Caleb Williams’ ability to make off-structure plays comes naturally to the Chicago Bears quarterback. He knows how to avoid pressure, break the pocket, and make plays with his arms and legs.
It's what makes the 24-year-old a difficult player to defend. However, if teams were to focus on taking that element of his game away and make him more one-dimensional, that would limit the Bears’ offense.
Opposing teams can play the “what if” game all they want, but now defenses have to defend a quarterback who plays within the offense's structure. Williams is one regular-season game into his second year in head coach Ben Johnson’s offense, and he led his team to 59 points in the Week 1 win over the Carolina Panthers.
Those days of Williams scrambling to make plays are over, and the Minnesota Vikings are well aware of how much the Bears’ quarterback has grown to reach this point.
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Vikings safety Joshua Metallus told local reporters earlier this week that playing in rhythm depends on the quarterback. The veteran defensive back sees Williams hitting the layups and checkdowns “pretty often.”
That makes Metallus’ job, along with every member of Minnesota's defense, that much tougher because Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ unit must “take away everything now instead of just those highlight plays,” according to Metallus.
Williams will have to show that understanding to take underneath throws and find quick answers to Flores’ blitzes – something he unleashed at a 78.3% rate against Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love in the Week 1 win.
A constant discussion in Halas Hall this week has been about the preparation needed to overcome Flores’ scheme. It largely comes down to Williams’ ability to diagnose what is happening pre-snap and, from there, figure out how best to attack the defense.
An underrated player in this game will be center Garrett Bradbury, who spent two seasons with the Vikings while Flores called the defensive plays. Any small advantage Bradbury can provide his teammates will go a long way toward keeping the unit on track and not behind the chains.
It will come down to Williams’ decisions under pressure. The Bears have done all they can to give him the answers to the Week 2 test, but their quarterback still needs to take it himself.
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There's nothing wrong with taking a checkdown or the underneath route to gain positive yards. Williams understands that now, making him an even more dangerous quarterback for this Week 2 NFC North matchup at Soldier Field.
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