Behind the Steel Curtain
The Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4) and the Chicago Bears (7-3) clash this week in the Windy City. Ahead of the big matchup between division leaders, I chatted with Bill Zimmerman, the deputy manager of SB Nation’s Bears website Windy City Gridiron, the figure out what the Steelers can expect from the Bears in Week 12.
You can read my questions and his answers below:
Has he looked like the player the Bears drafted him to be? No. Have we seen improvement this year that he seems to be trending in that direction? Absolutely. I think after his rookie season, a lot of people wanted to pile on him because he’s such a polarizing figure. Look, Williams didn’t have a fantastic rookie season, but he did throw for 3,600 yards and 20 touchdowns with just 6 interceptions. The advanced numbers weren’t great, and his sack numbers were alarmingly high, but when you have two head coaches, three offensive coordinators, and a raging dumpster fire all around you, things won’t look too good.
This year, Caleb has greatly improved his sack numbers; he’s cut them more than half, and his sack avoidance numbers are near the top of the league. He is playing more in rhythm and in structure as well. His accuracy has nose-dived, and that wasn’t an issue in college, so it’ll be interesting to see if Ben Johnson can figure out how to clear that up. He’s seeing the field well and has been making the right read more often than not. It feels like if Caleb can get more comfortable and realign his accuracy, he might be on the cusp of taking off. 2026 could be a breakout season if that’s the case.
The most significant aspect to consider here is culture. Sometimes I feel like it’s a cop out answer, but it’s definitely true with this team. The Bears have been a losing organization for a long time. Just because a player comes from a winning program in college doesn’t mean they know what it takes to win at an NFL level. Same with front office and coaches. You may have been part of a winning organization, but when you are promoted and the culture that needs to be set falls on your shoulders, do you know how to do it? Whoever the Bears have asked over the last 15 years, they’ve all failed miserably. The Bears have been an organization that included fights among players, incompetent coaches, poor decision-makers, and ownership that certainly makes you question if they’ll ever put the right people in place.
When the Bears hired Ben Johnson, the knock on him was that he wasn’t a leader of men. He was a nerd who just wanted to...
