Bear Digest

Where Ben Johnson differs with Caleb Williams on targeting issues

Analysis: Inaccuracy except when throwing over the middle Sunday has Caleb Williams believing this area of the field is his strength, but Ben Johnson offers a differing view.
Gene Chamberlain|
Caleb Williams looks around linebacker Patrick Queen on a bootleg pass for the Bears in Sunday's 31-28 win over Pittsburgh.
Caleb Williams looks around linebacker Patrick Queen on a bootleg pass for the Bears in Sunday's 31-28 win over Pittsburgh. | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Caleb Williams doesn't appear to be a ringing endorsement for the slogan "know thyself."

Nor is he going to set any accuracy records at 59.3% completions for this season.  

Nevertheless, he's the starting quarterback for a team with eight wins in nine games and produces what coach Ben Johnson requires most—touchdown passes and no interceptions.

Williams hasn't thrown an interception in 152 straight passes going into Friday's game with the Eagles. His last pick was the one he threw against Baltimore from his own 4-yard line with the Bears starting a drive they hoped would end in the tying points in the fourth quarter.

On Sunday, Williams' passing over the middle provided three touchdowns in the 31-28 win over the Steelers.

Where Williams likes throwing

“I think this year I've been pretty solid over the middle," Williams said after Sunday's game. "It's something that we've worked on and something that I've been working on this year but also throughout my career is just finding ways to be able to attack all 53 (yards horizontally) and make the defense have to cover all of that."

Numbers do back the Bears' effectiveness over the middle this year to some extent.

According to NFLGSIS.com, they're at 75% completion in the middle, ranking eighth in the league. They're 13th in completion percentage to the deep middle at 55%.

Apparently, this is insufficient for Johnson's tastes.

“I think he's getting more comfortable there and he hit a few, and then there were a couple that we were talking about a minute ago that we felt like if we bring it down just a little bit, that we could have a couple more explosives there in that game," Johnson said.

One of those he meant was a high throw to Luther Burden.

"So, it's an area that he has improved dramatically since I got here from the springtime all the way up to this point," Johnson said. "And so, I think he's got a lot more confidence throwing those things inside the numbers. Some guys get a little bit nervous and get a little bit afraid to do that, and he's not that type.

"He's always been a high level seam thrower or bender versus two-high (safeties), but now when you're talking about the daggers or the drift routes that we have in, I think he's done a nice job of trusting the fact that he can turn his back to the defense and yet still flip around and make a decision whether he can pull the trigger or not.”

Let's agree to disagree

It's all fascinating because Williams says he's always been good at this and Johnson says his QB is now getting better at it.

This only makes you wish you could hear the dialogue between coach and player in Halas Hall meetings.

The real trick to improving Williams will be boosting accuracy even if he and the Bears have played successfully through his targeting problems. He's been over 60% accuracy only once in the last eight games and in all of those when he didn't hit that mark the Bears won anyway.

Williams had complained Sunday about not being in rhythm early. There are solutions.

“I think that's a little bit of getting to know particular players," Johnson said. "For some guys I've been around it's, ‘Hey, let's just get him a couple completions on quick game.’ Let's go to quick game and get the ball out of his hands quick, shorter throws, get him back on track, getting a rhythm."

Williams came out firing with accuracy in Sunday's second half,  but it had nothing to do with getting him to throw some short timing routes.

"Each guy's a little bit different," Johnson said. "I don't know that that's the answer necessarily for Caleb.

"I have some thoughts on that, but I do think he settled down once we got through a few of those missed ones. He ended up making some big ones for us as well. Something we'll continue to work through.”

If only we all could be a fly on the wall when they discuss it.

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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.