Tag: caleb wiliams

Caleb Williams and other Bears offensive leaders embarrassingly had to tell OC Shane Waldron to be more aggressive

Only the Bears could be this embarrassing.

Veteran playmaker Keenan Allen might be back for the Chicago Bears in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Rams, but it doesn’t appear key Chicago players are convinced his return will help their offensive woes that much in 2024.

And they’re letting offensive coordinator Shane Waldron know it.

According to Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer, Caleb Williams, Cole Kmet, and Marcedes Lewis met with Waldron this week to tell him he needs to coach and call plays more aggressively. Uh, yeah, that’s never what you want to hear about an offense less than a month into the season. I’m talking about both having the private meeting with their coach and the kinda alarming critical message.

https://twitter.com/nflonfox/status/1840425485550977355

Waldron, of course, is in his first year as Chicago’s lead offensive mind. While he had a good reputation with the Seattle Seahawks in recent years, a combination of Williams’ learning curve as a rookie and a bunch of different moving parts have led the Bears to one of the NFL’s worst statistical offenses so far.

To Waldron’s credit, he appears receptive to this kind of criticism. Earlier this week, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Waldron had spent significant time highlighting some of his worst play calls and taking responsibility for them in front of his players. That might be no small thing.

At the very least, it seems the Bears’ offensive leaders and Waldron have a quality back-and-forth dialogue. We’ll see whether it manifests in more points and yards moving forward.

Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams likes the Dolphins… when he’s drafted

USC quarterback Caleb Williams, winner of the 2022 Heisman Trophy, says that he’s all about the Miami Dolphins when he’s drafted down the road.

The Miami Dolphins have an undefined quarterback situation at this point after Tua Tagovailoa suffered through multiple concussions (and his team’s ham-fisted handling of those concussions) in the 2022 season. Tagovailoa is taking this offseason to recover as much as he can, and has incorporated judo into his regimen.

Hopefully, Tagovailoa is able to make a full comeback, and even more hopefully, the Dolphins and the NFL will gain half a clue as to how deal with such situations. But if there’s any hiccup in that process, there might be help down the road.

USC quarterback Caleb Williams, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner, recently told People Magazine that he’s all about the Dolphins, for multiple reasons.

“I like to be around younger coaches,” Williams said, referring to 39-year-old head coach and offensive shot-caller Mike McDaniel. “I’d probably go to the Dolphins. I also would be able to play with Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Mike Gesicki. The defense isn’t bad. That’s probably my number one spot.”

Gesicki, who has been the odd man out in that offense for whatever reason, seemed immediately interested in the prospect.

Not that this will happen anytime soon. Williams will be eligible for the 2024 draft, and he’s not yet sure what he’ll do after next season.

“I can’t say right now. The expectation from everybody would be that I would leave and go pro, but that would be a very, very in the moment kind of decision after speaking to family members and mentors that I believe in and trust their word.”

The Oklahoma transfer blew the NCAA away in his first season with the Trojans and his second season with head coach Lincoln Riley, completing 334 of 502 passes for 4,539 yards, 42 touchdowns, five interceptions, and a passer rating of 118.9. He also proved more than effective as a runner, with 113 attempts for 382 yards and 10 touchdowns.