Skip to main content

Packers must adjust to what new Bears coach has in store for Caleb Williams


play
Show Caption

GREEN BAY, Wisc. – The Green Bay Packers will be the first to play against Caleb Williams 2.0.

It remains to be seen how much different that will look compared to the Chicago Bears rookie's performance through the first nine games of the 2024 season, but the Packers have to make sure they're ready for a different look when they face the Bears on Sunday in Soldier Field.

This will be Williams' first game playing under Thomas Brown, who was promoted to offensive coordinator after coach Matt Eberflus fired Shane Waldron on Tuesday. Offensive changes are expected and the Packers’ job is to figure out how far the Bears can go with just three days of preparation.

“I guess everybody's questions are the same questions that we all have right now,” Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley joked when asked what to expect Sunday. “If you figure it out or hear anything, give me a call and let me know.”

It’s no secret that the Bears offense has been an abomination the past three games.

In consecutive losses to Washington, Arizona and New England, Williams, the No. 1 pick in the draft, has completed 50.5% of his passes for 468 yards and no touchdowns. He has been sacked 18 times, including nine against the Patriots in a 19-3 loss at Soldier Field.

The Bears have gone 23 consecutive possessions without a touchdown. They rank 30th in yards per game, 30th in passing yards per game, last in sack percentage, 31st in third-down success and 24th in points per game.

During a three-game winning streak in which the Bears beat the Los Angeles Rams, Carolina and Jacksonville, Williams completed 74.1% of his passes for 687 yards and seven touchdowns with one interception (122.8 passer rating). In the three games after, he has posted ratings of 59.5, 68.9 and 63.2.

Brown and Waldron both served under Rams coach Sean McVay and, like Matt LaFleur, have been running a similar scheme. But as LaFleur has shown, it’s possible to alter the scheme to your talent and Brown is likely to install plays they haven't used and use personnel in different ways.

Most importantly, Brown must get Williams playing like he did during the three-game winning streak, and so it wouldn’t be surprising if he tries to build his confidence back with quick, high-percentage passes to a talented receiving corps featuring veterans DJ Moore and Keenan Allen, and rookie Rome Odunze.

Williams’ impression is that Brown will do what LaFleur has done for quarterback Jordan Love, which is to take pressure off him with plays that aren’t predictable and create enough defensive hesitation to allow him to get the ball off without heavy pressure.

“I think we’ll do a good job of marrying everything up together and making everything look the same,” Williams said Wednesday. “And then, from there, get a few easier passes, a few extra layups. That will help us in the run game. It will help us in the pass game.

“From there, that will provide a little more explosiveness for us as an offense, being able to help out with the complementary football and be a little more attacking.”

Williams ranks 28th in the league in passer rating (81.0) and has been sacked more than any quarterback in the NFL (38) this year. As a result of the Bears being unable to protect him, he is tied for last in the league in completions of 20 or more yards (18) and tied for 30th in average passing yards per attempt (6.3).

He was the No. 1 pick in the draft because of his golden arm, but the Bears weren’t able to cash in on it under Waldron and are hoping Brown can create more ways for him to use it.

“When it comes to his natural ability, from throwing the football, it’s clear and obvious,” Brown said. “Being able to understand how to get the ball out of his hands as fast as possible when it comes to the concepts we dial up, but also being able to let him use his natural, God-given ability at times when it’s relevant.

“Not every play, but when it comes to especially situational ball — third down, red zone — and come alive with that.”

Hafley can assume the Bears will find ways to get Williams some easy completions, but he can’t construct a game plan around it. Just as the Bears have had only three days to introduce changes to the offense, Hafley has had three days to guess what they may do.

Chicago could be without guard Teven Jenkins, who injured his ankle against New England and didn’t practice Wednesday and Thursday, but they should have starting tackles Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright back after the pair sat out last week. New England simply overran their backups on the offensive line, but Hafley will have to work a little harder to find ways to get to Williams.

“Like, here's the thing, right?” Hafley said. “You come in and you say, ‘All right, they got a coordinator change,’ and you’ve spent part of your bye week and all of one day watching tape (of the previous scheme).

“And now you can guess, ‘Are they going to do this? Are they going to do that?’ We’ve just got to go play, and then we’ve got to react, and we’ve got to adjust, right from the first series to the last.”

The Packers go into the game ranked 12th in yards allowed per game, tied for second in takeaways and third in third-down success. They also are 22nd in points, 23rd in rushing yards allowed per game and tied for 19th in sacks.

Something that makes Hafley sleep better this week is that he will be able to spring some things on the Bears they haven’t been expecting since he and his assistants have had extra time during the bye to assess the first half of the season and add some new wrinkles of their own.

“We're going to play our defense,” Hafley said. “You know, we had a bye week, so I think you'll start to see us evolve as we have, and there'll be some creative things that come out from us as well.”

The Paste BN app gets you to the heart of the news — fastDownload for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.