Family Fest is a tradition for Chicago Bears training camp every year. It is where the team holds a padded practice at Soldier Field, allowing the fans to see the team in a game-like setting while players get their first taste of playing in their true home. The latest trip certainly had its share of excitement. It was an uneven day for the offense. Things didn’t start well as Caleb Williams and the offensive line struggled with multiple delay of game penalties. The quarterback also had an ugly throw that should’ve been intercepted. However, head coach Ben Johnson kept them on the attack, and things seemed to shift as practice continued.
Part of this came from Johnson’s galaxy brain. He’s renowned for his play-calling prowess and dug into his bag in this practice. After defensive coordinator Dennis Allen threw some nasty blitzes at the offense in early drills, Johnson fired back. The first one came in a red zone drill. A wide receiver came in late motion and faked a jet sweep while the running back also ran the opposite direction in what was a double play action. This allowed tight end Cole Kmet to leak out, where Williams found him wide open for a walk-in touchdown.
Johnson wasn’t done. A few minutes later, he hatched another devious wrinkle when he gave wide receiver DJ Moore a hand-off in the backfield, which he took 10 yards for another touchdown.
Ben Johnson is providing only a taste of what is coming.
Nobody is more deadly with play action than him. He proved it for years in Detroit. Chicago was among the NFL’s worst in play action percentage last year, which is mind-boggling when you have a rookie quarterback. Ben Johnson will change that. Those two plays showcase how elaborate he can get. It won’t always be your traditional fake to the running back. He’ll throw receivers in there, too. As for the Moore play, Johnson loves gadgets. He ran hand-offs to receivers quite a bit with the Lions. Moore has the kind of YAC ability that makes him sort of a running back in the receiver’s body. Previous Bears coaches never really tried exploiting that advantage enough. Johnson won’t make that mistake. The fact that he is willing to show these plays in front of a crowd, with cameras present, should tell you how unbothered the head coach is about other teams seeing his playbook.
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