The Bears told Caleb Williams to watch the Rams‘ Matthew Stafford.
There wasn’t much similar about the quarterbacks’ games, especially now, with the Rams quarterback three weeks away from his 38th birthday. Coach Ben Johnson found Stafford’s vision and footwork to be special when he was a Lions assistant and the quarterback played there, though. In the offseason, he wanted his new quarterback to mimic it.
“His feet are always under him,” Williams said. “He can make any throw at any time. The guy’s in his face, O-linemen may be getting pushed back, not looking — all these different things – and it comes down to his feet.
“He ties the routes with his receivers — the timing, all of that — with his feet.”
That’s what Johnson wanted Williams to learn how to do when he was hired almost exactly a year ago — be as fundamentally sound with his footwork as Stafford was.
“I think it starts there with him,” Johnson said. “But then as you talk about an experienced player that sees the field really well, he understands defenses. He knows how to manipulate defenses. He’s got a great feel for the game and that translates to everything he does every single week.””
Williams only met Stafford once, and briefly — last year when the Bears beat the Rams at Soldier Field. Still, there’s a lot of Stafford in the new, better version of Williams. Stafford has what Williams calls “snake eyes” — the ability to look away to get a defender to move with his eyes, and then to throw the ball where the defender used to be.
“Moving the defender out of the way without actually having anybody near or around him,” he said.
And then there’s the throw.
“He has a cannon,” Williams said.
More than anything, though, Stafford has faith in his receivers.
“Trusting and believing in his guys to be in the right position at the right time,” Williams said.
Belief has been a big word for the Bears quarterback this year. He’s spoken often — usually after wins — about trusting his teammates. That’s what happened on fourth-and-eight inn the fourth quarter Saturday night, when Williams rolled to his left and jumped like a second baseman turning a double play. While hanging in the air, he threw a strike to Rome Odunze, who had doubled back to the line of scrimmage along the left sideline for a 27-yard gain. Five plays later, the Bears scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion to move within three points in a game they’d eventually win, 31-27.
“In real time, I was just like, ‘Dang, this is the play — it’s fourth-and-you-have-to-make-it …’” cornerback Kyler Gordon said. “I watched him roll out and kind just like jump fade away again. I’m like, ‘Damn, another fadeaway.’ …
“Rome was there. And just the way [Williams] led it backwards so that the DB who was undercutting couldn’t get it — I just thought it was just amazing. So watched it plenty more times on social media and I was just like, ‘That’s why does what he does. He’s one of them guys.’”
The play has since become a social media meme. And a T-shirt. And a symbol of Williams’ otherworldly athleticism. The quarterback tried to downplay all of that attention Wednesday.
“I’ve had a couple passes like that going left where I’ve ended up being in the air in that way — a few times in college and things like that, and high school,” he said. “I’m kind of used to it.”