{"id":184864,"date":"2024-08-11T16:00:53","date_gmt":"2024-08-11T20:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=184864"},"modified":"2024-08-11T16:43:53","modified_gmt":"2024-08-11T20:43:53","slug":"expectations-changing-after-first-glimpse-of-caleb-williams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/08\/11\/expectations-changing-after-first-glimpse-of-caleb-williams\/","title":{"rendered":"Expectations Are Changing After First Glimpse Of Caleb Williams"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Caleb Williams stole the show in his preseason debut for the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/bears\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Chicago Bears<\/a>. Not only did he make wow plays with his arm, but he also displayed flashes of elite pocket presence and ability to extend plays. Williams went 4-for-7, throwing for 95 yards with a 101.8 passer rating, and added a crucial 13-yard rush for a first down.<\/p>\n<p>The belief that Caleb could be something special was already building, with many <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/nfl\/news\/is-caleb-williams-the-next-patrick-mahomes-digging-into-similarities-between-likely-top-pick-and-two-time-mvp\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">comparing him to Patrick Mahomes<\/a> before the draft. Now, after his first showing in a Bears uniform, it\u2019s clear that expectations are rising even higher\u2014and for good reason.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Every run and throw from Caleb Williams preseason debut <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/mnal0SIXWt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/mnal0SIXWt<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Dave (@dave_bfr) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dave_bfr\/status\/1822458090005975473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 11, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Expectations Are Changing After First Glimpse Of Caleb Williams<\/h2>\n<p>The Bears play in a tough division, with the Packers and Lions ready to compete for the Super Bowl and the Vikings with promising talent on offense and defense. This season, the Bears look to prioritize <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/03\/26\/defining-success-for-the-2024-chicago-bears\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">long-term success over immediate results<\/a>. While the Bears still aim for a playoff spot, the true measure of the 2024 season will be the development of Caleb Williams.<\/p>\n<h3>Expectations Then vs. Now<\/h3>\n<p>While it\u2019s reasonable for the Bears to focus on development, there\u2019s an elevated set of expectations with a quarterback like Caleb Williams. It\u2019s hard not to draw parallels to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/story\/_\/id\/39471536\/historical-rookie-season-cj-stroud-texans-houston\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Houston Texans\u2019 success with C.J. Stroud<\/a> last season. Here are some of the accomplishments Stroud had as a rookie last season in Houston:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fifth rookie in NFL history to throw for over 4,000 yards<\/li>\n<li>NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year<\/li>\n<li>Most rookie passing yards in a game (470)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Stroud achieved remarkable things as a rookie, and while those accomplishments are difficult to duplicate, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/03\/19\/caleb-williams-is-set-for-unprecedented-success\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Chicago has built a foundation<\/a> that gives Williams a similar opportunity. The Bears\u2019 offense is stacked with talent, with additions like D&#8217;Andre Swift, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, and Gerald Everett to accompany D.J. Moore and Cole Kmet. Williams compared it to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/StaceyDales\/status\/1820937468943704155\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">&#8216;being like a kid in a candy store<\/a><span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">,&#8217;<\/span>\u00a0having a plethora of options at his disposal.<\/p>\n<p>Typically, a No. 1 overall pick enters a situation with low expectations in their first year. But it\u2019s different for Williams and the Bears, who have the potential to make some noise in the NFC. While there will be a learning curve for the rookie, seeing the Bears reach the playoffs in Williams&#8217; debut season wouldn&#8217;t be surprising either.<\/p>\n<h3>What Lies Ahead for Caleb Williams<\/h3>\n<p>Expect Caleb Williams to be great. When the lights shine the brightest, expect Williams to deliver and make those wow-type plays. It&#8217;s not wrong to expect a lot from someone with all the innate tools to become one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. The real challenge will be how he handles the adversity. So far, Williams has shown he has what it takes to handle adversity and find success in the league.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s been one preseason game, and Williams has already raised expectations. While it\u2019s only preseason, he hardly made any mistakes and showed his confidence and swagger on the field.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;To get out there and have the confidence that we had out there, it&#8217;s only going to get better and we can&#8217;t wait&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>It was the perfect response from Caleb, and after his debut, it\u2019s hard not to smile and feel optimistic for what\u2019s to come.<\/p>\n<p><em>Main Image: Gregory Fisher &#8211; USA Today Sports<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Caleb Williams&#8217; debut against the Buffalo Bills turned heads as he stole the spotlight, paving the way for a new wave of expectations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4976,"featured_media":184908,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23,54,36],"tags":[32730,10075,7403,9350,246],"class_list":["post-184864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bears","category-editorials","category-nfl-news","tag-2024-nfl-preseason","tag-caleb-williams","tag-chicago-bears-news","tag-cj-stroud","tag-nfl-news"],"modified_by":"Isaac Zuniga","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4976"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184864\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}