The Green Bay Packers have made a living out of exposing Chicago Bears quarterbacks for the past 40 years. Erik Kramer, Steve Walsh, Jim Miller, Rex Grossman, Kyle Orton, Jay Cutler, Mitch Trubisky, and Justin Fields all failed to pass the eye test whenever they faced the team’s eternal rival. People talk about the brilliance of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, yet it’s been the Packers’ defense that often dictates the outcome of these games. The Bears have scored more than 20 points in only two of the past ten meetings between the teams. Knowing this makes it easy to understand why Rashan Gary might not think much of Caleb Williams’ arrival.
Green Bay’s star pass rusher has heard this stuff before. Trubisky was supposed to be the savior. So was Fields. Both proved unequal to the task. Gary has all the confidence in the world that his team will be able to handle Williams once the two teams meet again. He made that clear when asked about it on The Rich Eisen Show. Since the Packers don’t play the Bears until later in the season, there is nothing Williams will have done that won’t be on tape for them to study. Gary can’t wait for the opportunity to sack him.
That comes from winning the last ten games in a row. Chicago can’t see to get over the hump against them, and such inferiority tends to become ingrained into organizational thinking after a while. The only way this changes is if somebody leads the way towards changing the narrative. Simply beating the Packers won’t be enough. The Bears need a quarterback to do it. They have to show they can finally stand at eye level with that team. Williams is the best shot they’ve had in a long time.
Don’t expect Rashan Gary and that Packers defense to make it easy. The unit was 9th against the pass last season. They still have an excellent pass rush. Green Bay also has brimming confidence from their playoff run last season. They’re thinking Super Bowl right now. Chicago is merely a stepping stone on their way to that goal. Williams fancies himself a competitor. He hates losing. He also understands what it means to have a frustrating obstacle to overcome. USC failed to beat Utah four times across his two seasons there. He won’t want to endure the same experience with Green Bay.
