It wasn’t the entire reason he was hired, but everybody knows why Ben Johnson was brought in. The 38-year-old was tasked with maximizing the abilities of quarterback Caleb Williams. That would require a plan. The Chicago Bears head coach has said he will do his best to tailor his offense to Williams’s strengths as a player. However, like any coach, he must also ask his young quarterback to adjust his own game to improve. What nobody has known is what those adjustments might be.
Johnson finally gave us a taste during a Q&A at the annual NFL Owners Meetings. The first centered around schematic plans. While he knows Williams was at his best in college in shotgun, where he could spread the field and deliver the ball, things would be a little different. Johnson wants him to get more comfortable working under center. Why? It will help open up the running game and with that…play action.
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The second part is more technical.
Johnson is a big believer in something called EPA, or Expected Points Added. Essentially, it measures how well a team performs compared to their expectation on a play-by-play basis. Data shows that it isn’t turnovers and takeaways that tend to decide games these days. It’s EPA efficiency. That means improving Williams’ completion percentage and manufacturing more run-after-the-catch opportunities for receivers and running backs.
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Ben Johnson being a proponent of this isn’t surprising.
Jared Goff was one of the most proficient EPA quarterbacks last season. He was third in EPA per play and fifth in completion percentage above expected. Williams was among the league’s worst in the former category and only average in the latter. This is part of why the Bears constantly had difficulty closing games out last season. Obviously, not all of this is Williams’ fault. His coaching staff and blocking didn’t do nearly enough to help. Still, it paints a clear picture of what must be done.
Running the ball better and creating play action opportunities will make life much easier for Williams. It certainly did for Goff. Ben Johnson also knows he must work hard to create ways to consistently get the #1 and #2 passing options in a play open. That didn’t happen enough last season, forcing the quarterback to hold the ball. The fact Johnson understands all of this is a welcome sign that Chicago finally has somebody in charge who knows what he’s doing.
