When the Bears hired Ben Johnson as their new head coach nearly five months ago, he vowed to make quarterback Caleb Williams uncomfortable.
On the eve of the last practice before players break for the summer, he sounded as though he’d accomplished just that.
“We’ve loaded him up,” Johnson said Tuesday at Halas Hall. “We’ve tried a number of different things: long play calls, multiple plays at the line, tempo. We’ve dabbled here, there and everywhere, really, throughout the springtime, and some [things] come a little bit more natural than others for him. But I do think we’ve seen him get better in really all facets.”
The next step is for Johnson to gather the offensive staff and decide what to emphasize and what to tamp down during training camp, which starts in late July.
“I feel pretty confident [with] the things [Williams has] put on tape that we can go ahead and get after it a little bit,” Johnson said.
And Williams has given the Bears plenty of tape. He’s among the younger players who stayed for one more week of organized team activities even after veterans were dismissed following mandatory minicamp last week.
“He’s committed to learning the offense,” Johnson said. “We’re not where we need to be yet as a team, and he understands that. Any chance he gets to get a few more full-speed reps, it sounds like he wants them.”
About half of the Bears’ 90-man roster participated in the extra OTA practices, mostly players in their first three years, plus special-teamers and veterans such as safety Elijah Hicks and cornerback Josh Blackwell.
“[Williams] has done a great job so far digesting,” Johnson said. “He’s working hard. There’s still some hiccups out there when you’re watching it, and some turnovers or needing the play one more time, [but] that’s part of the growing process.”
On Tuesday, the hiccups were in the red zone. Williams focused on finding receivers at all four pylons and struggled at times, throwing two interceptions.
“That was our third or fourth red-zone experience here over the last few weeks,” Johnson said. “That’s always the one I think takes the longest as an offense — to get really good at the red-zone passing game.”
It takes accuracy from the quarterback and precision from his teammates. Williams finished tied for 17th in the NFL last year with 13 passing touchdowns inside the 20. He had 11 passing touchdowns inside the 10, tying him for 13th.
Outside the red zone, he has found ways to impress his new coach.
“There’s always a throw or two every single day,” Johnson said. “The movement stuff outside of the pocket, it’s what we thought coming into town here — the ability to create.
“Sometimes you get wrapped up when you’re in the multiple-play-call game, being in the perfect play all the time for the perfect coverage, that look of the defense. And really, with him, it doesn’t matter so much what the play call is. If it’s the perfect play, then it’s great — it’s there. If it’s not, then he’s able to find a way to make it work. So I think there’s a little bit of that going on right now and figuring that out.”
The Bears need Williams to hit the open man. But Johnson is amazed by what can happen when he improvises.
“I think he’s gonna play on time when the receivers present themselves that way,” Johnson said. “And if they’re not there — if No. 1 or No. 2’s not there — I think he’s got the ability to make it right for us.”
