Bears quarterback Caleb Williams could write a book about the misadventures of his first two training camps, and a tell-all on that alone would be a pretty good read.
First there was his rookie onboarding, which would be a scramble for anyone, but even more so under coach Matt Eberflus’ dysfunctional staff, then the relentless deluge of information and criticism from Ben Johnson in their first camp together. The latter was such an intense experience for Williams that he believed Johnson didn’t like him and described it as “drowning.”
Camp has been just as strenuous this year — Johnson has no let-up, ever — but Williams is far more at ease with it.
He still has a lot of work to do and a lot to prove, particularly as a consistent, efficient passer, but this part of the process is more comfortable. He knows what Johnson wants and how he sees the game, and he accepts that there will be great days and bad ones — neither of which should make him overreact.
“I’m head above water,” he said, laughing to himself.
It helps to have a handle on what Johnson wants, and Johnson said Williams has been able to identify his mistakes without needing them pointed out. That’s the first step toward making fewer of them, and the real test of that won’t come until the opener Sept. 13 at the Panthers.
In the meantime, Williams is unlikely to play in the first preseason game Saturday against the Browns, though Johnson is waiting until Thursday to announce a decision. He should get extensive work in a joint practice with the Bengals next week and the Titans the week after, but whether he plays in the preseason games against those teams likely depends on how sharp the offense looks in practice.
Johnson has been pleased overall, but could be on the brink of turning up the heat after seeing a “plateau” this week.
It’s a sign of growth in their relationship that Williams takes feedback like that better than he did a year ago. The grueling repetition of training camp requires him to have “that mental fortitude” to maintain focus throughout and remain undeterred by setbacks.
“I’ve gotten better with that,” Williams said. “Just being able to encourage myself, being able to get out of those funks.”
All of it, while far from a finished product, is coming together more smoothly than it did last August. Johnson was still frustrated with the offense as the Bears wrapped the preseason with a sloppy game against the Chiefs, and those errors spilled into the first month or so of the regular season.
Johnson believed his confrontational, unfiltered coaching style was a “shock to the system” in his first training camp with Williams, and that’s not surprising given the more understated and even timid, at times, approach by Eberflus and former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.
While those two seemed to defer to Williams at times, Johnson coached him like a rookie. He’s still doing a version of that this year because the fact remains that Williams is young, unproven and has lagged in some of the basic, clockwork elements of quarterback play, but it’s more collaborative and feels less like scolding.
“There’s still a level of detail and we’re certainly very demanding of him, yet when I see the progress being made … I haven’t been quite as stern with my delivery,” Johnson told the Sun-Times. “When you see [players’] commitment coming into the building every day, studying the playbook, knowing their assignments, you don’t have to be as hard on them.”
That affirmation from Johnson carries a lot more weight than when previous coaches touted supposed progress on the practice fields at Halas Hall. Those coaches still expressed some concern about Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields at times — Matt Nagy called Trubisky in a for a meeting to reset just a few weeks into camp in 2019 — and Johnson has earned some public trust by telling the truth when things haven’t looked good.
There are subtle aspects of Williams’ job that aren’t necessarily obvious on the field, but they lead to success on it.
Everything about Williams’ preparation has improved since the Bears hired Johnson, as well as signing longtime backup quarterback Case Keenum to serve as a mentor, and now he’s no longer “drowning” while trying to catch up to Johnson’s offense, he has the bandwidth to tend to refining his routine.
“My process is better,” Williams said, listing off everything from what he eats before practice to how to be prepared for meetings and walk-throughs. “Being able to be in control of that, know my own schedule and know what’s going on, and then just knowing the offense and being more detailed about it has helped me tremendously.”
Those are tiny steps, but they’re the only ones he can take at the moment with the season far in the distance. The Bears’ hope is that he takes enough of them between now and then to make a meaningful, noticeable difference when he gets back on the field for real games.
