The Chicago Bears have upheld a way of handling young quarterbacks. They always try to bring them along slowly, learning behind an established veteran. Jim Harbaugh had Jim McMahon. Cade McNown had Jim Miller and Shane Matthews. Rex Grossman had Kordell Stewart and Chris Chandler. Mitch Trubisky had Mike Glennon, and Justin Fields had Andy Dalton and Nick Foles. The process makes sense. Young quarterbacks learning from experienced ones seems logical. It certainly worked in places like Green Bay, where Aaron Rodgers learned from Brett Favre and Jordan Love learned from Rodgers. However, Matt Eberflus chose to buck that tradition.
He made it clear from the outset that there would be no veteran guiding the way this time. Caleb Williams is the starting quarterback, period. There is no competition, not even signing a more proven backup. Eberflus doesn’t want there to be any mistake that Williams is the guy. However, avoiding controversy isn’t the primary motivation for the head coach. It goes deeper than that. He explained to Albert Breer of the MMQB that his own experiences have led him to believe rallying around a rookie with a veteran team can lead to good things.
Poles was in Kansas City as a young exec for the redshirting of Mahomes, so certainly the Bears could have considered the benefits of a more patient approach. But there was no Alex Smith positioned to play mentor on hand in Chicago, and Eberflus, a bit different from Poles, had the experience of seeing what a strong team coming together around a rookie could do for a young quarterback’s confidence, having seen it as the Dallas Cowboys’ linebackers coach when Dak Prescott was pressed into duty in 2016.
“Once [Tony] Romo got hurt, when he went down in that preseason game out in Seattle, the team just rallied around [Prescott],” Eberflus says. “And I feel that already in our building here. Everybody’s rallying around him. You can feel that with the reps that we got with some of the first on-field stuff we’ve done, with the veterans. You can see the offense, they’re real supportive, and same with the defensive guys. And his personality is infectious. He gets along with everybody; he’s very easy to insert into a locker room.”
Prescott was a 4th round pick in 2016. He started every game, throwing for 3,667 yards, 24 touchdowns, and only four interceptions. Much of that success came from an outstanding supporting cast headlined by running back Ezekiel Elliott, wide receiver Dez Bryant, wide receiver Cole Beasley, tight end Jason Witten, left tackle Tyron Smith, center Travis Frederick, and right guard Zack Martin. It was a loaded group that took a lot of the pressure off Prescott’s shoulders. He went 13-3 and made the playoffs.
Matt Eberflus thinks the Bears offer a similar setup for Williams. He’ll have D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, and Cole Kmet as primary weapons. D’Andre Swift is a 1,000-yard rusher. The offensive line is returning four of their five starters from last year. While not quite as talented as that group eight years ago, it is a good one on paper. This isn’t what Fields or Trubisky had to deal with over the past few years. It is an offense ready to compete right now. Let Williams hit the ground right away, building his confidence.
Rookies starting immediately is hardly an unproven approach. Peyton Manning, Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford, Andrew Luck, and Russell Wilson are great examples. Williams can be the same.
