One thing often said by NFL greats over the years is you can always tell who will have success based on how they handle the highs and lows. Football is a sport of emotions, or more specifically, controlling your emotions. If you get carried away with the euphoric moments or let the ugly setbacks linger in your mind, you're doomed to fail. It is the players and coaches who can keep their mental focus through the full 60 minutes of a game who usually come out on top. This was a lesson Caleb Williams hadn't really learned.
It was evident during his time in college. He never seemed to handle tough losses well, particularly the one against Utah, where he was seen crying with his mother. Head coach Ben Johnson knew that passion from his quarterback wasn't a bad thing. The challenging part for him was teaching Williams the importance of mental toughness. Resilience in the face of adversity is a vital component of winning. The Bears' quarterback had an interesting comment after the win over Pittsburgh on Sunday, indicating that Johnson's coaching has fully taken hold.
“Today, in the beginning, it didn’t feel like I got into a good rhythm,” Williams said. “I was missing passes, and it was kind of weird. I wasn’t too frustrated like a couple of weeks ago, when I was missing passes and got extremely frustrated and things like that. I understood, and I wrote in my notes to stay positive for myself but also for the guys. I think I did a solid job with that this week.”
Caleb Williams is learning to be a professional. That is the hardest part.
Most young quarterbacks often resist the urge to change their approach. Why should they? The reason they became high draft choices in the first place was because of the process they used in college. It doesn't make sense to change. They often don't realize how staggering a challenge the NFL is until it's too late. By the time they mature, they've lost the starting job and are on the trail as journeyman backups. Johnson's ability to get Caleb Williams on board so quickly can't be understated.
Sure, there are still areas to clean up. The lack of consistent accuracy remains a problem. Williams himself admitted as much. Yet the progress he has made in just the past two months is truly remarkable. He is playing some of the best football a Bears quarterback has in the Super Bowl era. Still, it's his willingness to learn that may prove the difference in how far this team goes, both this year and in the future.
