As a Bears fan, I may not know what a great quarterback looks like, but I can sure as hell identify QBs that don’t work out. Caleb Williams is not one of those guys.

I’m shocked at some of the criticisms leveled at Williams, including body language, stat padding and lack of wins. His rookie season was marked by an all-time high of dysfunction and ineptitude from the Bears, and he still found a way to have plenty of success.

I’ll stop the critics here, so let’s start with some of Williams’ difficulties, since this isn’t an excuse article. Caleb needs to come into the offseason 100% and work on his accuracy.

He just admitted this in his press conference last week, saying he was frustrated by this inconsistency in his game. Williams misses too many throws he needs to make, and I’m not just talking about deep ball accuracy.

The first problem in correcting a problem is admitting the problem. Williams is as confident an athlete as we have seen in this city in a long time. He will work hard this offseason and fix the problem. Williams has shown more responsibility and humility than any other coach or manager at Halas Hall.

Then there is the smell of the bag. Williams was sacked a whopping 60 times. Not many players who have played this position in the league have fallen so often. The Bears’ offensive line was badly botched by Ryan Poles, but Caleb also needs to do a better job getting the ball out sooner. As Tom Thayer yelled with Justin Fields, “Throw it.”

Despite this, Williams still posted one of the best statistical years in Bears history with 3,271 yards, 19 touchdowns, just five interceptions and a QB rating of 89.3.

He didn’t throw an interception in more than 300 pass attempts – an NFL rookie record and a Bears overall record.

I remind you, this is the ground floor.

The Poles once said, “We will take the North and never give it back.” It is one of the most hollow statements ever made by a Chicago manager. The Vikings team, which was signed at the same time as the Bears, has won 33 games in the past three years, while the Poles team has won 14 and just two division games. Williams has done everything he can to change that. In five NFC North games, Caleb has thrown for 1,352 yards, 8 TDs and 0 INTs – an average of 270 passing yards per game.

If you say he’s the quarterback of the team that has lost nine games in a row, let’s take a look at some games.

• In Washington, Williams led the Bears to two possible touchdown drives in the fourth quarter. The first was thwarted when Shane Waldron demanded a handoff to Doug Kramer. The second period gave the Bears the lead, but the defense lost it to the Hail Mary.

• In his first game against the Packers, to whom the Bears had lost 10 straight, Williams was electrifying on a final possession charge to put the Bears in position for the game-winning field goal, but was forced to watch as Cairo Santos took the ball blocked.

• Against the Vikings, Williams brought the Bears back from an 11 deficit with less than two minutes to play to send the game into overtime.

• And of course, on Thanksgiving, Williams rallied the Bears from a 23-7 deficit in the fourth quarter, only to have Matt Eberflus mismanage the clock.

Williams did what he could to bring about the victory, but football is still a team game.

Yes, Jayden Daniels is ahead of Williams at this point. Give him the crown for a spectacular year. I also wonder how Daniels would have weathered the firing of his first offensive coordinator after just nine games and the firing of his head coach after 12 games.

Don’t you believe what I’m selling you about Williams? How about what Justin Jefferson told him at midfield after Monday Night Football a few weeks ago? “You’re a killer, boy. You do your thing. God has blessed you”

How about Kyle Shannahan?

“Caleb is as talented as they come. What you saw in college, you can see in the NFL. No matter how good a pitcher he is, he was born for the position, he has the athletic ability to do anything, and he has the speed to do anything.”

One of the best players and coaches in the game doesn’t have to say this, but he sees the crazy talent that for some reason not everyone sees in Chicago.

As a quarterback-hungry Chicago fan, I hoped and wished for a player to do well. I gave Mitch Trubisky the benefit of the doubt after a rookie season with 2,193 yards, 7 TDs, 7 INTs and a 77.5 rating. I gave Justin Fields the benefit of the doubt after a rookie season that included 1,870 yards, 7 TDs, 10 INTs and a 73 rating. And while those two have also struggled with Bears dysfunction, no one has been thrown more than Williams this season.

I’m not asking anyone to build Williams up to be something he’s not. He showed the NFL world that he could be great despite the Bears doing everything they could to ruin him. We used to ask for a QB with a 2-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio; Williams is almost 4-1.

Now it’s up to the franchise to find someone to help him develop. It doesn’t need to be repaired. In the meantime, can the Bears fix their organization’s problems? Will they be as confident as Williams? That’s the bigger problem. I believe in Santa Claus more than I believe in another bear hunt. Prove me wrong. New year, same problems.

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