Bear Digest

Tough love by Ben Johnson molded Caleb Williams for Bears' postseason

The best football of Caleb Williams' Bears career is occurring now and much can be traced back to how his coach handled things in the offseason and training camp.
Gene Chamberlain|
Caleb Williams took the tough coaching from Ben Johnson and is playing his best football of the season.
Caleb Williams took the tough coaching from Ben Johnson and is playing his best football of the season. | Mark Hoffman-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Tough love has turned Caleb Williams into a tough quarterback to beat, and promises to make him even better as the Bears go forward.

As more of the relationship between Williams and coach Ben Johnson comes to light, it has become apparent the two weren't exactly buddies at OTAs and training camp. Last week, Williams even described it as a "fraj-ee-lee" (fragile) relationship.

On Wednesday, he detailed why Johnson used to get after him, and it seems he's come a very long way since then.

“Everything," Williams said. "I can't necessarily pinpoint one thing: drops, footwork, cadence, plays in the huddle, getting them out faster, diagnosing defenses better/faster, getting the ball out. I mean, I can keep going on and on.”

It looks like it has worked. Johnson couldn't disagree with the notion that Williams is playing his best football heading into the postseason.

Although Williams’ completion percentage remains a low 58.7% for the last three games, he has a passer rating of 103.1 then with six TDs, no interceptions and 822 yards on 61 of 104 attempts. It gives him an outside chance at the 4,000-yard mark with 270 passing yards Sunday against Detroit. He has also averaged 7.9 yards per attempt in those three games, an excellent number and much better than his 7.0 for the year.

"He's certainly settled in and the conversations we have now are a little bit more advanced than they were earlier in the season in terms of what we're trying to get done with some of these ball plays," Johnson said. "I think you've seen the presnap penalties start to go down and when you see things over the last half the season where you're getting the free plays, and you can kind of feel his control with the line of scrimmage start to come out a little bit more.

"And so, I think he feels very much involved in the process. I think he feels like he's got a great grasp on what we're trying to get done. And I think that's showing up now on game day on a consistent basis. He's able to play a little bit faster. Made some big time throws there the other day, and I think he's just playing really confident right now and hopefully we can continue that trend.”

Williams came to a realization about Johnson that made the relationship work so well it got him to this point.

“I think that the constant meetings, the constant communication, his consistency and who he is—he wasn't on one day and off the next, or all in one week and off," Williams said. "That's who he's been. That's, how he's going to be.

"When you can sit back and realize that's who somebody is, the respect, the trust and the loyalty grows. Then you go out there on the football field and what he's saying works and the plays work and the alignments and the assignments they work, then that trust and loyalty starts to grow. You build more of that and the bond and all that starts to grow a lot more.”

Still to come is a big matter and it's not the silly, overblown quest for 4,000 yards. It's the playoffs, and Williams—just like many Bears—will experience them for the first time.

“I'll ask questions," Williams said. "It is, it is still football. It is just another football game. That's how I think of it. I don't go into it, this game is bigger than the next, or this game is bigger than Week 17. That's never how I go into games.

"I think that's a constant mindset that I have for myself. Throughout my years, throughout this year, no game is bigger than where we're at. Being able to make sure that I go into the game with that mindset, being able to make sure that I'm levelheaded and make sure that we're focused on the details and make sure we don't let the details slip. That's what loses these games, these primetime games or these playoff games.”

Don't expect Johnson to change his pointed criticism or praise for the playoffs. Keeping everything the way it has been is critical.

“I don't think it changes," Johnson said. "I think what our players are going to have to realize is just how important every little detail is. And we've been trying to harp on that as coaches all year long, and yet it gets magnified to another level now because not only are the stakes higher, but the competition level is always going to be just paramount.

"No one's going to take a play off. The speed of the game goes up just another notch, as you're getting into this thing. The coaching is top tier as well. And so, I think players and coaches both, they just have to be dialed in and we've been honing in towards this. We've been saying, November, December football going into January, that's when we need to be at our best. And I trust that our guys are going to be."

Williams definitely is, as Johnson had predicted. Or perhaps, it would be more accurate to say as he was molded.

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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.