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Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show

Caleb Williams needs to do the 'boring' things more

22 May 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What aspects of Caleb Williams' performance need improvement?

0.031 - 20.723 Unknown

mom can you tell me a story sure once upon a time a mom needed a new car was she brave she was tired mostly but she went to carvana.com and found a great car at a great price no secret treasure map required did you have to find a dragon nope she bought it 100 online from her bed actually was it scary honey it was as unscary as car buying could be

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20.703 - 22.024 Dan Wiederer

Did the car have a sunroof?

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22.044 - 22.985 Unknown

It did, actually.

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23.165 - 24.286 Dan Wiederer

Okay, good story.

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24.426 - 30.091 Unknown

Car buying you'll want to tell stories about. Buy your car today on... Carvana. Delivery fees may apply.

30.552 - 52.473 Dan Wiederer

Let's get to a little bit more audio here on our very special Caleb Williams edition here today. This is a cut from our old buddy, Teron Armstead. And he was talking about Caleb Williams. He was with our friend, Cassie Carlson from Fox 32 and talking about the topic we are discussing And that would be Caleb Williams.

53.575 - 66.998 Mark Grote

I think of Caleb Williams. You watched all those comeback wins, the magic in the playoffs, those unbelievable throws. I don't know if he could replicate it again this year, but you sure hope so. And he's certainly put the league on notice.

68.04 - 89.698 Teron Armstead

Cassie, I don't want him to replicate it. I want I want a lot more boring football from Caleb. Like that's that's that's really what I would love to see. I would love to see boring football. I would love to see him take the seven yards here, four yards there, 11 yards there. At times we will need his his heroics. I say we I feel like I'm a part of the team. I say we want to come back.

90.74 - 114.155 Teron Armstead

No, I'm done. I'm done. But for Caleb and his growth and development, the boring stuff, just getting more to the to the easy ones. moving the offense down the field, being more rhythmic, not having long stretches where we can't score, where they can't score or get first downs. And then in the fourth quarter, now you got to start being super explosive. Those times will happen.

Chapter 2: Why is boring football important for Caleb Williams' growth?

114.175 - 128.993 Teron Armstead

He's a special talent, incredible talent. If this kid makes a jump like he did last year, if he make another jump, it's MVP conversations. Like he has that much talent and ability. Let's see more boring football from Caleb.

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129.091 - 147.15 Mark Grote

I think everyone in Chicago is in agreement with you as well. Just from a veteran offensive lineman standpoint, what tells you that his season wasn't a one-off? I don't think anyone believes it, but there is a tell that this guy is a franchise quarterback.

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148.447 - 174.049 Teron Armstead

Him, his work ethic. You can tell that he cares. You know what I mean? He's really like in the weeds of it. His growth and development. He wants to get better. His conversations with Ben Johnson. It's not a one-off at all. It's not a one-off at all. Those guys are going to be special because of the run game alone. Having that as a weapon always opens up the passing game.

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174.029 - 195.97 Teron Armstead

Caleb got comfortable in a lot of areas. I thought his process pre-snap, like understanding where pressure was coming from, was really bad during training camp. And he improved it weekly throughout the season. He eliminated free runners, guys that's getting hits on him. And that's what I want to see from him. I want to see him take less hits.

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195.95 - 215.933 Teron Armstead

Like, as an old lineman, we don't want our quarterback touched for an entire game. Don't get touched. So if it's a play where the ball's supposed to be out quick, but instead he had another plan, no, no. If it's supposed to be out quick, get the ball out. Like, we don't need you taking hits. So we just want to see that more from Caleb.

Chapter 3: How can Caleb Williams enhance his offensive rhythm?

217.027 - 240.722 Dan Wiederer

Dan, I think the all good stuff right there, again, from Teron Armstead, the former 12-year NFL offensive tackle, mostly known with the New Orleans Saints. But he said it right there, the boring stuff, the easy stuff. And again, you have to have that fourth quarter stuff. There's no discounting or devaluing any of that. Because if we didn't have that, then that's what we'd be bitching about.

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240.702 - 258.087 Dan Wiederer

You don't have the clutch guy. Finally, finally, finally, finally, the Bears have a guy that can win them games in the fourth quarter. But again, that just goes back to what we were saying. The easy throws, the march when things are not going well, to be able to make the simple plays. And again, let your playmakers make plays.

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when we're talking about the checklist of what makes an elite quarterback, the list is really long and you have to check all the boxes, right? Like you can't leave, you can't leave four or five of them unchecked and go, Oh, but he's still good. That's great. Awesome. Checked in Sharpie. Nobody's going to erase that circle around great in the fourth quarter. Great.

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278.893 - 298.437 Unknown

When the game's on the line, terrific stuff. Now, again, as Toronto Armisen says, they're the boring stuff. You're going to hear a lot from the bears coaching staff over the next four months about, keeping the ball in play. Okay. And that's, that's some of the take the snap, primary reads open, get it to them, move on. Right. Like that's, that's where production is going to add up.

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298.477 - 315.681 Unknown

Completion percentage is going to go up. You're going to hear a lot about ball location, which Caleb himself brought up both in, I think in January. And then again, when he met with us in April, as the off season program began, like understanding what the coach is asking for him in terms of, you know, a completion is not necessarily an accurate pass.

315.661 - 333.828 Unknown

It needs to be in a spot where that guy can get the maximum gain on that play. And ball location and ball placement is going to be something that they just continually drill via the understanding of the offense, via the mechanics that get your throwing motion pointed in the direction where the football needs to be precise.

Chapter 4: What are the expectations for Caleb Williams in the fourth quarter?

334.289 - 350.011 Unknown

There's going to be a lot of boring stuff that you have to master. And that's why the Caleb highlight reel is so fascinating because it's clearly intoxicating. The entire city of Chicago knows what that felt like. in 2025 to have that highlight reel, particularly in the biggest moments. Intoxication is wonderful.

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350.812 - 368.213 Unknown

Caleb, I think, has to make sure that he's not intoxicated by it where it's like, oh, man, I really want to make that big play that gets everyone talking as opposed to what if I just hit three eight-yard passes in a row? You know what I mean? And like Teron Armstead speaking from a perspective of a guy who played with Drew Brees who threw for 80,358 passing yards, right?

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369.314 - 387.272 Unknown

And you knew what Drew Brees was. He was going to be a butcher and a surgeon. You know, he's going to cut you up in a lot of different ways. And he was going to just make sure that he was making the right play far more frequently than he wasn't. And that stuff adds up. And that's what I think Teron Armstead is speaking towards when he talks about more boring football.

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387.292 - 409.338 Dan Wiederer

Yeah. Yeah. And I guarantee you, you will hear a many versions of that from Caleb Williams during training camp, that that's the stuff that he is going to be working on. And maybe that's not the fun stuff for Caleb. Like you just said, like there, he's always going to have, And look, man, I mean, and part of this, too, is both Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams are home run hitters.

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409.379 - 436.303 Dan Wiederer

They both want the big play. But luckily, Ben Johnson understands that the simple stuff has simply has to occur before we can we can do the fun stuff. One of the other things too about Caleb that is good, if he does get to that status of being an elite quarterback, and maybe this is something that we don't talk about enough, is he truly is ready to handle it. He already carries it.

436.283 - 461.495 Dan Wiederer

himself as a star he loves being out in public which is beautiful like his little pca modest buzellas club i mean he's so like taking selfies with guys like you see the videos around town i i don't know that i've ever seen a player in chicago who is more ready for the big market for the this particular team for that particular job on this specific team as well as Caleb Williams.

461.515 - 468.45 Dan Wiederer

So that's a part that while it sounds frivolous, I think it's huge that this guy is ready. He's already got it down, I think.

468.464 - 473.509 Unknown

Right. And it looked like that's his understanding that he's a main character and he's been a main character throughout his life.

Chapter 5: How does Caleb's work ethic contribute to his potential?

473.569 - 491.968 Unknown

You know, various stops at Oklahoma and USC and obviously now in the NFL. And you see the stuff on social media of him going to a Bruno. I think it was a Bruno Mars concert at Soldier Field. And he's just in a suite and people in the suite next door are filming him through the window. And he loves it. And yeah, it's just it's natural, right? Like it comes natural to him.

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491.988 - 513.616 Unknown

He's not uncomfortable in that space. which is wonderful because that space is going to be his existence for a very, very long time. Again, I think he understands the things he's vocalized about what he wants to achieve are going to follow him around. And I think he does that with purpose, that I want to say them out loud so that I'm held to the pressure pack standard that comes with it.

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513.636 - 530.995 Unknown

And so we here at Take the North are going to keep holding him to that pressure pack standard. And part of it is because we understand what the coaches inside that building are doing. to try to get the best out of him with an absolute open door to the idea that he can be one of the best in the league. 100%.

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531.075 - 557.093 Dan Wiederer

Yeah, I think it's part of our jobs as people who are around the Bears every day during the season and often in the regular season to provide the perspective that the national media can't. And again, I love that the national media thinks that are predicting that Caleb Williams could be number two, the second best quarterback in the NFL and that he's elite and he has arrived and he's already here.

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557.614 - 566.578 Dan Wiederer

We just have to, we need to see it. We need to see it. And I think there are steps that maybe the national pundits don't quite see yet that we could see very clearly.

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