Canal Street Chronicles
The New Orleans Saints will head to Solider Field to face the Chicago Bears in Week 7 of the 2025 NFL season. To break it down, Bill Zimmerman of Windy City Gridiron joins us to preview Sunday afternoon’s matchup.
NJ: Has Caleb Williams lived up to expectations so far, and how has he improved in his second year through five games?
BZ: I mean, if we’re being honest, no, Caleb Williams has not lived up to expectations. But to be fair, those expectations were set astronomically high. I think based on what a complete trainwreck last season was around him, he played pretty well as a rookie. His advanced numbers weren’t good, but it’s hard to trash someone who throws for 3500 yards, 20 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, and nearly sets an NFL record for most consecutive attempts without an interception. That being said, we’ve seen significant growth from Williams in a couple of key areas. The two biggest areas, which are related, is that Caleb is playing much quicker from the pocket. His time to throw is down and he’s getting the ball out and to receivers at a much beter rate. That has helped him cut his sack numbers way down. Last season he led the league with 68 sacks taken, this year, he’s on pace for 34.
The biggest issue we’ve seen from Caleb where he’s still struggling is accuracy. Now, that wasn’t really an issue in college, but it has been last season and this season. Perhaps he’s rushing things a bit and not setting his feet and throwing properly, but that’s something that needs to be cleaned up. He has definitely improved this season and the influence of Ben Johnson has been obvious.
NJ: How has Ben Johnson’s offense looked through his first five games as head coach, and should the Saints expect any of his signature trick plays this week?
BZ: Ben Johnson hasn’t been perfect, but it’s been a gift from heaven for Bears fans who see sputtering offenses year in and year out. The Bears offense isn’t elite, but it certainly is good. They are currently top 10 in points scored per game and are the only team in the NFL to have scored 21 or more points in every game.
The run scheme didn’t look very cohesive the first few games, but D’Andre Swift and the run blocking looked incredible against Washington on Monday. Receivers are consistently getting open, they just need some more accurate throws for it to really start coming together.
As for trick plays, certainly that’s a possibility, we’ve seen a couple of them so far, but we haven’t seen them weekly or anything. As Matt Eberflus once said, “Everything is on the table, everything is off the table.”
NJ: How has the Bears’ defense looked since adding former Saints head coach Dennis Allen as defensive coordinator? What are some pros and cons you’ve noticed early in his tenure?
BZ: The Bears defense has been banged up. Jaylon Johnson...
