Caleb Williams News and Rumor thread

[dplank]

I'm not comparing them at all. Ryan Leaf is simply the poster child for "all the talent in the world but a massive ego derailed his career". They are VERY different football players in style and everything else...

I think most of the stuff on CW is BS and created because people need clicks and there's not much else to write about him at this point, so I don't see why people get upset about it. As far as if he's the real deal or not, time will tell on that one - history is very clear that we can't assume anything here.

But, I suppose its heresy to question anything so I'll just let it roll and see how it goes.

[Bears Whiskey Nut]

I'm sure as a Bears fan, I'm just skeptical and jaded. No way we're actually getting this right. I can't help it.

[wab]

Leaf had problems that went beyond just his ego. He had significant behavioral issues that the Chargers just flat out ignored. He also got legit fat right before the draft and blew off scheduled visits with the Colts. There were red flags all over the place, but there wasn't as much of a peek behind the curtain back then as there is now.

He had a shitty attitude and an even shittier work ethic because he was more or less mentally ill at the time. His legacy is all on him, but the Chargers did absolutely nothing to help him from a personal standpoint, and that's why Eli refused to play for them.

[Arkansasbear]

Leaf had problems that went beyond just his ego. He had significant behavioral issues that the Chargers just flat out ignored. He also got legit fat right before the draft and blew off scheduled visits with the Colts. There were red flags all over the place, but there wasn't as much of a peek behind the curtain back then as there is now.

He had a shitty attitude and an even shittier work ethic because he was more or less mentally ill at the time. His legacy is all on him, but the Chargers did absolutely nothing to help him from a personal standpoint, and that's why Eli refused to play for them.

It was different time back then. You couldn't talk about mental health because that meant you were "weak" or "not a real man." Thank God we are way past that (no where close to what we need but progress is progress). CW touched on a bit in his Pivot interview, when he talked about crying with his mom after the loss.

It took a while for teams to really get on the nutrition bandwagon about what they had for players to eat, but now every teams spends who knows how much money making sure they have the player's bodies fueled properly. Making sure they are address their mental health is likely going to be the next big thing. I'm sure they are doing a ton already.

[thunderspirit]

We think Caleb Williams is the real deal. I'm confident most of us hope he is.

We won't know for a while yet, though. We just won't.

[karhu]

[Hema2.0]

But, I suppose its heresy to question anything so I'll just let it roll and see how it goes.

It actually felt that way with the previous QB.

[Yogi da Bear]

Leaf had problems that went beyond just his ego. He had significant behavioral issues that the Chargers just flat out ignored. He also got legit fat right before the draft and blew off scheduled visits with the Colts. There were red flags all over the place, but there wasn't as much of a peek behind the curtain back then as there is now.

He had a shitty attitude and an even shittier work ethic because he was more or less mentally ill at the time. His legacy is all on him, but the Chargers did absolutely nothing to help him from a personal standpoint, and that's why Eli refused to play for them.

It was different time back then. You couldn't talk about mental health because that meant you were "weak" or "not a real man." Thank God we are way past that (no where close to what we need but progress is progress). CW touched on a bit in his Pivot interview, when he talked about crying with his mom after the loss.

It took a while for teams to really get on the nutrition bandwagon about what they had for players to eat, but now every teams spends who knows how much money making sure they have the player's bodies fueled properly. Making sure they are address their mental health is likely going to be the next big thing. I'm sure they are doing a ton already.

When he came out, Leaf was a lush, who later became a druggie. That explained a lot of his "mental" problems.

As to Caleb's ego, I could give a shit. My favorite boxer is Ali, by far:



And although Habib proved he could back it up quite like Ali could, I also love Connor McGreggor:



God, I love that shit, so I have no problem with Caleb's ego.

What I do have a problem with though is if that ego caused Poles to treat Justin the way he did. And no, I'm not trying to bring up that argument. I don't think that was on Caleb at all. From listening to Caleb talk about his Freshman experience at Oklahoma, I felt that Caleb was fine with the competition, only he thought he beat the starter out and wondered what he'd have to do to win the job. To me, that doesn't sound like somebody who shies away from competition. Poles, however, felt otherwise....

It is what it is, I guess.

[Bearfacts]

LOL....the flirtation begins.

[HisRoyalSweetness]

LOL....the flirtation begins.

[karhu]

Not sure that I'd compare Williams and McGregor. To me, he's more like (Chicago's own, kind of) Emanuel Augustus: smart, crafty, and self-disciplined in a way that can be difficult to appreciate when he seems to go completely off-script.

No such thing as too much Augustus or too much Micky Ward, or too much of this fight:

[Yogi da Bear]

Not sure that I'd compare Williams and McGregor. To me, he's more like (Chicago's own, kind of) Emanuel Augustus: smart, crafty, and self-disciplined in a way that can be difficult to appreciate when he seems to go completely off-script.

No such thing as too much Augustus or too much Micky Ward, or too much of this fight:

I wasn't comparing the performance of McGreggor, or Ali for that matter, to Caleb. I was talking about the impact of ego and how I don't really give a shit. McGreggor and Ali were the biggest spewers of the ego inflamed rants. But personally, I love that shit. Whatever Caleb's ego is, it's not near on that level. And if it was, I wouldn't care. So long as he could back it up.

[karhu]

Not sure that I'd compare Williams and McGregor. To me, he's more like (Chicago's own, kind of) Emanuel Augustus: smart, crafty, and self-disciplined in a way that can be difficult to appreciate when he seems to go completely off-script.

No such thing as too much Augustus or too much Micky Ward, or too much of this fight:

I wasn't comparing the performance of McGreggor, or Ali for that matter, to Caleb. I was talking about the impact of ego and how I don't really give a shit. McGreggor and Ali were the biggest spewers of the ego inflamed rants. But personally, I love that shit. Whatever Caleb's ego is, it's not near on that level. And if it was, I wouldn't care. So long as he could back it up.

I hear you. I just think that, aside from the sheer fun of it all, McGregor's persona is mostly calculated performance, and that Ali's was mostly philosophical and in an ancient way political. Augustus is sui generis: he boxes that he boxes. That's much closer to the vibe I get from Williams.

[bearsoldier]

[Rusty Trombagent]

[docc]

24hrs....

[IotaNet]

(The theater geek in me couldn’t resist)

[HurricaneBear]

Happy Caleb Williams day everyone!!! The moment we all lived a lifetime for is here. The Bears are selecting a nearly unanimous elite prospect at QB for the first time ever. Is this really happening?

Sure. The Bears absolutely could screw this up. But that's a worry for our future selves. Today is a joyous day of celebration and new hope. It was propechized there would be another after the Chosen One Justin Fields failed us all. And today, that other hope joins the Beloved.

Rejoice my friends, we have the best QB in the North joining us today. We are pairing him with the best group of veteran skill position players maybe in Bears history. This time, it is going to work. We have paid our dues and it is our time.

Welcome to Chicago, Caleb Williams!

[Grizzled]

Will 60+ years of lots of bad fan years actually be coming to an end? A skilled OC who develops QBs. A decent OL which with the FA centers should be improved. TEs improved. WRs improved and will be better if Poles adds one more. Decent D which will be improved with another DE or 3T. 12 hours to go.

[G08]

[HisRoyalSweetness]

Happy Caleb Williams day everyone!!! The moment we all lived a lifetime for is here. The Bears are selecting a nearly unanimous elite prospect at QB for the first time ever. Is this really happening?

Sure. The Bears absolutely could screw this up. But that's a worry for our future selves. Today is a joyous day of celebration and new hope. It was propechized there would be another after the Chosen One Justin Fields failed us all. And today, that other hope joins the Beloved.

Rejoice my friends, we have the best QB in the North joining us today. We are pairing him with the best group of veteran skill position players maybe in Bears history. This time, it is going to work. We have paid our dues and it is our time.

Welcome to Chicago, Caleb Williams!

We're on our way
We are Pole's fifty-three
Hear the roar
Of the orange, white and navy

This time, more than any other time, this time
We're going to find a way
Find a way to get away
This time, getting it all together

To win it all
It's what we'll set out to do
We have a dream
We know you're sharing it too

This time, more than any other time, this time
We're going to find a way
Find a way to get away
This time, getting it all together

We'll get it right
This time, get it right
This time

It makes you wonder
It makes you proud
To play for Chicago
And hear the crowd

As we're marching
On towards victory

This time
This time

We're on our way
We are Matt's fifty-three
Hear the roar
Of the orange, white and navy

This time, more than any other time, this time
We're going to find a way
Find a way to get away
This time, getting it all together

We'll get it right
This time, we'll get it right
This time, we'll get it right
This time, we'll get it right
This time, we'll get it right
This time, we'll get it right

[Hoog]

Will 60+ years of lots of bad fan years actually be coming to an end? A skilled OC who develops QBs. A decent OL which with the FA centers should be improved. TEs improved. WRs improved and will be better if Poles adds one more. Decent D which will be improved with another DE or 3T. 12 hours to go.

If the Lions can do it and the Texans can turn it around in one year, then, YES, the Bears can do it! If he can pull this off, he could be as revered as MJ in Chicago. LETS GO

[G08]

Will 60+ years of lots of bad fan years actually be coming to an end? A skilled OC who develops QBs. A decent OL which with the FA centers should be improved. TEs improved. WRs improved and will be better if Poles adds one more. Decent D which will be improved with another DE or 3T. 12 hours to go.

If the Lions can do it and the Texans can turn it around in one year, then, YES, the Bears can do it! If he can pull this off, he could be as revered as MJ in Chicago. LETS GO

GOD DAMNED RIGHT, LFG!!!

[wab]

I've been watching some Williams highlights today... and the way he runs reminds me a little but of Matt Forte.

[G08]

[HisRoyalSweetness]

I've been watching some Williams highlights today... and the way he runs reminds me a little but of Matt Forte.

Ah, but can it make a cut like this?



Also does it mean we'll get frustrated by Williams getting ankle-tackled rather more frequently than he should?

[dave99]

Elite
[video][/video]

[Johnny Bollocks]

We're on our way
We are Pole's fifty-three
Hear the roar
Of the orange, white and navy

This time, more than any other time, this time
We're going to find a way
Find a way to get away
This time, getting it all together

To win it all
It's what we'll set out to do
We have a dream
We know you're sharing it too

This time, more than any other time, this time
We're going to find a way
Find a way to get away
This time, getting it all together

We'll get it right
This time, get it right
This time

It makes you wonder
It makes you proud
To play for Chicago
And hear the crowd

As we're marching
On towards victory

This time
This time

We're on our way
We are Matt's fifty-three
Hear the roar
Of the orange, white and navy

This time, more than any other time, this time
We're going to find a way
Find a way to get away
This time, getting it all together

We'll get it right
This time, we'll get it right
This time, we'll get it right
This time, we'll get it right
This time, we'll get it right
This time, we'll get it right

Sacrilege!

[Arkansasbear]

Here's looking forward to week 11 in the 2025 season. That will be CW 28th start and will break the longest streak of starts by a QB since Cutler in the '09 and '10 seasons.

Can't find the data to find out the record holder for most starts but I think the only person who has more would be Billy Wade. He had 14 starts in '62 and '63, 9 starts in '61 and 10 starts in 64. So the most it could be is 47. That would have him start the last 9 games in '61 replacing Ed Brown and then starting the first 10 games in '64.

The only other guy I can find that might have 30 consecutive starts would be Ed Brown - all 12 games in '55 and '56 followed by 8 games in '57. Zek Bratkowski started the other 4. Just can't find out which games they started in these older games.

So by the end of his third year CW will hold the record for consecutive starts by a Chicago QB and also get a big fat new contract.

(it looks like Harbaugh is right behind Cutler with 26 consecutive starts)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_C ... arterbacks

[HisRoyalSweetness]

Sacrilege!

Our American brethren won't recognise the song but it seemed appropriate for the circumstances (with a few tweaks). At least in the NFL an unbeaten team can't get eliminated from the competition!