The immense panic around the Chicago Bears' season has arrived a bit earlier than expected this year.
The last few months have been prosperous for the franchise, desperate to take a step forward in the daunting NFC, reshaping the offensive line and drafting a pair of premium pass catchers, all in an effort to put their young gunslinger, Caleb Williams, in an advantageous position.
It wasn't quite the rookie campaign the club or Williams had in mind for the "generational prospect," but with the addition of Ben Johnson and a revamped attack, a second-year breakout should be on the table.
Over the last few weeks, that optimism has turned to hysteria, as Williams continues to have an abysmal training camp. From an inability to process defense to alarming accuracy woes, Williams' complete ineptitude has started to make mainstream headlines.
On a recent episode of his show "The Herd," Colin Cowherd continued to hone in on Williams' mounting struggles.
"Gordon Ramsay's new restaurant is not dependent on a review from the local newspaper," Cowherd said. "All of this stuff matters, and it matters more for young chefs, artists, and quarterbacks. It's not just your confidence but the staff's confidence in you. The expectation of any second-year first-round player, regardless of position, is to be good fast."
It doesn't matter how much arm talent Williams has if he doesn't know how to harness it.
With premier coaching and elite weapons at his disposal, anything short of a Pro Bowl-caliber season would be a dramatic flop.
With the amount of signal-caller turnover throughout the league, this is rapidly becoming a sink-or-swim year for the former top pick.