Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson has spent the past 18 months trying to hammer it into Caleb Williams’ head about improving his completion percentage. Getting it to 70% is the goal. All the great quarterbacks hover around that mark. Why? Mostly because it helps the team win more often. Williams didn’t really succeed at that goal last season, finishing at 58.1%. So this offseason was spent improving it. There was some progress in training camp, but Johnson wanted to see more. That was when a Hall of Famer came to his aid.
In the days leading up to the opener in Carolina, Williams met with the broadcast team. It featured Bulls announcer Adam Amin and former quarterback Drew Brees. The New Orleans Saints icon and holder of multiple passing records knows plenty about completion percentage. Seven of his career seasons ended at 70% or above. One of them was his Super Bowl-winning year in 2009. He decided to give Williams some advice on how to improve in that area. It came via a simple stat.
The difference between 60% and 70% in a game is three completions.
If Williams can find just three extra completions each week, it will make the offense so much better. The Bears quarterback finished the opener 21-of-29, good for 72% on the day. Johnson admitted on Monday that Brees’ words stuck more with Williams than even he expected.
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Caleb Williams looked in total control.
Make no mistake. The young quarterback still showcased his aggressive mentality, taking several deep shots downfield against Carolina’s defense. His willingness to attack tighter windows was certainly on display in the touchdown to Cole Kmet and the 47-yard bomb to Rome Odunze. However, lost amidst the offensive onslaught was how poised Williams was in the pocket. There were multiple moments, as Johnson pointed out, when the first read wasn’t available. Normally in those conditions, Williams would’ve left the pocket and tried to create something.
Not this time. There were a handful of moments where he either went to his second read on the play or checked it down. Each time led to a positive gain, keeping the offense ahead of the chains. This wasn’t a vintage Caleb Williams game. It was more like a blend of Williams and Brees. When thinking about it like that, it’s no wonder the Panthers couldn’t stop it. Brees was impossible to defend in his day. Imagine what it would’ve been like if he could also run.
Williams’ most important trait is on display.
That is his willingness to learn. Many young players wouldn’t want to hear any advice from legends. Those guys are the past. It’s my time now. I’ll do it myself. Not Williams. He is smart enough to know “those guys” were successful for a reason. The best thing you can do is get as much information as possible from them. That is why Williams has peppered guys like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers with questions. His ego isn’t so big that he won’t admit he doesn’t know enough.
While Brady may have given him great advice on what it takes to be a champion, Brees seems to have told him about how to become a more efficient quarterback. It was something Johnson knew he couldn’t really offer since he never played the position at the NFL level. He saw everything from a coach’s perspective. Sometimes you need another quarterback to help point the way. Brees managed to do in a single meeting what the coaches couldn’t over the past year.
