BREAKING: USC QB Caleb Williams has DECLINED to medical examinations with teams at the Combine and did not sign off on having his medical records shared with all teams.
Williams is believed to be the first combine invitee ever to decline an examination, per CBS. pic.twitter.com/ipHqfxNBYJ
Originally Posted by TwistedChief:
My wife's family has some Bears fans and we all went to the game together. It's impossible to explain the energy and optimism before the game and then the complete turnaround by halftime. People had completely given up on Caleb and the season. It was pretty amusing to watch.
But yeah, he looked absolutely terrible. Getting happy feet in the pocket, missing deep throws, lack of accuracy on routine ones. It was so, so bad.
Miraculous they came out of that game with a win despite not having a single offensive TD.
He looked like a guy who's won on talent in the past.
Happens to every position out there; guys who used to beat up on mediocre opponents in college and now suddenly the worst team they'll play is full of guys that are better than anyone they've played in the past.
He tried to play the same way he played at USC and just didn't have the raw talent advantage he thought he did.
Gonna be a learning curve for him. Still a fair amount of talent but with his...uh...mercurial personality, is he willing to put in the work? Because that's what would allow him to use his talent.
He may have something more akin to a Josh Allen learning curve than the Mahomes curve. It took Allen until his 3rd season to look like a premier player.
May just take the Bears a little longer to turn the corner than they'd hoped. [Reply]
Originally Posted by staylor26:
Exactly. Based on that, his preseason play, the hype in general, and the defense they were playing, that was an extremely disappointing first game.
He completed less than half his passes in the pre-season.
Originally Posted by ThaVirus:
I won’t disagree, but it’s not like the whole squad is loaded.
Rookies shouldn’t be expected to light it up in their first start given almost any circumstances.
That’s hilarious. Turns out playing QB is hard.
I don't know if the whole squad is "loaded", but they have a very good defense, a ton of weapons, and a solid OL. There's really no excuses in terms of situation. [Reply]
Originally Posted by staylor26:
I don't know if the whole squad is "loaded", but they have a very good defense, a ton of weapons, and a solid OL. There's really no excuses in terms of situation.
Well Allen is 32 and is getting acclimated to a new team. Odunze is a rook himself.
If Williams hasn’t improved by week 18 then I’d say there’s cause for concern.. but a week 1 performance? I wouldn’t be too worried. Weird shit happens week 1 even to veterans. [Reply]
Originally Posted by UChieffyBugger:
He was beyond bad yesterday. Couldn't do anything in structure. When he tried to scramble he was too slow. Over threw receivers etc. It's only one game but it was alarming.
People always want to go, "it's one game, it's one game! It's just his first season, he's still growing! It's just his second season, he's still growing"
I get it, people wanna stay objective. And yeah, one game is premature to use as a predicator for a career...
But i will say this, excellence usually shows itself pretty damn early in the process. If you don't see it early, it doesn't mean a player wont be good.
But GREAT? GREAT players usually show up on scene right away and then grow and maintain greatness from there. [Reply]
After yesterday I think going forward fans should know it's time to panic when a team sends out a celebratory announcement that their rookie QB was voted a team captain prior to Game 1. [Reply]
Originally Posted by ToxSocks:
People always want to go, "it's one game, it's one game! It's just his first season, he's still growing! It's just his second season, he's still growing"
I get it, people wanna stay objective. And yeah, one game is premature to use as a predicator for a career...
But i will say this, excellence usually shows itself pretty damn early in the process. If you don't see it early, it doesn't mean a player wont be good.
But GREAT? GREAT players usually show up on scene right away and then grow and maintain greatness from there.
I’m a believer in his play making ability and that he can be good assuming he puts in at least average off field work. But if he was the 6th QB picked like Nix, after that performance people would be getting ready to write him off. You can’t look that bad in all phases and be given the benefit of the doubt with regards to preparation and just chalking it up to first start nerves. He definitely was not nearly as ready as he thought. [Reply]
Originally Posted by ThaVirus:
Well Allen is 32 and is getting acclimated to a new team. Odunze is a rook himself.
If Williams hasn’t improved by week 18 then I’d say there’s cause for concern.. but a week 1 performance? I wouldn’t be too worried. Weird shit happens week 1 even to veterans.
When you're a generational QB prospect that goes to as good of a situation as any #1 overall pick could ever dream of, expectations are going to be REALLY high. He looked more like Bryce Young yesterday... [Reply]
Originally Posted by ToxSocks:
People always want to go, "it's one game, it's one game! It's just his first season, he's still growing! It's just his second season, he's still growing"
I get it, people wanna stay objective. And yeah, one game is premature to use as a predicator for a career...
But i will say this, excellence usually shows itself pretty damn early in the process. If you don't see it early, it doesn't mean a player wont be good.
But GREAT? GREAT players usually show up on scene right away and then grow and maintain greatness from there.
Again, I think Allen is the comp.
Josh Allen had two or 3 games his rookie year that were as bad as what Williams did last weekend.
And Allen was another guy who simply relied on being bigger and stronger and faster than everyone he played against.
And frankly, Allen looked like hell for TWO seasons before he looked like a franchise guy. And he didn't really show much in the way of incremental or gradual improvement.
He sucked. For years. Then he didn't.
It's rare but it's the best straw for the Bears to grasp for.
Now the Broncos? They're fucked. Because Nix DIDN'T rely on out-talenting anyone in college. He was supposed to be smart and polished. Turns out he's an idiot, he's old AND he's lacking in talent. [Reply]
