Courtney Cronin, ESPN Staff Writer
LONDON — As Chicago Bears huge receiver DJ Moore stood on the podium Wednesday and supplied a frank analysis of rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, an intrigued observer stood about 15 ft away, creating what may need been an uncomfortable scenario.
Among the adjectives Moore utilized to painting Williams was “domineering.”
“What I signify by domineering is if we don't hit something in practice, he's going to tell us how we need to run it,” Moore mentioned. “And we simply view at him and be like, ‘OK.'
“When we get on the market for the sport, simply ensure you work, as a result of he is gonna have some phrases for you when you do not. That's him being a frontrunner. He's slightly domineering. It's the little bro.”
DJ Moore on Caleb Williams asserting a leadership role on offense. Or as he jokingly put it “being domineering.” 😂 pic.twitter.com/eYoAOGoA1R
— Bears on CHSN (@CHSN_Bears) October 9, 2024
For Williams, who is the second-youngest player on the Bears roster at 22, comprehending how to deliver constructive criticism has been a process of exploration.
“Certain people you could be a little domineering with, sure people it's important to speak very monotone and in command of your self, and different instances there's people which you can simply sort of lash out at,” Williams said. “I do not actually lash out a lot. That's probably not my vibe.
“But just always coming over to talk to the guys when I can. Growing up a little bit. Understanding that even when I'm frustrated about maybe a drive or a play that we had that we may have messed up or whatever the case may have been, understanding that there's another drive coming, there's another part of the season that we have to focus on also. Being able to go over and talk to them and understand how and what they need to hear and then from there moving on.”
Williams laughed at Moore's “domineering” characterization, describing it as “saucy.” The Bears loved a couple of laughs as they experience a two-game win streak into Sunday's recreation in opposition to the Jacksonville Jaguars (9:30 a.m., ET, NFL), and an enormous a part of that success has been Williams' improvement.
Despite being simply 5 video games into his profession, Williams already has reached or is on tempo for a number of milestones:
He's the primary Bears rookie with 300 yards passing and nil picks in a recreation. That got here in the course of the Week 5 win over the Carolina Panthers when he led the NFL with an 83.9 QBR.
He set the franchise rookie single-game file with 363 passing yards within the Week 3 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
He is the one Bears rookie with a number of 300-yard passing video games.
He is one in all 5 gamers with a number of 300-yard passing video games this season.
He is on tempo to complete with the third-most passing yards in Bears historical past (3,709).
He's come a good distance from his NFL debut, when he was 14-of-29 for 93 yards and had a 28.5 QBR in a win over the Tennessee Titans.
“I think he's learning how to play professional football,” normal supervisor Ryan Poles mentioned. “And when I say that, that means to have a winning mentality in terms of: What does it take to win football games from the quarterback position?
“And you've got noticed that when it comes to the effectivity, defending the soccer, taking what's given to him after which going into this final recreation, now explosives are beginning to present up. So I actually like his progress, I like the work ethic and the time that he is put into it, the grit and toughness, the power to bounce again from powerful video games. He's proper the place he needs to be and he is persevering with to get higher.”
One area in which Williams' progress is most noticeable is the deep ball.
After completing five of 29 attempts on passes of at least 15 air yards in Weeks 1 to 4, with the lowest completion percentage (17%) and worst TD-INT ratio (0-3) among qualified quarterbacks on such throws, Williams was 4-of-4 for 108 yards and two touchdowns against Carolina.
That was the goal the Bears' offense had been building towards for weeks, and Chicago aims to do the same against a Jaguars defense that has allowed the most gains of 20-plus yards this season (24) along with a league-high 287.8 passing yards per game.
“We all know he could make the large play,” tight end Cole Kmet said. “We've seen that previously couple weeks.”
When the Bears drafted Williams with the No. 1 total decide, there was hypothesis he would possibly turn out to be the franchise's first quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in a season. He must common 242 passing yards over the subsequent 12 video games to achieve that mark.
He's additionally three 300-yard passing performances away from setting that franchise file.
That speaks to how low the bar is for quarterback play in Chicago, and the way shortly Williams is making strides to vary that narrative.
