the benefits of playing under center is it helps the quarterback establish better timing with his receivers. His drops should line up with how they run their routes, allowing him to know when and where they will be. It is also much more effective in play action situations, making it difficult for defenses to read fakes.

Speaking of rushing, excluding end-arounds to wide receivers, the Bears ran the ball 16 times for 50 yards from under center against Indianapolis. While this is only 3.12 yards per carry, it’s way better than the 10 runs for 13 yards they had out of shotgun. Running under center at least allows the offensive line to go forward. That, in turn, will give Caleb Williams more play-fake opportunities. Under center might be considered an outdated approach to some. Who cares? It is the Bears’ responsibility to help their young quarterback.