LAKE FOREST, Ill. (104.3 The Score) – During the Bears' work in the offseason program a year ago, head coach Ben Johnson often raised his voice and pulled the starting offense off the line of scrimmage so he could deliver a message.
Johnson always wants the Bears to operate with precision. Early in his tenure in Chicago, he’d find himself frustrated that pre-snap details and plays weren’t being executed properly. That isn't the case these days in Johnson’s second season in Chicago, and he credits 24-year-old quarterback Caleb Williams for the smoother operation.
Now entering his third NFL season, Williams is leading the Bears efficiently in Johnson's offense.
"The communication in the huddle, what it looks like to break the huddle, the urgency to the line of scrimmage, the tempo that we want to stress the defense with, the quarterback plays a huge part in that," Johnson said Thursday prior to the Bears' second practice of OTAs. "He orchestrates the whole operation, and those guys have taken that to heart and so from that aspect, feel really good about where we're at.
"Now, it's the next level of each concept, what are we trying to do and potentially expanding on, 'Hey, here's your progression, one, two, three' to how can we accelerate our eyes, our vision? What are we looking for? Some coverage indicators to where we might take more alerts, things of that nature. A little bit more minutia with it, but those guys have been really receptive to it.”
Williams threw for 3,942 yards, 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2025, his second NFL season and first working under Johnson’s guidance.
As Williams struggled through his rookie campaign in 2024 and the Bears eventually cleaned house by firing former head coach Matt Eberflus and his staff, Williams pleaded to be challenged. That has certainly been the case with Johnson in charge.
Williams responded to Johnson and led the Bears to breakthroughs last season, guiding them to the NFC North crown and the franchise's first playoff victory in 15 years.
But Williams also fell short of some personal objectives set forth by Johnson prior to their first season together. His completion percentage dropped to 58.1% on the season, well shy of the 70% goal that Johnson had referenced.
As the Bears reinforce the details during the offseason program, Johnson is challenging Williams in his decision-making from the pocket.
"You get what you emphasize, that's what I've learned in this industry, and ball security, takeaways is something we emphasize,” Johnson said. "We’ll continue to emphasize it. That shows up. Completion percentage is something that we're going to emphasize, and so what did they get when they came into the offensive meeting today? They got the chart of what was our completion percentage yesterday, who had drops, what did our scramble drill look like, when those naturally occurred.
"That's really our first objective is just drawing more attention to it. Those guys are really critical of themselves in drill settings, routes on air, where the ball placement is. We want to give these pass catchers – we have so many talented ones – opportunities to run after the catch, and so we're being very critical on where we're putting that football with them, and that's something that we grade every day.”
Chris Emma covers the Bears and the Chicago sports scene for 104.3 The Score.
