Bear Digest

How Ben Johnson can overlook Caleb Williams' erratic growth chart

While the Bears' second-year QB clearly frustrates fans with up-and-down performances, coaches remain convinced experience will ultimately shape his success.
Gene Chamberlain|
Caleb Williams looks to the sidelines between plays to get Ben Johnson's input during the 28-21 loss to Green Bay.
Caleb Williams looks to the sidelines between plays to get Ben Johnson's input during the 28-21 loss to Green Bay. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Anyone who looks at Caleb Williams' declining passing numbers and the need coach Ben Johnson has for more efficient passing might be surprised by how certain he and his offensive coaches are about their quarterback's future.

It's easy to get lost in nine out of 10 games with completion percentages below 60%.

They are clearly in Williams' corner now and going forward well beyond a Week 15 game with Cleveland despite:

  • A completion percentage of 57.8%, far worse than last year's sub-standard 62.5%.
  • A passer rating of 87.2, worse than last year's mediocre 87.8.
  • A higher interception rate (1.4%) than last year (1.1%).
  • A low yards/attempt, only slightly better (6.7) than last year's meager average (6.3).

They view Williams as someone they are molding within an offense, a raw player who really was hindered more than helped by what he did as a rookie in a different attack.

The self-critical QB

Coach Ben Johnson has built a relationship with Williams and has confidence in his QB. He sees the right approach day-in and day-out, and the relationship leading to eventual success..

"He's doing a really good job right now of being critical of himself," Johnson said. "We see it the same way, we'll watch tape together, and it’s, I’ve got to be better there."

"I think that's the best thing about him is he's built for the big stage, the big moments."
Ben Johnson on QB Caleb Williams

An example came in walk-throughs when the actual passing of the football is less important than having everyone know their assignments and fits on plays.

"Even the walkthrough, we just had a walkthrough and he's a little off, then walking off he's like, 'Man, I had two in there that I could have gotten a little bit cleaner in a walkthrough set,' " Johnson said. "Well, we just installed the play, that's natural.

"He's critical of himself and he's taken the coaching. I know good things are coming down the horizon. He’s going to continue to get better.”

Where improvement shows

They're seeing this self-analysis reflected in better numbers even if the other numbers represented regression.

Williams remains 13th among starters in passing EPA and in EPA per play, the analytics Johnson puts so much trust in during the offseason.

  • His QBR, an ESPN metric more reflective of overall QB play than passer rating, is up from 43.3 last year to 53.4 this year.
  • The Bears remain fifth in scoring and eighth in offense, and even though they are second in rushing the passing game is good enough at 15th that it has been able to complement the ground game and a defense taking away the football.
  • Then there are the seven fourth-quarter comebacks and six game-winning drives he has, five of each coming this season. He missed last week. That's 5 of 7 on the years and it's a good percentage for any second-year QB.

Williams compared himself to Michael Jordan this past week as a clutch performer who is undeterred by one failure at a game's end in Green Bay.

“I think that's the best thing about him is he's built for the big stage, the big moments," Johnson said. "We've talked about that in the past as well.

"He rises to that occasion and the bigger the stage. I think he really comes to life as a player. Hopefully we can find a way to make it into the dance and I think he'll be playing his best football when we when we earn that right.”

While they see the long-term growth within the offense as present, Williams needs to advance various aspects of his game in the short term for the playoff run. The first and main one is starting games with more accurate throws. His 79.9 passer rating in first halves compared to 96.3 in second halves reflects this.

“It's one of those things we're still working through," Johnson said. "I gauge it a lot over the course of the week. What are the passes looking like when we're out there full speed? That gives me a lot of confidence going to the game of, man, he threw this one really well during the week and let's get it out early so that we can just get a couple completions banked.

"In the last, call it four or five games, I just haven't felt like we've gotten into that where we're stacking up completions, He's conscious of it. I'm conscious of it. And we'll continue to try to find that right balance of what those plays are.”

Staying in the now

Offensive coordinator Delcan Doyle views Williams' approach as correct one because he's not letting the big picture and desire for immediate growth become an obsession. Improvement doesn't occur for a player in this manner.

"The biggest thing is just keeping our eyes on the road," Doyle said. "Obviously, you want to be able to step back and look at the macro. You want to be able to look at the big picture and say, this is where we're headed as a team and personally as well.

"But the second you take your eyes off of what's right in front of you, you start looking in the rear view or out the window, you start to lose control of the car. The biggest thing for him is let's focus on the next task at hand. Let's get ready to go play this week and show up on Sunday. All that other stuff will take care of itself."

If they get the flaws ironed out while the rest of their game continues on its present course, postseason play could not only be in their immediate future but it can become an annual ritual.

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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.