Ben Johnson understood the challenge and expectations that came with the head coaching job for the Chicago Bears. Yes, he was hired to turn the team around and win games. However, the primary reason was fixing Caleb Williams. The former #1 overall pick is the most talented quarterback the organization has had since Jay Cutler. He has a chance to become special. The problem is that quarterbacks are at the mercy of their surroundings. They rarely achieve their full potential if they don’t get the proper nurturing early in their careers.
Nobody argues that Johnson is a top offensive mind in the league. He proved that for three years in Detroit. The concern was he enjoyed that success with a veteran quarterback (Jared Goff). He’d never developed a guy almost from scratch before. Is he up to that challenge? One small moment during his recent press conference indicates he knows what he’s doing. During practice, Johnson was seen getting on Williams’ case after a play where it looked like he threw it to the wrong person.
That was not the case. It was something more important.
Ben Johnson shows that he knows what Williams’ problem is.
Processing speed is the decisive factor that determines the best quarterbacks. If Caleb wants to be great, he must learn how to play on time. That means learning when to move off his first read. If he hesitates too long, it will either lead to a sack or an interception because defenders are given time to react. The only way to fix the problem is by hammering it into Williams’ head, and his tendency to hold the ball while looking for the big play won’t work at this level. Ben Johnson is doing that by jumping on him every time he starts doing it. The quarterback is young. He’s allowed to learn these things. It is the head coach’s job never to let him get comfortable with cutting corners. This is everything Williams was missing last year.
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@David — Very much of what you state is true — however, we really don’t know if it was Waldron’s schemes (as well as Getsy’s before him) that were the source of all the offensive chaos — or the undisciplined receivers; the poor play of the QBs, the Ryan Poles hand-picked O-line — or, all of the above. __________ For a deeper dive into how today’s young QBs are taught to read NFL defenses, check the videos put out by HOF QB Kurt Warner. Warner is not a fan of the “pure progression” methods described by @David nor myself (when… Read more »
In the NFL if your first read isn’t open, you look to your 2nd read which is usually a pattern that takes a hitch longer to develop. If 1 and 2 are covered at the top of each route there should be an instant check down to pick up some yards. Your first and second reads aren’t always going to be covered, and that’s where talent comes into play as well. Better players will be open more often. But there always should be a check down and sometimes the “check down” route might be your first read on say a… Read more »
That was a really good article, Erik. It was informative and accurate — as well as intuitive. Congratulations! Also, some of your ardent readers may remember me harping on the time-to-throw (TTT) metric offered by ProFootbalFocus (PFF) as it related to QBs: Mitchell Trubisky, Justin Fields, Tyson Bagent and most recently, Caleb Sequan Williams, “LLC.” TTT however, is also affected rather significantly by: system, scheme, coaching and teammates (O-line and eligible receivers, both). Y’all may remember my pet peeve QB metric: TTT as it is related to the screen pass (“SCR”). PFF’s SCR metric gives us quite a clear picture… Read more »
I can only hope my HC Ben will be able to fix Caleb in year four 4 4 4 4 of the rebuild. If not, I’m calling Bagent.