Caleb Williams’ rookie season was about as far from ideal as a No. 1 pick in the NFL could hope for. Not only was he sacked a league-high 68 times (third-most ever), but his head coach and offensive coordinator were fired midseason. Like we said, not ideal.
Advertisement
But the Chicago Bears have seemingly made a ton of shrewd moves to set Williams up in a better situation for his sophomore effort. He didn’t play in the team’s preseason opener last week, but he’s expected to suit up for their Week 2 matchup with the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Unfortunately, early returns and reports on Williams from training camp have not been positive.
But Jon Gruden is telling Bears fans (and any other fanbase worrying right now) to cool off. Training camp and preseason are the “teaching phase”, as Gruden calls it. He mentioned that Peyton Manning and his dominant Colts teams of the early 2000s were awful in the preseason, which never caused any problems come the regular season. When asked if he put much stock in preseason results, he said, “not very much”.
“I really don’t. I think you’re in the teaching phase. You’re looking at different lineups, different combinations. It’s hard. I remember the Indianapolis Colts might have been the worst preseason team I had ever seen. And Peyton Manning and the Colts would come out of the chute and win five straight. So I don’t put a lot of stock in the preseason games.”
From 2004-2010, Manning’s Colts went a combined 4-22 in the preseason. During that period, they won 87 regular season games, tied with the New England Patriots for the most in the NFL. They also won a Super Bowl and appeared in another during that time. Safe to say preseason results are not predictive of regular season results. Williams fans can breathe a sigh of relief.
However, Gruden says there is still much to be gleaned about teams from observing training camp practices like Gruden has been doing this summer. He was asked which team impressed him the most during his camp visits, and his answers were pretty predictable.
“Baltimore and Detroit are really good teams. You know, Baltimore is the real deal. [Head coach John] Harbaugh has established a culture, a winning edge of an environment. … They play their asses off. … And I love Dan Campbell, man. I don’t like this guy, I love him. The Lions have exactly what you’re looking for when it comes to attitude, work ethic, and Gruden grinders.”
The Baltimore Ravens have been one of the best teams in the league for six years now. The John Harbaugh-Lamar Jackson pairing has proved to be regular-season magic. But not so much in the playoffs. They have gone 3-5 in the postseason, with only one AFC Championship Game appearance.
In Detroit, the Lions have been having the most successful stretch in franchise history over the last few years as well. But, like the Ravens, they have fallen short in the postseason during the last two years. From Jon Gruden’s perspective, however, this could be the year they end their respective droughts and break through.
