It didn’t take long to realize that Ben Johnson would not be that guy to sugarcoat his answer with pleasantries. Players and coaches alike will get one thing from him: the truth. It doesn’t matter if they want to hear it or not. Accountability is the word at Halas Hall, and that applies to everyone. Johnson has been sure to take the blame when things don’t always go according to plan. However, he makes sure not to let players slip away unscathed. He hasn’t been afraid to call them out publicly when they aren’t doing their jobs.
Monday was another such example. Johnson should still be basking in the glow of his team’s massive upset of the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles. Instead, he seemed unsatisfied. Much of it had to do with the performance of the passing game. Caleb Williams finished with 152 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and again failed even to reach 60% of his passes completed. When asked about the issues, Johnson revealed what’s holding things back.
Rest assured, it’s not just about the quarterback.
“Fundamentally be correct. The primary receiver, when he’s open, we’ve got to make sure we hit him. And then all of our pass catchers, we just harped on it today, we need to be more disciplined in our route detail. It’s not where it needs to be. Our depth’s not proper all the time. Our steps isn’t.”
If that wasn’t direct enough, Johnson dropped the hammer with his final comment on the subject.
“Everybody has a role to play to get this pass game cleaned up. It’s not where it needs to be. We’re winning in spite of our passing game, not because of it. And none of us are pleased with that.”
Ben Johnson told it like it is.
Right now, the Bears’ passing game hasn’t been good. Williams ranks 32nd in the league in on-target passing percentage (62.1%) this season. Simultaneously, Bears receivers have 18 drops this season, which is 6th-most in the NFL. So, basically, Williams isn’t accurate often enough, and when he is, his receivers aren’t consistently catching the ball. That is a bad combination. Hence why Ben Johnson said the problems are everywhere. The receivers have to run their routes better and catch the ball. Williams must throw with better timing and fundamentals.
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These are all things that can be cleaned up. Johnson already proved it was possible with what he accomplished with the ground game. There is no reason to think he can’t do the same here. It is all about getting everybody on the same page. Sometimes that can take longer than people may like. The fact that Chicago continues to win regardless is a great thing.
