Caleb Williams wanted Ben Johnson. That much was obvious from the moment the offseason began. He and the former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator were already aware of each other. Johnson had seen Williams play at USC and again in two meetings against the Chicago Bears. Williams watched the young coach conduct his offense like a symphony orchestra, always one step ahead of everybody. It felt like an obvious idea to team together, matching Williams’ rare talent with Johnson’s genius.
One thing became clear immediately: Johnson has no plans to coddle his young quarterback. There have been just three training camp practices, and already, the Bears head coach is throwing some nasty curveballs at Williams. The latest came on Friday. It was a day marked by some struggles in red zone drills. Williams threw two interceptions and failed to get a completion. It turns out that it was orchestrated by Johnson, who intentionally ran the drill so that pressure came off the edge unblocked.
Offensive coordinator Declan Doyle explained it was done to measure how the quarterback handled unexpected pressure.
“That’s very intentional. That’s trying to get our defensive pressures in against some of the stuff that we’re going to do offensively. We have contingency plans for what they are going to bring at us, so the quarterback operating getting the offense on the same page as far as checking plays, checking protections, things like that, but that’s all a part of the scripted practice, is trying to get the defense right with their pressure patterns and the way they’re going to play coverage on the back end and then it’s getting our quarterbacks used to whether we’re throwing the ball or up front handling the movement with those run schemes.”
Johnson is putting Caleb Williams through game-like situations.
There is no easing on the gas pedal because it’s practice. If anything, that is entirely the reason. If you can’t handle those situations in a controlled environment, there is zero reason to think it’ll be any different in actual games. Johnson has a standard for how he thinks the quarterback should play. Just because Caleb Williams is young and unfamiliar with the offense doesn’t mean he’s relaxing expectations. This is the big boys’ league. There is no time for an adjustment period. Johnson called it a “race” for a reason. Everybody is on the clock. Williams got his trial by fire last season. Now it’s time to learn whether he can hack it. He can probably expect more of those surprises in the coming days and weeks.
