Former offensive tackle Terron Armstead played with one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Here is the advice Armstead has for Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams.
Terron Armstead played 97 games for the New Orleans Saints over his 12-year NFL career.
For eight of Armstead's nine seasons with the Saints, Drew Brees commanded the huddle. The former five-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle saw first hand what elite level quarterbacking looked like on a consistent basis.
Brees completed 70% of his passes in each of the final five seasons he played in New Orleans. In the time that Armstread played with Brees from 2013-2020, the Hall-of-Fame quarterback threw over 5,000 yards twice and finished with three seasons eclipsing 4,000 passing yards.
During Armstead's tenure with Brees from 2013 to 2020, the future Hall-of-Fame quarterback topped 5,000 passing yards twice and surpassed the 4,000-yard mark in three other seasons.
Armstead joined Chicago Bears play-by-play announcer Jeff Joniak and former Super Bowl champion offensive lineman Tom Thayer on "Bears ETC." This offseason, Armstead has trained with members of the Bears offensive line. Before the interview concluded, Joniak asked Armstead what it would be like to block for Bears quarterback Caleb Williams.
"It would be fun, but stressful," Armstead said. "I didn't, I don't want my quarterback moving around. Like, I don't want him flipping the hips, going left, right. I don't want him taking hits. I don't want him getting chased to the sideline. Stand in the pocket, step up, deliver the ball, quickly. Like, that's ideally the situation. So, with Caleb, it'll be a lot of fun and exciting plays, but I've said this time and time again, I want to see more boring football from Caleb Williams. I think that's the next progression for him. That's the next step for the Bears to get back and win a division that's super tough, to compete in the NFC that's super tough.
More boring football for him, the easy ones, getting the ball in the hands of the eligibles, the playmakers, being super decisive and keep continuing to improve his process at the snap before the snap."
Armstead made some critical but fair comments about the Bears' quarterback. One major difference that can't be overlooked is the experience level between Brees and Williams. Brees entered his 13th NFL season when Armstead was drafted in 2013. Williams just finished his second year and the first in coach Ben Johnson's offense.
But Williams does need to play more consistently in rhythm instead of extending plays, which should help his completion percentage, something that the young quarterback is focused on improving this season.
Armstead shared that he was at Halas Hall for the Bears' joint practice against the Miami Dolphins last season. According to Armstead, Williams would've ended with double-digit sacks. The proper adjustments were made by the coach-quarterback duo going into the season and that created success in the offense.
The veteran offensive tackle mentioned there were too many "dead periods," featuring three-and-outs. The Bears finished with 37 three-and-outs (tied for the 13th most).
"More boring football from Caleb Williams will take away a lot of those three-and-outs, so where we are just moving the ball up the field and not always where it turns into points, but it turns into possessions, and your defense is off the field and then you get more opportunities to score more points and kick the field goal is not a bad idea, either. That's the next step for Caleb, the boring stuff. The Bears will be at the top for a long time."
