On New Year's Day, players didn't get any time off. The Chicago Bears were in the building and met with the media as they started preparing for their final game of the season.
it's Green Bay Packers week. And then, the season is finally and mercifully over.
As players were speaking to the media Wednesday, quarterback Caleb Williams had something to say about his offensive line, which has been under fire often this year -- and for good reason.
The quarterback is sick of hearing about how bad his line is, and in fact, he's shouldering some of the blame.
"The connotation behind my offensive line has been annoying and frustrating because they work their tail off to go out there. ... I've taken sacks, yes. A good amount have been on me," Williams said.
Williams has been sacked the most of any quarterback in Bears franchise history (67) and he still has one game to go, so these comments are ... a choice.
Caleb Williams' comments about his offensive line send a serious, indirect message to Ryan Poles
First and foremost, the leadership shown here is admirable. That's been the common takeaway from his quote. And, it's accurate. Williams has, indeed, proven himself to be a leader. He's shown maturity. Supporting his offensive line and teammates, overall, is not a surprise.
We've seen Williams show respect and support for all of his teammates and coaches, whether they've performed well, been benched or fired, etc. He is a living, breathing example of the type of leader you want your quarterback to be.
But, at the same time, Williams may not even realize the message he is sending to general manager Ryan Poles with these words. Without intending to, Williams essentially posed a question to his general manager:
"Do you realize what I could do with a legitimate offensive line?"
Think about it this way. If Williams is this supportive and positive about his current offensive line, which is clearly in shambles and one of the worst in the league, imagine how he'll be looking, acting, and playing behind a much stronger line.
He's taking accountability for the sacks. He realizes his shortcomings. If Williams is able to improve upon his own failures, such as holding the ball too long and not taking the short wins, and you combine that with an improved offensive line, we could see a serious jump in Year 2 and beyond.
The maturity and leadership were only the beginning to his words to the media. Digging deeper, Williams is setting out to improve one area of his game that's been under fire. He gets it.
And, in a way, he's almost acting on the old cliché "ignorance is bliss."
If he's able to be this positive and show so much leadership, right now, imagine where he will be once the offensive line is improved dramatically.
This is the way Ryan Poles should be thinking if he wants to keep his job going forward. He might have another year ahead of him, or he might not. Right now, it seems we still don't know for certain, no matter what reports come out. Until a head coach is hired and Poles is still in office, we can't count anything as set in stone.
But, if Poles is around to see this coming offseason, he has to be thinking with this type of mentality. Williams is telling him, loud and clear, that he desperately needs improvement up front across the offensive line.
Again, Williams may not even realize the indirect message he's relaying to Poles. But when you think about it, there's a whole lot of excitement and hope behind what he said ... so long as this team improves its weakest link.