Ben Johnson knew what he signed up for. Yes, he was hired to coach the Chicago Bears. It was a dream that had been building for him going back years. However, the truth was that he was hired to coach Caleb Williams. The organization had the highest hopes for the former #1 overall pick. After Matt Eberflus completely flubbed his opportunity to point the young quarterback in the right direction, Johnson was brought in to fix it. He had the offensive background and expertise to get everything cleaned up.
He knew this would be a multi-pronged approach. Teaching Williams to become a top pro quarterback wasn’t just about installing a good offensive system and showing him how to run it. There are many facets to what makes the great ones great. It starts with how they conduct themselves on the sidelines and in the huddle. Then it’s about what they do pre-snap, reading defenses, and adjusting to counter them.
Last but not least is the fundamentals of the position. Johnson knew this part would be the most challenging for Williams, so he enlisted an old friend to help show the young QB how it’s done. Albert Breer of the MMQB had the details.
To Williams’s credit, he welcomed every piece of criticism in an effort to get better. Which allowed the staff to move quickly to a lot of Lions tape, to give Williams an idea of what Johnson would be bringing from Detroit with him, and Matthew Stafford film, to bring some visuals to what they’d try to work him toward technique and fundamentals-wise.
Ben Johnson leaning on Matthew Stafford is no surprise.
The Los Angeles Rams quarterback spent most of his NFL career in Detroit. Two of those years saw Johnson on the staff in 2019 and 2020. Stafford had 45 touchdowns and 15 interceptions during that stretch with a passer rating of 99.8. He is a no-doubt future Hall of Famer who is somehow still not getting his due even after 16 years of mostly excellent play. Ben Johnson isn’t dumb. He knows Stafford plays the position as well as anybody, right up there with the likes of Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers. The Bears head coach already knows Williams has the insane improvisational skills to dazzle defense. What he needs to learn is how to operate consistently from the pocket. Few can teach him better than Stafford.
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