Teammates Reportedly Frustrated With Caleb Williams Over Key Issue

Caleb Williams was at the heart of the Chicago Bears’ painful opening night loss to Minnesota. While he didn’t have a bad game statistically, his inability to score more than 17 points despite numerous opportunities left the door open for the Vikings. People couldn’t get over his accuracy issues. There were several moments where he had receivers open and failed to hit them. He never seemed comfortable, and Minnesota’s aggressive front only exacerbated that. Nobody from the locker room blamed Williams for the loss. There was plenty of that to go around.

Still, Adam Jahns of CHGO did mention that some frustration is bubbling up among teammates about Williams. It isn’t for the reasons you think, though. The issue is pre-snap cadence. For those who don’t know, quarterbacks use a cadence to do several things:

• Communicate with teammates
• Identify defensive looks
• Time the snap to give the offense a rhythm
• Adjust plays at the line of scrimmage
• Keep the defense off-balance with variations

The problem is that cadences involve a lot of information. Quarterbacks must digest it quickly. If they don’t, mistakes—in most cases, penalties—result. Chicago was hit with four false starts on Monday night. Ben Johnson admitted after the game that the cadence issues were to blame. It’s been something Williams has struggled with for months.

It’s having an impact on his teammates. The false starts are credited to them – not Williams – on the scoresheet. Right now, they’re all saying the right things. Everyone’s execution needs to be better. But if the problems continue and the Bears’ offense continues to play behind the sticks, I think it’s fair to wonder how some players, particularly those tasked with protecting Williams, deal with the cadence issues.

Caleb Williams is hardly the first to deal with this problem.

Young quarterbacks don’t use verbal cadences much anymore in college. Offenses have shifted to ones involving clapping, which decreases confusion and allows offenses to play faster. Caleb Williams did this at both Oklahoma and USC. Most college quarterbacks are totally unprepared for verbal cadences in the NFL. It is not anywhere close to as easy as guys like Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, and Josh Allen make it look. Johnson’s offense is the truest pro experience. It is detailed and complex. Cadences are required because adjustments are built into every single play. The quarterback is required to know which ones go against which defensive look.

This is why Johnson wants Williams out of the huddle as quickly as possible. The faster he gets to the line of scrimmage, the more time he has to assess the situation and make the call. So far, the quarterback isn’t getting it. Either the Bears must hope things eventually click, or they may have to adjust their plans to accommodate Williams.