Easily the most recognizable quote Ben Johnson has made as Chicago Bears head coach is, “Get comfortable being uncomfortable.” Those were his words to quarterback Caleb Williams, wide receivers D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze, and tight end Cole Kmet during his introductory press conference. Since then, the man has been true to his word. Everything coming out of spring and early summer practices is that Johnson isn’t taking things slow. His intensity, attention to detail, and high demand set the tone immediately.
No player is learning this faster than Williams. The quarterback has already been the target of Johnson’s tirades during practice more than once. That isn’t the extent of it, though. In his latest press conference, Johnson admitted that he’s ramped up the pressure in other ways.
“We’ve loaded him up. We’ve tried a number of different things: long play calls, multiple plays at the line, tempo. We’ve dabbled here, there and everywhere really throughout the springtime and some come a little bit more natural than others for him. But I do think we’ve seen him get better in really all facets.”
The Bears have no intention of babying Williams. If he plans to become a top quarterback in the NFL, he must learn how to master every facet of running an offense. That means digesting complex play calls, getting out of the huddle fast, identifying what a defense is doing, and making adjustments. All of that must be done within 40 seconds between plays.
Ben Johnson isn’t grinding Williams to humble him.
That isn’t his job as the head coach. His goal is to mold the quarterback into what he should be as a player. Being a great quarterback takes hard work. Lots of hard work. That means putting enough on his plate so that it is almost too much without going overboard. If Caleb can’t handle these sorts of things in practice, why should the team expect he suddenly will in a playoff game? He understands that, which is why he is attending every practice even when they aren’t mandatory. Williams is getting as much work in as possible. That is why Ben Johnson is so encouraged by his progress. If he can handle the work right now when it’s all new, everything should fall into place as he starts mastering it in the coming months. Everything is about getting him to that point as quickly as possible.
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@Bears57, I sense some sarcasm there. I will say that Lamar Jackson (now one of the highest paid players) has sit out OTA’s and you have the answer as to why that guy never gets to a Super Bowl. You can already tell that Ben is a great leader and that he will not put up with poor effort or not knowing where to be in a play. I am saying this guy is our Bill Walsh and will get us back to prominence!!
What a hero. Going to practice even when it’s not mandatory. Almost like it’s only his second year and he’s got a brand new coach and offense. The courage and dedication this man is showing will be remembered for generations.
…The pressure is clearly on Caleb now and in the foreseeable future.
My HC BEN and his competent crew know what they are doing. They are the Bears best, if not their last, hope. Caleb must do his part as quickly as possible and lead the way to team success.