The Chicago Bears learned their schedule last month. In an unexpected twist, they will open against the Tennessee Titans at home. They bring an interesting roster that has undergone several changes during the off-season. It starts with new head coach Brian Callahan replacing the departed Mike Vrable. This was followed by a highly aggressive free agency period that saw them sign big names like Calvin Ridley, Tyler Boyd, Chidobie Awuzie, Lloyd Cushenberry, and Tony Pollard. They also traded for L’Jarius Sneed. One can understand why veteran defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons is feeling confident. So much so he decided to throw shade at new Bears quarterback Caleb Williams.
This shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. The rookie is the #1 overall pick in the draft. He comes in with tons of hype from his glittering career at USC, featuring loads of stats and a Heisman trophy. One can understand why veteran players may roll their eyes at this, believing they must get baptized by the NFL before earning any respect. Simmons already has some experience with this, having seen division rival Jacksonville take Trevor Lawrence in 2021. He told Rich Eisen that he can’t wait to chirp at Williams this September.
“Painted nails. I can’t wait to say that to him. Most definitely. Oh, it’s gonna be one of them games. I mean, he probably gets smack-talked by his teammates right now, but especially a game like that. My first game, of course I missed the last end of the season. … It’s gonna be the first game of the season. They’ve got us coming to Chicago. All the hype’s gonna be around them, of course. I think when special, even prime-time games … everybody just counts Tennessee out, which we all know. A game like Chicago, I’m sure (they’re) thinking we ’bout to get beat bad. That also make me even talk more smack and boost me up a little more, get into a different mode, as well. I’ll be in a different mode that game.
“I get it. You’ve got a first-round pick like Caleb Williams, which is a great player. Watching a couple games when he was at USC, he’s a hell of a player. But it’s a different league, and I’m excited to play him the first game.”
One can safely assume plenty of players at the college level let him have it every single week about his eccentricities and every insecurity they could find—anything to get under his skin. Former Indiana Pacers star Reggie Miller was one of the greatest talkers in history. He often said doing so was 70% to get himself motivated, while the remaining 30% was to see if he could get into the opponent’s head. Guys will want to throw Williams off his game by barking at him. Rest assured, the Bears quarterback isn’t likely to stay quiet.
He built a reputation in college for using colorful language. Just because he’s a quarterback doesn’t mean Caleb Williams can’t talk trash, either. He used those painted nails of his to spell out ” F U UTAH,” knowing full well the cameras would catch it. Did he care? Nope. The message was clear. Williams holds grudges. If you’re going to fire shots, don’t expect him to stay quiet. If this is Simmons’ plan, he can fully expect the rookie to have some responses ready at the line of scrimmage come the fall.
