Things went wrong for Caleb Williams last year in plenty of ways. While his numbers weren’t bad, the game tape showed a young player trying to do way too much. When things didn’t go well, he began leaning on his ability to scramble and make plays outside the pocket. It was apparent how uncomfortable he was standing inside it. All anybody had to do was watch his feet. They were all over the place, rarely matching where his eyes and body were going. That led to persistent accuracy issues.
When Ben Johnson arrived in January, he knew fixing that was at the top of his to-do list. If Williams were going to run his system, with all its pro-style layers, he’d have to understand the vital importance of footwork. It wasn’t pretty at first. Williams struggled to master the intricacies, especially working from under center. There were plenty of miscues in training camp and the preseason. However, over the past couple of weeks, Johnson believes there has been a breakthrough for his QB.
“I see him playing the game with his feet much more so than what we had in the spring or during training camp. He’s trying to tie in No. 1 in the progression with the first hitch, No. 2 with the second hitch and we’re trying to throw on time a lot more often than maybe we were initially. I see it coming along.”
Caleb Williams is showing that he’s bought in.
Plenty of quarterbacks say they’re ready to embrace what a coach preaches, but many of them tend to fall back on bad habits when things get difficult. Caleb Williams has shown the past two weeks that he is committed to doing things the right way. Johnson is teaching him that while mobility and improvisation are great assets, they can’t be the main part of his game. All the best quarterbacks in the league are able to play with the pocket, using their feet to evade pressure and deliver pinpoint passes.
Last Sunday was the first true indication of Williams getting it. Three of his four touchdown passes were made without a scramble. His feet looked calm and synced up with his eyes. If this progress continues, the Bears might be seeing the evolution of something special.
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