When the Bears hired Ben Johnson, he vowed to make quarterback Caleb Williams uncomfortable.
On the eve of the Bears’ last OTA practice — the team breaks for summer after Wednesday’s session — Johnson sounded like he’d accomplished just that.
“We’ve loaded him up,” the head coach said Tuesday at Halas Hall. “We’ve tried a number of different things: long play calls, multiple plays at the line, tempo. We’ve dabbled here, there and everywhere really throughout the springtime and some come a little bit more natural than others for him. But I do think we’ve seen him get better in really all facets.”
The next step: for Johnson to gather the Bears’ offensive staff and decide what to emphasize during training camp, which starts in late July, and what to tamp down.
“I feel pretty confident [with] the things he’s put on tape,” Johnson said, “that we can go ahead and get after it a little bit.”
Williams has given the Bears plenty of tape. He is among the young Bears players who stayed for one more week of OTAs even after veterans were dismissed for the summer following mandatory minicamp last week.
“He’s committed to learning the offense,” Johnson said. “We’re not where we need to be yet as a team and he understands that. Any chance he gets to get a few more full-speed reps, it sounds like he wants them.”
About half the team’s 90-man roster — mostly players in their first three years, plus special teamers and veterans such as safety Elijah Hicks and cornerback Josh Blackwell— participated in the practice.
“[Williams] has done a great job so far digesting,” Johnson said. “He’s working hard. And there’s still some hiccups out there when you’re watching it and some turnovers or needing the play one more time, and that’s part of the growing process.”
Tuesday, that was in the red zone. Williams focused on finding receivers at all four pylons and struggled at times, throwing two interceptions.
“That was our third or fourth red-zone experience here over the last few weeks …” Johnson said. “That’s always the one I think takes the longest as an offense — to get really good at the red-zone passing game.”
That takes accuracy from the quarterback and precision from his teammates. Williams finished tied for 17th in the NFL last year with 13 touchdowns thrown inside the 20. He was tied for 13th with 11 touchdowns thrown inside the 10.
Williams has found ways to impress his new head coach outside the red zone.
“There’s always a throw or two every single day,” Johnson said. “The movement stuff outside of the pocket, it’s what we thought coming into town here, the ability to create.
“Sometimes you get wrapped up when you’re in the multiple play call game, being in the perfect play all the time for the perfect coverage, that look of the defense. And really with him, it doesn’t matter so much what the play call is. If it’s the perfect play, then it’s great, it’s there. If it’s not, then he’s able to find a way to make it work. So I think there’s a little bit of that that’s going on right now and figuring that out.”
The Bears need Williams to hit the open man. But Johnson remains amazed by what will happen when he improvises.
“I think he’s gonna play on time when the receivers present themselves that way,:” Johnson said. “And if they’re not there, if No. 1 or No. 2’s not there, I think he’s got the ability to make it right for us.”
