People are already making excuses for the game Caleb Williams played last Sunday. It was the Dallas Cowboys. Their defense sucks. Playing well against them means nothing. They ignore how Jalen Hurts, a supposed top 10 quarterback, barely managed 150 yards against that defense two weeks earlier. No touchdown, either. Williams only threw five more passes but ended up with 148 more yards and four more touchdowns. A great performance is a great performance, period.
Yet people don’t truly understand what makes it so frightening. Having followed Williams’ development and understood Ben Johnson’s offense, Adam Hoge of CHGO pointed out something people don’t realize.
Everyone wants to jump to conclusions on these young, highly-drafted quarterbacks, but this is a process. I bet Williams hasn’t even mastered 20 percent of Ben Johnson’s offense and that’s probably even generous. He’s still just scratching the surface, which is what makes his performance against the Cowboys so exciting.
Think about that. Williams had one of the best games any quarterback has played this season, despite not yet fully grasping a quarter of Johnson’s system. It just makes you wonder how much more dangerous he can become once the full playbook is open to him. This is why having patience is so crucial.
Caleb Williams isn’t even benefiting from the core of Johnson’s offense.
That is the running game. The coach’s best work in Detroit was fed by a strong ground attack. Few in the NFL are better at weaponizing play action. Unfortunately, the Bears are only 15th in rushing, and much of that is thanks to Caleb Williams’ ability to scramble. Despite his obvious talent, D’Andre Swift hasn’t provided them with a reliable enough presence on the ground. Still, it hasn’t stopped Williams from continuing to progress rapidly. Things are slowing down. His feet look calmer. His eyes are going to the right spots, and he’s starting to throw with more timing and rhythm. Johnson’s influence is obvious. The head coach made it clear how happy he was with Williams’ progress. To think he still has so much room to grow. It’s kind of terrifying.
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