Bear Down, Nerd Up: Can the Bears give Caleb Williams more time to throw?

The Chicago Bears clearly have some work to do on the offensive line. Caleb Williams was running for his life Sunday night in a loss to the Houston Texans.

Matt Eberflus’ team has to figure out how to better protect the No. 1 overall draft pick. The analytics don’t tell a very promising story for the offensive line.

Yes, the offensive issues are on all 11 players on the field, not to mention the coaching staff. But Bears fans don’t need to see the numbers to know what this team’s biggest weakness is right now. They simply need eyes.

Just kidding, we do need the numbers. That’s what Bear Down, Nerd Up is for. Here are the top stats and figures that stood out this week.

That’s not much time

Williams averaged 2.59 seconds to throw in Week 2. Through two games this season, he’s averaging 2.64 seconds to throw on dropbacks. That ranks ninth quickest among qualified passers, per NFL Next Gen Stats.

There are typically two reasons why a quarterback has a quick trigger. One, is that it’s by design. Tua Tagovailoa is at his best when he’s making one quick read and firing the ball. That’s how he led the NFL in passing yards last season. He ranks third-fastest in the NFL at 2.4 seconds through two games. Coming off Achilles injuries, Kirk Cousins and Aaron Rodgers are both in the top 10, probably because they’re not as mobile as they were pre-injury (and they’re both getting older).

The other reason, of course, is because the offensive line isn’t giving the quarterback time. Washington rookie Jayden Daniels, the No. 2 overall pick behind Williams, ranks as the quickest to throw so far this season, averaging 2.33 seconds. The Commanders have a pretty suspect offensive line.

If you’ve watched the Bears, I don’t need to tell you why Williams is getting the ball out quick. It’s either that or get clobbered (the Texans sacked him seven times Sunday). It’s telling that Daniels and Williams are both among the quickest to throw. As mobile quarterbacks (albeit in different ways), conventional wisdom would suggest they want to hang onto the football longer than the average quarterback.

The quarterbacks who take the most time to throw are all highly mobile. The top eight through two weeks are Kyler Murray, Anthony Richardson, Jalen Hurts, Jacoby Brissett, Deshaun Watson, CJ Stroud, Lamar Jackson and Justin Fields.

Williams prides himself on being able to escape pressure. He displayed that ability late in the game Sunday on a play where Danielle Hunter nearly sacked him, yanked his jersey from behind, but couldn’t pull him down. Williams, however, threw an interception after escaping. But that’s the type of quarterbacking he wants to do.

More discouraging passing metrics

Look, we can’t sugarcoat these numbers. So let’s keep piling on.

Through two games, Williams has faced 35 pressures. That ranks third-highest among QBs. Only Tennessee’s Will Levis and Cleveland’s Watson have been pressured more.

The Bears have allowed pressures on 43.2% of passing plays, which ranks third-most behind Tennessee and New England.

In terms of expected points added, the Bears are at minus 0.52 EPA per drop back. That ties for second-worst in the NFL behind only the Carolina Panthers.

Pressure from everywhere

The Texans’ top four pass rushers were highly successful against the Bears’ offensive line. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, pass rushers across the league are an average of 4.56 yards away from the quarterback when he releases a pass (or gets sacked).

Texans defensive linemen Derek Barnett, Will Anderson Jr., Danielle Hunter and Mario Edwards Jr. were all above average in Sunday night’s game. If the pressure is coming from the defensive ends and the defensive tackles, that’s not a great sign for your offensive line.

Barnett isn’t in the starting lineup. He’s a rotational edge rusher who played only 33 snaps (47% of defensive plays) on Sunday. On average, he was 3.4 yards from Williams at the time of the throw. That’s more than a yard better than league average. He had one sack in the game.

Anderson averaged 3.54 yards, also more than a yard better than league average. Edwards averaged 3.67 yards and Hunter averaged 4.01 yards. All four of them had at least one sack in the game.

Conversely, the Bears’ edge rushers had no success against the Texans. Defensive tackles Andrew Billings and Gervon Dexter were both better than league average (although neither was under 4 yards). But the Bears’ edge rushers were pretty average.

Hot start

On a positive note, Williams completed each of his first seven pass attempts. Per the Bears, he became the first Bears rookie to open a game with seven consecutive completions since Jim McMahon did it Dec. 19, 1982.

Williams was 12-for-15 passing in the first half.

Pinned ‘em

Rookie punter Tory Taylor punted six times Sunday and averaged 47.3 yards per punt, with a long of 57 yards. He had two punts downed inside Houston’s 20-yard line. Through his first two games in the NFL, Taylor has had five punts downed inside the 20.

That ranks tied for third in the NFL through the first two games. Denver’s Riley Dixon leads the NFL with seven.

Last year, former Bears punter Trenton Gill had only 18 punts downed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line in 17 games.