LAKE FOREST, Ill. (WGN) — Caleb Williams wasted no time addressing the elephant in the room Wednesday.
In his first media availability since excerpts from Seth Wickersham’s book American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback were released, Williams delivered a four-minute opening remark about the report, which claimed he and his dad Carl tried to avoid being drafted by the Bears.
“Good to see everybody. Let’s get this started. First, I’ll start off with it is what everybody would love to ask about, is this whole storm that happened. It wasn’t something that we wanted to happen at this point. We’re focused on the present, we’re focused on now. We’re focused on trying to get this ship moving in the right direction. I think, so far, that’s what we’ve been doing.
“But, for this to come out, it’s been a distraction, so coming up here and talking about it and addressing it is important today. That’s what we’re here to do. Next is all that went down, all that was said. Yeah, I had a good visit at the other place, Minnesota, with (Vikings Head Coach) Kevin O’Connell, a good staff and all of that. Obviously, he just won the Coach of the Year Award and things like that, so, obviously, a good staff and things like that.
“But, something that keeps getting lost, something that keeps getting, I think, not being addressed the way it needs to be, is the fact that I went on that visit first, then came here, and then after I came here, I went back home, talked to my Dad, and all of the things that were supposed to be these big things that everybody’s been talking about recently—one, never happened, in the sense of they were all thoughts. They were all ideas.
“I think if you’re in the situation, I think if your son or daughter, anybody, is in the situation to be in that position, I think you think about all of the options. You look at it, the history and the facts and all these different things, and those are thoughts that go throughout your head in those situations. All of those are thoughts. Then, after I came on my visit here, it was a deliberate answer, and deliberate and determined answer that I had, is that I wanted to come here.
“Just like (Head Coach) Ben (Johnson) spoke about, obviously, the past years, as everybody knows, it’s a fact that quarterback play, there hasn’t been a 4,000-yard passer, there are all of these different things that come up. Being able to have those thoughts is, I think, fair, to be able to have good and bad thoughts.
“But like I said, I came here on a visit, and like I said, just like Ben said, it’s a challenge to be able to come in here and try and turn it around. That was the main goal of all of that. Through all of what was going on, through all of what happened, last year and previous years, I think that was enticing. I think that was something that was glaring to me, that I want to come here and be the guy and be a part and be a reason on why the Chicago Bears turned this thing around.
“That last thing that was said, in all of that, I think, was the most important thing, is that I wanted to be here, that I love being here. I love my teammates. I love all the people that got me here — family, friends, Ryan (Poles), Kevin (Warren), Flus (Matt Eberflus) and Shane (Waldron), all those guys that went through that process with me to get me here. All of those things, like I said, were thoughts, but the main goal and the main objective of being here is to turn it around.
“That’s why I was selected No. 1. That’s what we’re here to do. That’s what they brought me here to do. That’s what they brought all these guys here to do — (OL) Joe (Thuney), (WR) DJ (Moore), all of these different guys, and that’s why they brought Ben (Johnson) here. It’s a challenge, and we look at those challenges and we don’t laugh, we look at them really, really seriously. We go attack them to the best of our ability to go and change it and turn it around.”
After his initial monologue, Williams expanded on other nuances that came out from Wickersham’s impending book, which included shedding light on the lack of coaching he received while watching film last year.
“That was a funny one that came out. It wasn’t that I didn’t know how to watch film, it was more or less the sense of learning ways to watch film and be more efficient, learning ways to pick up things better,” Williams said. That was a funny one that came out, in context, and how I was trying to portray it, it didn’t get portrayed that way.
“It wasn’t that I didn’t know how to watch film, it was trying to figure out the best ways and more efficient ways so that I can watch more film, I can gather more information. So, that when I do go out there on gameday, that information I gathered through Monday, when we got back, all the way up to whatever day the gameday is … I see it. I can react and it’s not me sitting there thinking so much about the rules and these different things. It’s more of a reaction game at that point, a muscle memory.”
Building that muscle memory from watching film has been a hallmark so far in the short history Williams and his new head coach share. The Bears’ franchise quarterback said Ben Johnson has been “extremely detailed” in how he approaches the day-to-day operations around the team.
“When he talks about the plays, when he talks about the pass, run, screen, play-action, he talks about them really in depth—what we love them against, what we don’t love them against, things like that,” Williams said. “Going into gamedays and things like that, it’s going to be nice for something that we’ve been repping and getting after.
“I think that’s been one of the things that’s been really awesome, is the detail, him really being on top of that. He’s been in it for six years, been in his offense for six years, so he’s really on top of it. We’re only trying to catch up, I’m only trying to catch up to him, and be on top of the details as much as possible.”
Another talking point was the release date of Wickersham’s book and whether it would be a distraction for Williams and the team. It is scheduled to be released the day after the Bears’ season opener against the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 8.
“No,” Williams said. “That’s why I came up here today, to address this, and actually speak on some of the things that were, at this moment, out of context, and also some of the things that I want to clarify. Like what we just spoke about, and watching film and things like that.”