Ben Johnson arrived with a reputation. He had three years of glittering success as the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions. Caleb Williams was aware of it, having seen it in action in two games. Many chalked it up to his superb ability to generate a ground attack and pair it with perfectly-timed play action. In the past few months, Williams has dug deep into the playbook while taking direct instructions from Johnson. It hasn’t taken him long to realize the true essence of what makes the new Chicago Bears head coach a walking cheat code.
Sure, the run scheme is great. It’s already yielding big results in training camp. The same goes for the play action and the craft route designs in the passing game. However, all of that derives from one of Johnson’s core principles: running different plays from the same formation. In other words, the goal is to lure defenses into a false sense of security. The Bears have certain looks they present. Normally, those looks would lead to a particular play. Johnson’s goal is to run multiple different plays out of the same formation, leading to rampant defensive confusion.
Williams raved about it to Courtney Cronin of ESPN.
Caleb Williams has found a coach who emulates his game.
One thing that makes the quarterback so maddening to defense is he’s not easy to predict—his ability to improvise borders on the preternatural. He can feel defenders around him and has the speed and agility to slip out of danger to make a big play. Now you put him in the hands of a coach who is just as unpredictable with his formations and calls, and you have something defenses consider nightmare fuel. At least with Jared Goff in Detroit, you know he’d always be in the pocket. That small consolation is no longer on the table. Caleb Williams will benefit from what Johnson can do with his misdirections, and couple it with his ability to make things happen on the fly. It can be so unfair. We’re talking Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes types of symmetry. It can be that good if things coalesce as hoped.
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