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I think we've all watched enough football to be able to at least do a little of our own opinion building. I'm not one that thinks there is a ton of special sauce that we cant see. I mean, I know there are finer points of footwork etc that I wont pick up on, but any of us can see the main stuff, and it's a lot to make a good opinion from. I almost feel like if all we do is read newspapers and stats, then we get caught up in bubble of narratives, as the reporters parrot what they read from each other. It can get nuts! It WILL get nuts around Caleb. He's already an enigmatic figure to be sure. So for me, I try to find all 22 footage. And this is what I look at: Did he throw off of a good base if he was able to (mechanics) Did he hit a receiver in stride when their route broke open i.e. on time (timing) Did he lead the receiver to help YAC or away from a defender (accuracy) Does he look confident and have a smooth throwing motion (confidence and athleticism) Can he throw all the routes without rainbows (arm strength) Does he make good situational decisions like throwing the ball away, managing the clock etc (leadership) On plays where he didnt play in rhythm, was someone open or did he have to break for some reason (structure) On plays that broke how is his improvisational ability (improvisation) I know everyone already knows this. Just saying this process ain't rocket science. I'll watch each play 2 or 3 times to answer all that, and you can get a feel for how many plays are successful and how many are not. You can see if he gets rattled by pressure, or fooled by coverages. I dont keep score or anything, but if you look at 30 passes, you'll have an idea. And best if they all come from a single game against a quality opponent, rather than a highlight reel. So I see the good ones and the bad ones. And if I watch a few games against good opponents, then it's a good view. And then of course I have a ton of good examples and bad examples and you gotta make some kind of guess as to where his average ability level is, and how consistent he is. That's the tape and we can all form informed opinions on it if we take a couple hours across the next few months to look at it.. But I dont even think that's what the core of what the Bears are still looking at now. I think they want to know everything about Caleb Williams. I bet the have investigators doing all kinds of work. And theyre making phone calls to ask past coaches and anyone about him. You gotta find out if he's coachable. And make a guess at what his ceiling is, and whether he will reach it. He's a hell of a prospect, I can already see that, but you gotta make sure hes the right guy too. Its a hell of a hard problem.

oooo French! This place is getting classy! LOL

right - whoever they hire as OC, they didnt hire the others, even if they liked them too. This time of year you never know what anything means. Not until theyre signed anyway.

Im not saying that the fans and the press didnt dislike Bears QBs. Youre 100% right about that. Weve had a ton of awful QBs. But it kind of makes my point. Even though they were awful I dont recall players calling out their QBs or throwing them under the bus? So, what players say to the press about their current starting QB may not be the whole truth. Add to that that Justin is liked in the locker room. But you can tell me DJ Moore will be upset when a new QB comes in and get him the ball on time. That's really what we are talking about here. No matter how much love a QB gets from players in interviews, it doesnt mean that behind the scenes they dont personally see Justins flaws.

we've had a bunch of awful QBs in our history, but is there a history of players throwing the QB under the bus? I dont remember it, but Im open to any examples Im not thinking of?

correct

wasnt he the one with the sex scandal involving an underaged girl at a high school party?

thank you - players generally will say good things about their QB

it all depends on free agency!

nice!

lol everything about the Bears decisions this offseason go down to the very last game the player played or the coach coached

Love the trades you got for eJax, Mooney and Whitehair!

I agree that if someone has personality problems it can hurt a locker room. But as far as loyalty to Justin is concerned, if they trade Justin, and draft lets say, Drake Maye, no one will blame Maye for that, and if he gets them the ball on time, and wins games, they will love him. If on the other hand, they draft Williams and he sucks as a person (does he? I dunno yet) then regardless of Fields, guys wont like him. So I think its just more about drafting leaders, and that goes for any QB on any team, than any left over loyalty to Justin?

it depends. over competitive - great. cocky - cool. but selfishness can go two ways. If it meets adversity and manifests as "whatever" withdrawing like Jay Cutler did, then its a problem. Im not saying thats Williams, but I am concerned and looking for more info.

good point. at first it could look really good, but in the end to be the guy that fired Harbaugh, and to see the wins decrease, will people know he had to do it? Probably not, and he will take the heat. I feel like Cunningham can wait for the right gig, but maybe the Chargers is it - if you can get a Superbowl with Harbaugh?

I think Fields' best position would be like Taysom Hill in New Orleans. Let him run the Wildcat 6 plays a game or something. And then he can do what he does best, which is run int he open field without worrying youre going to injure your QB. He could play some gadget WR too - but if we asked him to take that role, hed demand a trade. And rightly so - he will get one more chance with another team to show it, and then we will all see it one way or the other. He really is a lot like Hester - a talent without a position on offense.

he had like 5 plays against Atlanta, showing something hes never really shown before. And he didnt do it against GB the next week. I am not saying anyone off the street is as good as Fields. But compared to NFL QBs, he just never really got it.

exactly. he has to flash at least. Other than the scripted plays each week, Fields rarely showed he could play within structure. He did show a bit against Atlanta, but it was probably too little too late, and the slope of the growth curve is very shallow. Maybe he will prove me wrong, but id bet against him.

I dont think Getsy is a genius, but i think Getsy closed down his playbook to protect Justins shortcomings not the other way around. The only skill of Justin's that they stopped catering to was that they clearly told him to slide when he meets his first defender now, as opposed to last year when he put those crazy moves on defenders like Hester. I dont think Justin can be successful in any system until he can regularly make reads in tempo, and I doubt hes gonna get many more chances to do that. A new team can sometimes give a fresh start, but I think this is a fatal flaw in his game.

for sure. the great thing about football is everything is a multiplier, and if one part of the chain is a zero, the product is a zero. To your point about losing successful coordinators - this is why I prefer to have an offensive minded head coach.

hes athletic and functional. Im not saying Williams will be great - it has more to do with how I rate Fields right now. But if Williams struggles, but is athletic, he will be the same as Fields?

hes still an anomaly. but I dont think Justin Fields is that high of a threshold, thats probably the difference in our opinions? And hes an anomaly in that hes doing it year one. But could I see Williams do the same next year with the Bears team? For sure. Am I confident he WILL be that guy? Not right now, but maybe after i watch more film. But I am confident Williams will be at least as good as Fields is now, right out of the gate.

I guess Im gonna have to get over the drama BS and see if I cant fall in love with Williams the player.

yes, and of course it isnt picking them #1 that makes them great, but just all the GMs who see the player the same way. In a year like this, where the consensus #1 may play outside of structure, and there are so many good options, it may be that the 2nd QB picks outplays the first one, or is also good too. I wonder what the numbers look like #2 pick vs #9 etc. EDIT - click on the tweet and read the whole thread, theres a LOT there, and it is a strong signal vs noise. Like look at this! 6th - 10th picks doing better than 2nd - 5th I need to watch a lot of film on Williams.

well you know I agree with everything you said, Im just saying if you have a GREAT QB they are worth the money. I dont think Justin is better than a rookie. And he wont be better than them in 2025 for sure.