As has been the case before, Tyler Dunne of Go Long turned the world of Chicago Bears fans upside down. He first did it with his scathing report of how the team handled the careers of Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields before drafting Caleb Williams. Now his latest entry calls them out again, this time for a supposedly bad process that saw them ignore Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels leading up to the 2024 draft. Then it targeted Williams for being lazy, disrespectful, and having a learning disorder that went unreported. It came across saying the quarterback is a lost cause. One person who didn’t care for that is Kyle Long.
The former Pro Bowl guard knows something about being dismissed in the draft process because of perceived mental issues. He was considered immature, unpredictable, and incredibly raw. Yet he became the Bears’ best offensive lineman they’ve drafted in the past 20 years. This idea that these anonymous scouts and coaches believe he’s unsalvageable because he can’t learn or is too stubborn to work hard is a joke. The Bears don’t deserve scorn for having conviction on Williams. At least they believe in the guy.
Kyle Long believes the Bears now have the missing piece.
Few players can thrive in the NFL without the guidance of good coaching. It is the same for every position, be it offensive line or quarterback. Kyle Long was fortunate to have a really good offensive line coach when he arrived in Chicago. That helped him morph into a star. The Bears didn’t have that when Williams arrived last year. It was a defensive head coach whose seat was already hot, and an offensive coordinator who wasn’t liked or respected at his previous job. That changed this year with the arrival of Ben Johnson, fresh off a glittering stint in Detroit, where he revived the career of Jared Goff.
This staff is far better equipped to determine whether Williams can hack it in the NFL or not. Everybody in the building has said the quarterback is putting in extra time every day. He’s serious about everything. Could it be lip service to avoid a controversy? Sure. Then again, Johnson isn’t known for such tactics. He’s a straight shooter. If he says Williams is doing the work, then take him at his word.
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