Bears buy week: Silvy on why now is the time to believe in Caleb Williams

Welcome to the Bears buy week. Yes, it’s spelled correctly.

As in, it’s time to buy stock in Caleb Williams and the Bears.

Remember when you wished you bought Apple or Amazon on the ground floor? Don’t wait til it’s obvious. And for some, it may already be obvious.

For those unwilling to jump in just yet, that’s your prerogative and I won’t blame you after being scarred by the Bears. But, in return, don’t blame those of us who walked away from Sunday’s game the most excited we’ve been with anything in Chicago sports in several years.

Don’t be a hater just because they beat Jacksonville.

The White Sox and Bulls gave many brief hopes in 2021, but that quickly flamed out like a Jerry Reinsdorf cigar. The 2018 Bears provided a wild ride but we were never certain about Mitch Trubisky and worried all season about Cody Parkey. Trubisky and Parkey are Ryan Pace’s double-doink.

I haven’t had this feeling since 2015-17 and the Cubs’ run.

My friend Kevin Boehm, who knows something about building successful teams as one of the partners in the award-winning Boka restaurant group, texted me after the Bears win against the Jags. He laughed at the fans who jumped to conclusions about Caleb after his first couple of games. I quickly noted that most Chicago sports fans never lived through a real quarterback developmental process. We’re so conditioned to have it screwed up by the wrong plan or the wrong player, at the first sign of adversity, many panic.

Patience is needed while establishing something great and sustainable. Growing pains should be expected and will continue to happen at other times this season. I repeat, there will be more growing pains. The growth will also continue and the Bears will eventually have their first star QB.

I watched the same process play out when Theo Epstein first arrived. Cubs fans never witnessed a real rebuild and many raged against the struggles of 2012-14. I told everyone then, including my diehard fan Mom, that it takes time when done correctly. It’s no coincidence that the first rebuild done correctly resulted in the Cubs’ first championship in 108 years.

So let it bake, Bears fans.

We are on the verge of seeing something we have never seen before.

I can quote you stats about Williams having the highest QBR in the NFL for the last two weeks or how the Bears offense scored five touchdowns in back to back games for the first time since 1956 or how Williams has more touchdowns the past two weeks (6) than off-target throws (5).

Or, you can simply trust your eyes.

How many quarterbacks in the NFL can make that back-shoulder TD throw to Keenan Allen? How many Bears quarterbacks have that quick release or can scan through his progressions from left to right and make a play? If you don’t see it or simply refuse to admit you see it, use your ears and listen to how veterans Keenan Allen and Mercedes Lewis rave about the talent, work ethic, and leadership qualities.

I don’t need the coaches all-22 tape or one of those youtube tutorials done by a former players to know it’s happening. All you had to do was watch the game and this has nothing to do with Kool-Aid.

There are certain athletes that you just know are going to be great when you watch them play, even as a rookie.

We saw it last year with Connor Bedard. Kris Bryant, Derrick Rose, Patrick Kane, and Jonathan Toews wowed us early and often. They were destined for stardom immediately. And going further back, Frank Thomas was simply cut from a different cloth. Caleb Williams has the stuff that all of those athletes had. You just know it when you see it and you don’t have to be a scout.

I won’t use Michael Jordan because no one compares to his airness, but Caleb has a chance to be the quarterback version of Walter Payton. The athleticism, the charisma, the “it” factor.

So don’t sleep on the sweetness of success from the new kid in town.

As another Chicago legend Ferris Bueller once said, “Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Enjoy this time, Bears fans. It’s time to buy during the bye.

• Marc Silverman shares his opinions on the Bears weekly for Shaw Local. Tune in and listen to the “Waddle & Silvy” show weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m. on ESPN 1000.