Daily Norseman
For the second time this season, our Minnesota Vikings are set to face off with the Chicago Bears. That means that we are getting another opportunity to gather some intel from the folks at Windy City Gridiron, SB Nation’s home for everything relating to the Bears football.
Like we did before the season opener, I got an opportunity to exchange some questions with Bill Zimmerman from WCG. If you want to see my answers to his questions, you can check those out right here. Here are the answers that I sent Bill’s way, along with his replies.
1) After a rough rookie season, it seems like Caleb Williams is really starting to find his stride under Ben Johnson. What is the impression of the Bears’ fan base as to how he’s progressed so far this season?
There certainly has been significant growth this year. It’s not where it needs to be yet, and I think Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams would be the first people to tell you that as well. Here are some of the things we’ve seen this year.
His sack rate has dropped dramatically. He has been playing a lot more on time and in structure, and it’s paying dividends. Now, if you look at some of the statistics and say, well, he’s still last in the league in time to throw, how can you say that? Easily. Because when Caleb does break from structure and rolls out, he holds onto the ball for a tremendously long amount of time as he’s looking to make a play. Just making a hypothetical, it’s like if Caleb drops back 10 times. 8 times he gets the ball out in 2.5 seconds, 1 time it’s 4 seconds, and 1 time it’s 9 seconds. Caleb’s time to throw becomes 3.3 seconds, but any coach would happily take that type of consistent rhythm.
We’ve seen him see the field a lot better, and he’s making the right read most of the time. He’s also finding more opportune times to run and pick up yardage with his legs, and he still does an excellent job protecting the football and not fumbling or throwing interceptions.
The most fun thing for Bears fans to watch is how well he plays in the fourth quarter when it matters. He’s tied for the league lead in game-winning drives and fourth-quarter comebacks. We saw his magic against the Bengals, Giants, Raiders, and Commanders; he continues to prove that he has the “it” factor, which is exciting.
2) The Bears are putting up some points this season, but they’ve had their struggles on defense, coming into this one 28th in the league in points allowed. What has been the biggest issue with the Chicago defense, in your opinion?
Pass rush. They’ve had some injuries in the secondary that have left them a little more exposed back there, but if they had a legitimate pass rush, they could cover those warts. ...
