Stephen A Smith's warning still stands over the Chicago Bears after they took first place following the Minnesota Vikings Loss on Monday Night Football.
Timing matters with this one. Smith laid out his trepidation about the Bears' Super Bowl chances on Monday, before the Vikings and the Bills played. With the Bills walking away with the win, the Bears have woken up to find themselves in first place in the NFC North for the first time all season.
But with that being said, none of Smith's comments have lost any validity.
The belief comes with a warning
"My belief is still there. I believe that Chicago can be those dudes offensively. I believe they can be very explosive. Defensively, they've gotten better with the addition of Simmons, obviously helps them exponentially. But in the same breath, you can't do it if you're going to play the way that Caleb Williams played yesterday."Stephen A Smith
The part that really stings for Bears fans is how little of his argument is unfair. Williams threw only one interception this season prior to Week 9, making four in one night against Tampa Bay a real slap in the face. A couple of them looked like Williams was trying to launch the ball to throw it away, only for it to end up in the hands of the defense.
Smith put the assignment on head coach Ben Johnson, too: "Sometimes playing that hero ball simply ain't going to get it done. So that's something that Ben Johnson is definitely going to have to rein in." The confidence is part of what makes Williams such an effective quarterback, and nobody wants that coached out of him.
But what Smith is suggesting is what's already taken hold. Williams has improved immensely under Johnson, and his discipline has been something that's stood out to anyone watching the Bears week over week. Sunday night against Tampa Bay seemed to be a step in the other direction, but it didn't appear to be something coach Johnson couldn't correct.
The Vikings losing on Monday night changed the standings, but not the standard. The Bears sit in first place at 7-2 because the defense got exponentially better when Jeffery Simmons arrived, and because the offense overcame their franchise quarterback's worst game of the season.
January won't be as forgiving, not with the rest of the NFC North playing as well as they have been. The bye week gives Johnson two weeks to rein things in without touching the magic, and the Bears Super Bowl aspirations just may rest on that balance.
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