Ben Johnson’s collaborative plan to develop Caleb Williams
With the new head coach solidified for the Chicago Bears, the next question on everyone’s mind is what will the offensive scheme look like under Ben Johnson and how will it help quarterback Caleb Williams?
[MORE: Why Bears QB Caleb Williams believes Ben Johnson is the right partner]
While fans have to wait until September to see it in action, the process of creating a scheme collaboratively is something Johnson wants to do with his new quarterback.
“I spoke to Ben Johnson about the concept of dropping a playbook down,” Scott Bair said on the Bears on the Marquee podcast. “He’s like ‘Sometimes, that works. A lot of times, it doesn’t, because the players feel force-fed. They’re being dictated to. Just because a scheme worked in one place doesn’t mean that it’s going to work in another.’
“He and Jared [Goff] would sit in a room with whiteboards on every side, he would draw up a play and be like, ‘Jared what do you think about that? How can we make this better for you within the design?’ He’s going to do something similar with Caleb Williams this spring. They’re going to spend a ton of time together in a room covered in whiteboards figuring out how an offensive philosophy that Ben Johnson believes in can work with what Caleb Williams likes to do.”
Now, Goff and Williams are two different quarterbacks with different skillsets that help them be great. What worked for Goff may not work for Williams, but Johnson now has the reins in hand to see how he and his quarterback can come together in a way to not only put points on the board but also help develop Williams into being that franchise quarterback for the Bears.
“Caleb is a little more of an expressionist painter. Let’s throw some over here and over there,” Bair said. “I think Ben Johnson can find a way to maximize Caleb Williams. We’ve seen the flashes. Now it’s about getting the routine down, and I think Ben Johnson can listen to Caleb, understand his athleticism while giving him some guardrails to prevent him from driving off of the mountain cliff. That’s a good thing, and I think Caleb will appreciate that.”
New episodes of the Bears on the Marquee podcast drop each Tuesday.