Brad Bigg helps answer 5 pressing questions at the Chicago Tribune:
5. Caleb Williams completed less than 50% of his passes against the Eagles, and his season percentage is now 58.1%. How concerning are his accuracy issues?
Biggs: It’s a real concern, and [head coach Ben] Johnson has been pretty direct in discussing it. The game in Philadelphia wasn’t an anomaly. Williams has been below 60% for five consecutive weeks. Some folks twist themselves in knots trying to explain it, but the reality is he needs to become more accurate. It will, no doubt, be a major point of emphasis in the offseason. Simply put, it’s unusual for elite quarterbacks to hover in the low 60s in completion percentage, and Williams would have to go on a heater even to get there before year’s end.
Yes, this is a real concern, and I fundamentally agree with this response.
Having said that, stand by for more knot-twisting.
In Williams’ defense, I don’t think it’s entirely because of his own deficiencies.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not blind. He’s missed some throws to wide-open receivers that definitely should’ve been complete. Especially deeper passes over the middle and especially throws late in the play when it looks like he’s rushing to get the ball out on time.
However, it also looks to me like Williams is missing some of them because he’s trying to throw with anticipation to a receiver who is just coming out of his break. This is, of course, the right thing to do, and I’m glad he’s attempting it even though he’s not connecting on some of them. In short, I guess what I’m saying is that at least some of the time, Williams is missing passes for all the right reasons. And I think that there’s good reason to hope that, eventually, when they start connecting on those passes, this offense will reach its potential.
When that will be, we don’t know, but if it doesn’t happen late this season, I believe that it will certainly happen next season. As has been said over and over again this year, all we need to be is patient.