Because I don’t offer game analysis of baseball games that I don’t attend, I’m not going to veer into uncharted territory with last night’s Bears loss. However, I do have thoughts about the pass and what it means.
I’ll never understand why Caleb Williams is so much better in the fourth quarter with the game on the line than the earlier stages, but he is. Everyone knows about the 7 fourth quarter, come from behind victories, but omits the two end-of-season losses to San Francisco and Detroit. Ergo, Williams is not infallible and won’t win every game.
However, he proved to me that anything is possible with Caleb and something crazy happens when the game is on the line. He doesn’t shy away from the big moments and has the physical talent to do wonderful things, despite some shortcomings.
Even though the Bears lost 20-17 in overtime, I expected that pictures of Williams’ 14-yard toss to Cole Kmet for a touchdown would be plastered over all of the local papers. As funny as it sound, the stats don’t tell the whole story. In the books, the touchdown was for 14 yards because that was the line of scrimmage when the play began. However, anyone who saw the play realized it was more like a 40-yard play. One of the broadcasters suggested it was a “blind heave thrown to a spot where the receiver was supposed to be” and I can’t argue that, but it undersells the enormity of the throw and when it happened.
Historically, plays like this are captured on film and titled, like the Tyree helmet catch from the Giants win over the Patriots. After that catch and game, the photo of David Tyree made its way to memorabilia shops and shows across the country. Some of these photos capture the essence of a ballplayer or a particular moment. Consider all of the iconic pictures of Dick Butkus, Ray Nitschke and Jack Lambert or running backs exploding through the line. One of my favorite iconic sports photos is the glorious shot of Bobby Orr scoring the goal in the Stanley Cup defying gravity twenty years before Michael Jordan did the same thing on a nightly basis.
While this particular play did not end in victorious glory, it was a perfect example of what makes Caleb Williams so special. Given his competitive nature, I wonder whether he will willingly autograph the photo.
As someone who has taken hundreds of thousands of baseball photos, I know how hard it is to get that unique shot especially when there are dozens of folks attempting the same thing. I’ve seen several shots of Kmet catching the pass which are far less dramatic and meaningful.
2 responses to “Anything is possible…”
I’d take Caleb over both Drake Maye and Bo Nix as far as young quarterbacks are concerned. That kid has a bright future.
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Thanks for your thoughts I10%. It’s going to be fun to watch,
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