Look What I Got

I'm not afraid to admit it... I love to pre-judge people. And even though you might be scared to say it, you probably like to do it to. But even though I have my initial thoughts on what somebody is about, that doesn't mean I'm not gonna give them a chance to show me who they really are.

When Roy Williams signed with the Bears this summer, we already had our idea of what this cat was about. Somebody who was drafted very high and never panned out to be a dominant football player. We knew about his excessive first down celebrations and the ridiculous amount of draft picks that Jerry Jones gave up to make him a Cowboy. And we also knew that he was "a Martz guy," just like Brandon Manumaleuna was before him.

Admit it... before Roy Williams ever stepped foot at Halas Hall you did not like him.

You might have even hated him. I didn't really like him either, but I still saw it as a low risk -- high reward addition to the Bears roster. I knew he wasn't the elite receiver that he was projected to be out of college, so my expectations were tempered. And most people didn't have huge expectations for him either.

It wasn't until Martz told the media that Roy Will could catch 70-80 passes this season, that expectations like that came out of anybody's mouth.

Now please read that sentence again... It was Mike Martz, and only Mike Martz, that put that ridiculous number into conversation. And yet everybody held it against Roy Williams when he didn't even say shit. This is when everybody really started hating him because we knew he had no chance to reach those numbers.

And when everybody that you know starting talking mad shit about Roy Williams, before he ever put on a Bears jersey, that's when I started paying attention to him. I always get drawn to the athletes that most people don't like (Grossman), because I can't stand when everybody has the same generic opinion about someone. It's called groupthink and it's fucking annoying.

I know Roy Williams is not a special player, but the fact that people won't admit that he has contributed to the Bears success this season shows that you can't put your feelings aside and talk real football. He has definitely struggled with drops, with 5 on the season, and his drop against KC was one of the biggest factors in that that loss. But because he has a history of drops, our reactions are magnified anytime that he drops one.

So how about a stat for you...

A stat that shows, more than anything, what he has contributed to the Bears this season. When the Bears are in 3rd down situations, Roy Williams has 10 catches for 1st downs, which leads the team. Second in that category is Johnny Knox with 7, then Matt Forte with 6, Earl Bennett with 6 and Dane Sanzenbacher with 6. When the Bears are only converting on 32% of 3rd downs this season, that's a significant impact on the offense in terms of sustaining drives.

On 8 of those 9 first down conversions, the Bears ended up scoring on that same drive. Without any of these conversions, the Bears are either punting or they're taking a FG instead of a TD that came after the drive was extended. These catches came over the course of 5 games, 4 of which were wins:

1. win vs ATL
2. win vs TB
3. win VS PHI
4. win vs SD
5. loss vs DEN

I'm not saying that Roy Williams has been the Bears best receiver this season. I'm not denying the fact that he's frustrating to watch or that he drops too many passes. All that I'm saying is that the people who have been calling for the Bears to cut Roy Williams are completely off-base and are blatantly ignoring the fact that he's been an important part of the team. Roy Will has contributed just as much as the other WRs on this team have. Of all the Bears WRs, he's second on the team with 33 catches and second on the team with 447 yards. Most importantly, he leads the team with 15 FDCs on the season.

So the next time that Roy Will comes up with a big catch this season, don't just run to Twitter and RT the 40 people on your timeline that say "OMG Roy Williams actually caught the ball?!" Maybe you can appreciate the fact that he's making plays for the team you love so much.

Roy Williams 2011 3rd down conversions that lead to scores:


vs ATL 3rd-6, CHI26 - J. Cutler passed to R. Williams to the left for 23 yard gain, leads to FG
vs ATL 3rd-6, ATL32 - J. Cutler passed to R. Williams to the left for 15 yard gain, leads to FG


vs TB 3rd-7, TB25 - J. Cutler passed to R. Williams to the left for 25 yard touchdown
vs TB 3rd-11, TB33 - J. Cutler passed to R. Williams to the left for 12 yard gain, leads to TD


vs PHI 3rd-2, PHI37 - J. Cutler passed to R. Williams down the middle for 14 yard gain, leads to FG


vs SD 3rd-8, CHI16 - J. Cutler passed to R. Williams to the right for 15 yard gain, leads to FG
vs SD 3rd-4, CHI23 - J. Cutler passed to R. Williams to the left for 11 yard gain, leads to TD


vs DEN 3rd-2, CHI45 - C. Hanie passed to R. Williams to the left for 17 yard gain, leads to FG


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@1stdownroywill

Ho Sit Down! Week 13 - Roy E Williams

When you give the general public an opportunity to voice their opinion, you need to be prepared to hear some pretty stupid shit. Maybe I'm just saying that because I think that most people I come in contact with on any given day are, in fact, stupid. It's not because I think I have a superior level of intelligence... it's just that I like to take a step back, apply common sense, and make rational choices in my everyday life. But after 26+ years on this Earth, I'm slowly coming to the grips that most people don't actually do this. Whether it's the oblivious MF driving 60 MPH in the left lane while you lay on your horn behind them or the grimey MF who refuses to wash his hands before spreading his dick germs all on the bathroom door handle, a lot of people just don't use the thinking part of their brains.

So what did I do?

I went straight to them for their opinions.

I decided to let the people vote for who deserves the Ho Sit Down! treatment for week 13. We polled eight NFL experts -- seven are Bears fans and one is an unbiased 49ers fan living in Chicago -- to see how they answer the following question:

"If you could pick one person who fucked it more than anyone else in the Bears loss to the Chiefs, who you got?"

After such a poor offensive display against KC, I'm not surprised at the variety of the answers. What was surprising is the fact that the only person to vote for Jerry Angelo was the only person that's not even a Bears fan. And while he's definitely right about this whole thing being JA's fault, we're not gonna talk about how Angelo failed to recruit a legitamate backup QB, in case Cutler went down.

I was (almost) shocked to learn that only two people voted for Caleb Hanie. Hanie was the first response I received, as well as my vote (had I registered to vote), so I figured he might run away with this poll. Hanie missed badly on throws to open receivers when he wasn't busy making poor decisions (like holding on to the ball too long instead of throwing it away). But since Hanie only received two countable votes this week, he'll have to try a lot harder to get the HSD! treatment next week.

The runner up in this week's poll was Mike Martz. Although he only came one vote shy of defending his HSD! belt, he just couldn't do enough to come out with this week's award. But with the incredible perseverance that we know him for, we can all expect Martz to be in the running again next week and beyond.

That brings us to this week's scapegoat (and first time recipient of the HSD! honors)... Roy E Williams.

Williams struggled throughout the game to get off the line of scrimmage while being jammed. He lost his footing a few times and was a general non-factor. It wasn't until the most crucial drive of the game that Roy E made his presence felt, dropping a potentially game-tying TD with 4:01 left on the clock. Not only did he not catch the big brown thing flying at this head, he decided it would be smart to play popcorn with it in a sea of KC defenders, allowing the ball to be legally up-for-grabs. When the Chiefs came down with the interception, that pretty much wrapped it up.

Personally, I think Hanie fucked it way worse than anybody else with his poor play, but since my vote doesn't count this week (and only this week), I'll bring it full circle with the most important theme of the 2011-2012 Bears season... Roy Will did not have one MF first down celebration for the second straight week. Now, it's kinda hard to celebrate a first down when you don't have any catches and it's hard to catch the ball when it's only thrown in your direction one time all game, Caleb Hanie. But this is the NFL, and we can't blame anybody but Roy E Williams for a ho-ass-zero-FDC performance against the Chiefs. So Roy E, this one's for you...

HO SIT DOWN!
HEY!
HO SIT DOWN!
HEY!
HO SIT DOWN!

@1stdownroywill

He's on Fire!

Roy Williams bounced back this week after a zero catch, zero FDC game last week against the Lions. Although he dropped the first pass thrown his way, he made up for it by finishing with 5 catches for 62 yards. He was 75% efficient when you take his total number of first down celebrations (3) divided by his total number of first down catches (4). 75% is a respectable bounce back game, however as professional athletes the goal is always 100% efficiency. Regardless, Roy Will had a impact game, finishing second in targets (8) while leading the Bears in catches (5).

After making a first down catch in the 1st quarter, the camera jumped away from Williams after he picked himself off the ground, so we weren't able to record an FDC on this play. But in the 3rd quarter, Roy E exploded. On a 3rd and 4, he caught a quick pass for an 11 yard first down. This is when he finally recorded his 10th FDC on the season, triggering the double digit celebration bonus in his contract. According to sources, this escalator could be worth up to $7.5 million.

Williams was pretty hype at this point and signaled for his offense to hurry up and feed him the ball again. Martz, calling the great game that he did, went right back to Roy Will. Another quick pass for a 12 yard first down. He then immediately picked up his 11th FDC, right then and there.

If you've ever played NBA Jam before, you know that hitting two in a row means you're "heating up." And with Roy E feeling it, he controlled the tempo once more, hurrying the offense and demanding the ball. Three straight plays, three straight first downs. This time Roy Will picks up his 3rd FDC of the game (and 12th of the season) on an 11 yard catch from Cutler. He's on fire!

Bear Down Roy Will

Roy E Williams Career FDC count: 12

Week 12 vs OAK over/under: 2.5 FDCs

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@1stdownroywill

Let's Double Up

Since we last checked in with Roy E Williams, he's picked up another 2 first down celebrations. Week 7 saw Roy Will make his biggest impact so far this year, picking up 4 catches for 59 yards and his first TD for the Bears. Even though he had three first down catches vs TB, I'm disappointed that he only celebrated one of them.

He had a bad drop early in the game but made up for it with a score. On his TD, where we saw first hand that having a big target makes it so much easier for Cutler to hit his guy, you couldn't even tell that Roy scored by his celebration. But he was feeling good after that, so when caught another ball, he picked up his 8th FDC of the year.

Last week vs the Eagles, Williams stayed hot by grabbing three first downs (including two 3rd down conversions) and earning his 9th FDC of the season. Once again, the director of the TV broadcast chose not to show the celebration but we were able to catch a quick glimpse of it. His next two catches are where we're not so sure. It looked like he casually left-handed an FDC on his 2nd catch, but it wasn't enough for the official scorekeeper to credit him. And on his third catch, the cameraman cut away from him way too quickly for us to know if he celebrated or not.

So what should we expect this week versus DET? Johnny Knox is expected to see a higher number of snaps than he has lately, so we'll see if those will be taken away from Williams or Hester. But look for Roy Will to do what he's been doing on a consistent basis and coming out with 3 or 4 catches for 50-60 yards. But the important thing to watch is how many drops he has, because he usually doesn't celebrate on catches immediately following a drop. Williams is in a prime position to reach double digit FDCs on the year, which is probably an escalator in his contract.

Bear Down Roy Will

Roy E Williams Career FDC count: 9

Week 10 vs DET over/under: 1.5 FDCs

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@1stdownroywill

Turn My Swag On

Here at Bear Down Chicago Bears it's widely believed that if you don't have anything to write about Roy E Will, you probably don't have a story worth writing. That's why it's been almost an entire month since the last post. But after Roy's brilliant game against the Vikings this past Sunday, I had no other choice but to get it rolling again. You're probably asking, "What the hell was so brilliant about Roy Will's performance this week?".

Sure, he only had 3 catches for 50 yards and did not find the end zone. But with each one of those catches, he was able to pick up a first down. More importantly, with each one of those first downs he was able to accumulate another FDC, bringing his season total to 7.

Ok, so I'm not 100% sure that he did, in fact, officially celebrate each one of those first downs. The geniuses at NBC decided to change cameras at the exact moment when he was getting ready to swag it out, leaving us wondering whether or not he did his thing. However, knowing Roy Will as well as I do, I can guarantee you he not only managed to pick up his 5th FDC of the year on his first catch, but he went 3-for-3 on the day by celebrating each and every first down that he caught against Minnesota. It was nice to see Roy get some facetime after being somewhat invisible the previous few weeks.

After missing week 2 against the Saints with an injury and being held without a catch in week 3 against the packers, Williams was able to pick up his fourth FDC of the year in a week 4 win against the Panthers. Although he caught another first down against the Lions on Monday Night Football, being the class act that he is, he decided against the celebration as the Bears were well on their way to losing the game.

If you can read trends, you can see that in games where Roy Will has a major impact (ie: celebrates one first down catch) the Bears are undefeated (3-0). Not only are the Bears unbeatable when he picks one up, but when he has 3 or more the Bears are averaging 34.5 points per game and look to be a dominant force. Somebody needs to get word to Mike Martz that Roy E Williams is the impact player that we were expecting, you just gotta put him in a position where he can turn his swag on.

Bear Down Roy Will

Roy E Williams Career FDCs: 7

Week 7 vs TB over/under: 2.5 FDCs

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Draped Up and Dripped Out

Roy Will is coming back from his week 1 injury at a time that the Bears really need him. The WRs created absolutely no separation last week against the Saints. Hester led the Bears with 9 targets but almost all of those passes were forced while he was draped up by the defense. Earl Bennett went down with an injury early as Cutler led him into a big hit from a defender for the second straight week. Johnny Knox was on TV maybe twice all day which shows what kind of impact he had on Sunday. And that's why Roy Williams needs to come back and hopefully step up.

The packers are going to play a lot of press coverage against the Bears and that's not a good thing. Hester and Knox both struggle when they're jammed at the line. Roy E is obviously the Bears' biggest receiver and he needs to prove that he can win battles at the line of scrimmage. I can't say I've ever seen Roy Will beat a jam at the line but since he's adequate at run blocking, hopefully it's something he can do relatively well.

Even if he's draped up by the secondary like the other WRs were last week, he at least provides a bigger target for Cutler. The assumption is that Roy E can win a an up-for-grabs contest with a cornerback who is guaranteed to be smaller than him. If Cutler is forced to throw to a WR that is covered tightly, he would be better off throwing to Williams instead of Hester, Knox or Dane Sanzenbacher because of his size advantage.

With Earl Bennett out, this is Williams' chance to step up and make plays for this team. We already know that Jay Cutler trusts Bennett but the question is whether he trusts Roy E Will enough to throw it to him repeatedly throughout the entire game. He's going to need to earn that trust quickly and he can't leave Cutler hanging like he did in the preseason when a dropped pass resulted in an easy interception. Over the course of the season, if he can turn into a receiver that Cutler trusts he stands to become the beneficiary of a high number of targets.

Whether Roy E Williams is going to step up or not remains to be seen, but he will get his first chance against the packers. With Earl Bennett's impending absence and the likely ineffectiveness of Hester and Knox, Williams' ability to produce against the Bears' rivals can mean the difference between a win and a loss.

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Trill Playas Don't Die

There is absolutely no question what the highlight of Sunday's game was. I'm not talking about Jim Cornelison's incredible rendition of The National Anthem, because that happened before kickoff. The kickoff wasn't the highlight either, even though it officially began BEARS season. And it wasn't when the clock hit 0:00 and the Bears had their first win of the year. Nope. The single greatest moment of the game on Sunday was what we've been waiting for since July 29... Roy E. Williams' first ever 1st down celebration in a Bears uniform.

On his very first catch as Chicago Bear, Williams consummated it with his signature move. Coming into the season, I was curious whether he would give up the first down celebrations. I'll even admit that I was hoping he would give them up after coming to the Bears. But my opinion has completely changed. I am being 100 when I say there was not a single moment on Sunday that we got more buck for at this house than when he celebrated his first 1st down.

It was also an important catch, as it was good for a 3rd down conversion that kept a drive going and resulted in a field goal. Roy Will definitely had an impactful game as his second career first down celebration, or FDC, came on another 3rd down on a different scoring drive. Unfortunately for him, on the third snap of the 4th quarter, he tweaked his groin and exited for the remainder of the game. Fortunately for us, he still managed to pick up his 3rd FDC of the game as he treaded lightly to the bench, wrapping up an impressive display of celebration in his first game with the Bears.

Bear Down Roy Will.

Roy E Williams Career FDC Count: 3

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Watch The Thrown

Despite the fact that the Bears' biggest name WR acquisition this off season was Roy E Williams, they have improved their WR corps considerably. Even though Williams is very inconsistent with his game, he has the size that Jay Cutler likes in his receivers. Williams will likely lead the team in targets because he'll usually be the biggest option on the field and that's exactly what Cutler needs. That's exactly what Greg Olsen was before he was Martzed from the game plan last year. Williams is the kind of receiver that can help make up for a poorly thrown ball.

But he's certainly not without his faults. The worst characteristic of a Roy E Williams is his excessive celebration on first down catches. It doesn't matter what the game situation is, if he's catching a first down he's letting the crowd know it. Hopefully with him being on his third team trying to salvage his NFL career, he will save the celebrating for clutch first downs... Unlikely. Williams has been known for not being a hard worker on the practice field in his career. We saw glimpses of it down in training camp earlier this summer, while he was wearing a Crocodile Dundee hat and not running hard. He's very experienced at coasting on his talent, which shows when he disappears in games. But on a one-year contract, I do expect Williams to lose some of the antics and to be one of the biggest contributing factors in whether the Bears succeed or fail this year. Being a Martz guy like Brandon Manumaleuna, expect Williams to get every shot at staying on the field and having his number called this season.

Devin Hester will be the second most important receiver on this team. When Williams was brought in, many expected him to take snaps away from Hester, but instead it will take snaps away from Johnny Knox. I am one hundred percent on board with this decision to bump Knox instead of Hester. Hester is a better receiver in my opinion. I know that Knox has put up much better numbers than Hester has, but Knox'impact on the game is minimal. Devin Hester has been overly criticized the last few years since he has made the transition to WR. He has good hands with the ability to catch bad throws, especially low ones. He does have lapses where he will drop an easy pass, including blown TD opportunities, but he has improved his hands every offseason since becoming a full time receiver and reports out of camp are that the trend has continued. What Hester needs to improve most is his route running. He's had problems in the past where he tips his routes at the line of scrimmage and he also doesn't run crisp routes which affect timing with Cutler. After a year of the Martz offense under his belt, Hester has shown an improved confidence in his overall game. He is a full year familiar with the playbook and it should show in his number of targets and overall production. I fully expect Hester to have the best year of his career statistically as well as impactfully as an offensive weapon.

Earl Bennett should continue to be the steady factor that he is. While he's the least gifted athletically, Bennett is still the Bears' best overall WR and often gets overlooked. He is a great safety valve for Cutler when he needs to dump the ball over the middle. He has very sure hands and an already established chemistry with Cutler. Bennett does not have very good speed but he has good understanding of the WR position. He knows how to get open enough and provide a good target for his QB. Bennett may not lead the Bears is any statistical categories this year, but it's very possible that he makes the biggest plays every week.

It's no secret that I'm not a fan of Johnny Knox. I think he is ridiculously overloved by the fans and is a liability when he's on the field too much. Even after gaining some solid weight in the offseason, there is still not very much mass to Knox. He is easily knocked around and overpowered and he avoids contact because of it. When jammed at the line of scrimmage, Knox has trouble starting his routes and is eliminated as an option for Cutler. But his biggest flaw is still his unwillingness to go after the ball in traffic. This has led to interceptions and plenty of incompletions when Knox is asked to run towards the middle of the field. If he doesn't improve this aspect of his game, he will never reach the potential that his speed implies. Knox has very poor hands actually does not use them when he catches the ball. Knox likes to catch the ball with his stomach or chest, choosing to corral the ball with his arms. And even though I'm very glad that Knox was bumped to the #4 WR, I do expect him to play a big role in the offense. With Olsen gone, the Bears will often line up 4 WRs this year. Knox's speed automatically makes him a threat down the field, so hopefully he can continue to convert on long completions. If Knox can sustain his high yards per reception average and big play ability, it won't matter that he's not capable of being a high volume receiver.

At 6'3" Sam Hurd is also a player to watch. If he sees any time on the field, I would expect Cutler to like him as a target. Even though it's just practice, he did stand out when we saw him at training camp this year. He is a big body who hasn't seen much playing time in his career, but has shown the ability to make plays in limited opportunities. His greatest impact will most likely be on special teams, but I hope that he gets a fair shake on offense because in a pass happy system, you want the type of WR that your QB is comfortable with, so size is good.

There are two young receivers that have the ability to make a good impression this season. The first is Dane Sanzenbacher. Sanzenbacher has been the biggest surprise in camp so far this year, but failed to do anything in the first pre-season game. There have been many camp legends in the Bears' past that go on to do nothing once the games start. Hopefully Sanzenbacher doesn't turn out to be one of those players, but I do expect the Bears to give him some opportunities to step up.

The second rookie WR to keep an eye on is Kris Adams. Adams made a big impression against the 2's and 3's of the Buffalo Bills, but I wouldn't put too much stock in that. What I do like about Adams is his size. At 6'4" Kris Adams definitely stands out on the field. I don't know how well he runs his routes or how consistent he is with his hands, but with limited exposure to him I am intrigued. I think that if he were able to find a roster spot and a shot at playing time, Cutler would like to throw his way.

With the departure of Rasheid Davis, the veteran free agent WR acquisitions the Bears made and the signing of undrafted free agents, I absolutely believe the position has been improved. There is competition for playing time and that simply means the players who step up should be able to get on the field. Hopefully the addition of size to the WR corps will allow Jay Cutler to be more comfortable throwing the ball in tight coverage. While the Bears will still need to add a Larry Fitzgerald type true #1 in the future, they have at least pretended to address the position this year.

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