Bear Digest

Ben Johnson's take on scramble drill reveals how Bears fix it

Caleb Williams' accuracy on throws outside the pocket has plummeted and coach Ben Johnson has addressed one solution to a multi-layered problem.
Gene Chamberlain|
Caleb Williams running out of the pocket or running out of it to throw has become a hot topic at Halas Hall because of the inefficiency the Bears have had when he does it.
Caleb Williams running out of the pocket or running out of it to throw has become a hot topic at Halas Hall because of the inefficiency the Bears have had when he does it. | Peter Casey-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Bears coach Ben Johnson has added clarity to the issue of Caleb Williams leaving the pocket too often or too soon in order to throw or run.

Going into the game with Baltimore, it's been bothering Williams how his so-called "superpower" of hitting receivers on the run off platform is seemingly gone. Meanwhile, Johnson has preferred to talk about progressions and the need to throw from the pocket.

Johnson made it clear lack of success throwing on the run hasn't always been Williams' fault. Then again, lately, perhaps it has. Williams has averaged 3.3 yards per attempt outside the pocket per Tru Media and about 42% completions, but 7.3 yards per attempt overall. This doesn't say much for the so-called master of the improv. Sumer Sports Solutions says he has an abysmal -33.01 passing EPA when throwing under pressure.

“We have scramble rules," Johnson explained. "Going into the bye-week we reassessed what that looked like and we didn't feel like our route runners were as disciplined as we wanted them to be in terms of executing those scramble rules."

They've addressed it with receivers at practice and in meetings.

"That's step No. 1, getting open down the field; I think we've seen improvement there from those route runners over the last couple weeks," Johnson said. "I think there was one in particular last week that I was really happy to see how a couple of those guys to the side of the scramble reacted.

"It's what we want. It's what we're coaching."

The other part is where Johnson revealed what he wants, and where Williams is in line for some self-improvement.

"The next step is we’ve just got to hook up on some of them," Johnson said. "As a coach, you really don't want a ton of those scrambles because what that means is there's a breakdown somewhere.

"Either the primary or secondary options aren't getting open or we're having a breakdown in protection."

One thing bothers Johnson about such plays more than other aspects.

"Then when it does come up, we talk about making sure we don't make a bad play worse," Johnson said. "That’s step No. 1. We don't want to take sacks in those situations. I do think that's where Caleb and his athleticism can shine for us."

Bottom line is they're not getting positive plays out of scramble situations.

"We probably just haven't had the success that we would like at the rate that we would like when those things come up," Johnson said. "It’s something we're conscious of and what we're coaching both through the air and on the ground with (Williams') legs because he can be dangerous on the ground as well.”

The key here to all of this talk regarding Williams and when he leaves the pocket is not coaching the ad-lib skillset out of him because then he's not playing naturally and it's removing a potentially deadly weapon from the arsenal.

It’s something that can benefit the team immensely if executed properly–once he has learned to run the offense itself the right way. Completing passes outside the pocket is a perfect complement but can’t be the attack itself because of the difficulty in executing plays this way.

The Bears are finding that much out right now on a weekly basis.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.