Alan Williams missing Week 2 could paint an interesting picture for the Chicago Bears
Alan Williams has missed practice this week while dealing with a personal matter. The Chicago Bears have not disclosed what that personal matter is and nor should they. Some fans are speculating that he might be on the outs, but I'm not willing to go that far. We are human beings and football is not everything, even at this level. Well, now it was announced that he will be missing Week 2 vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. No matter what is going on with Williams, his not acting as the defensive coordinator could paint an interesting picture for the Bears.
We just got finished with a head coach who thought he could also be the offensive coordinator. Matt Nagy struggled to handle both roles. Now, we will see if Matt Eberflus can do a better job than both Matt Nagy and Alan Williams. This predicament the Chicago Bears are in could paint an interesting picture though because the Bears' defense has not played well. Not just this season, but last season as well.
Could Alan Williams be on his way out as he misses Chicago Bears game?
Is the poor play by the Chicago Bears a testament to Alan Willams or is it Eberflus' defense? We all know that even though Eberflus is not the defensive coordinator, he has a hand on the defensive side of the football. The scheme they run is basically the same as what Eberflus installed in Indianapolis. Alan Williams was also in Indy and has essentially been mentored by Eberflus. This means that he could still be in full control of the Bears' defense, but it is just very similar to Eberflus' system because that is what he was taught under Eberflus' tutelage.
With Williams not being involved in the defensive play-calling, we can get a first-hand look at how the defense plays under Eberflus directly. Is it a coaching issue or is it a talent issue? Maybe it is the fact that the first-string offense and defense barely played in the preseason and are just shaking off the rust.
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For those of you who think that the Chicago Bears will blitz more often with Eberflus calling the plays, I have some troubling news for you. While the defensive coordinator of the Colts from 2018 to 2020, Eberflus' defense was never higher than 27th in the NFL in blitz percentage. In three of the four years, the Colts were in the bottom five. We can expect the defense to still rely on the front four to pressure the quarterback. Can Eberflus find a way to get different results though? I guess we will find out.