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Bear Digest

How Ben Johnson and Bears Adjust to a Different QB ... If Necessary

Dealing with injuries to the top two QBs is simply something Bears coach Ben Johnson says the team must handle, but Caleb Williams might have other ideas.
Gene Chamberlain|
Caleb Williams rolls left and begins his fateful run to an injury in Sunday's loss.
Caleb Williams rolls left and begins his fateful run to an injury in Sunday's loss. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Chicago Bears

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Caleb Williams participated in walk-through Wednesday for the Bears, although he did not actually work at practice due to his hamstring injury.

Tyson Bagent was not even at Halas Hall, per the concussion protocol.

This is what Bears coach Ben Johnson faces as he settled in with the idea of being comfortable calling plays for veteran third-stringer Case Keenum. It was Keenum and practice squad QB Miller Moss on the field alone for practice. Yet, Johnson called it only slightly different on his end.

"It's the same thing," Johnson said. "We're going to look for plays that we feel like might have a chance to get guys open, create some space in the passing game, running lanes, in the running game. It's up to the supporting cast. It's not just on one player; it never is.

"So we got 10 other guys out there with our quarterback. They got to help champion the cause and carry their weight as well. So, as far as I'm concerned, not a whole lot changes from a coaching perspective. We're going to go out there. We're going to come up with as good of a game plan as we possibly can."

Same approach for Ben Johnson

The fact he has never called a game for a backup, let alone Keenum, doesn't alter Johnson's approach.

"I've called a lot of practices for him, unscripted practices," Johnson said. "I've called a lot of preseason games for him so far. So he and I, he's at the point of his career where he's like another coach in a lot of ways. He's seen a ton."

Keenum has been in the league since signing as an undrafted free agent in 2012 with Houston.

"He knows what good football looks like," Johnson said. "He knows what a healthy locker room looks like and he's a key part of what we do. And so he and I talk in a regular basis, from a quarterback meeting perspective to big lens with the team.

"I mean, he's a big part of this and so I'm not concerned at all about calling the game for him or how he can potentially play on Monday night."

Wide receiver Rome Odunze called the passing connection between himself and Keenum an easy thing to re-establish.

"Obviously training camp, offseason, we throw with everybody. You catch passes from everybody," Odunze said. "So when it comes to a chemistry sort of thing, it’s not really something I’m worried about. You know Case can dial it up and can sling with the best of them, so I’m excited for that.”

Hearing someone else at QB

There is something different for the offense with Keenum, Johnson finally did admit. It's not something drastic.

"I think what's the biggest thing for our offense right now is really just getting used to being in the huddle with a different voice," he said. "As much as we want all the cadences to sound the same, they don't. And so we still wanna be able to get off the ball at the same time and use that as an advantage."

Keenum has a solution for that already.

"This is another thing about being a backup, I’m trying to match my cadence to be Caleb’s," Keenum said. "And I’ve helped Tyson with that, as well. We’re trying to match Caleb’s as much as we can.

"When we’re working cadence, we’re working center-quarterback exchange, working the scout team, working all that stuff. We’re trying to do exactly as Caleb has done and so as seamlessly as possible. There’s a few little things here and there just operationally-wise but you know, a few days of practice and you get going." 

It's hard to see how there wouldn't be other big differences.

"But we got three big days here to make sure that we're all aligned and on the same page of what we want that to sound like if it's not Caleb," Johnson said. "And I got a lot of faith and trust in the fact that we got three guys that have won games in this league and played big on a big stage, which Monday Night Football will be."

As for the intended and rightful QB, Williams is basically less than a practice squad player as the Bears install their game plan for the Eagles. However, he is on the field and players are not discounting the possibility he'll play.

“He’s dialed in, he is preparing like he’s playing,” Odunze said. “Obviously, we don’t know what’s going to happen, but he’s dialed in.

"He’s invested regardless of if he’s planning or not. I think that just speaks to his character, the type of guy he is and the support for all of us in this organization.”

It's happened before like this

Bears lore has a similar situation to what they are now facing. It was the magical 1985 season and in Week 3, just like this time, they had a night game, albeit Thursday and not Monday. Quarterback Jim McMahon was unavailable due to injury, but pestered and pressed coach Mike Ditka into putting him in the game after he'd been out of practices. The Bears stormed back against the Vikings and won 33-24 in a game that helped launch them toward the Super Bowl.

Johnson almost sounded like he was describing the way McMahon was before that game when he revealed what Williams is like right now.

"Still being a great supporter in the quarterback room, walkthrough right now, making sure he's contributing ideas for what we wanna get done," Johnson said. "It's one of those things.

"I know he's an antsy individual. He's a competitor. He wants to be out there on the grass going full speed. So it is a little bit more challenging to hold a guy back like that. But if you could build a player, that's what you'd want him to be like."

Don't count out the Iceman.

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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.

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