PALM BEACH, Fla. — It didn’t take Ben Johnson long to take a perfunctory shot at the Packers. The day in January he was introduced as the Bears’ head coach, he said that, “to be quite frank with you, I kind of enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year.”
The Packers head coach heard him.
“I’m sure he’s playing to the fans a little bit,” he told Packers reporters Tuesday at the NFL’s annual meeting. “It is what it is. I’m not going to lose too much sleep over that.”
Johnson and LaFleur haven’t interacted often and didn’t have a previous relationship before Johnson’s hiring. Johnson told the Sun-Times that the two were cordial when they first saw each other at the meeting.
“Shook hands,” said Johnson, who went 5-1 against the Packers.
Here’s what else Johnson said at Tuesday’s annual meeting:
It’s all about EPA
Johnson said he’ll measure quarterback Caleb Williams not by giveaways or passer rating but rather by Expected Points Added, a metric that measures each play by the effect it has on the team’s chances of scoring.
The quarterback with the better EPA wins more than 80% of the time, Johnson said.
“The EPA in the passing game is really one of the most critical factors in determining wins and losses …” he said. “I would have said five years ago [that] turnovers, takeaways, that was number one. From what I understand now, that EPA for the passing game has now surpassed that. …
“It’s a huge stat. That’s where we look to. How do we help inflate that number? Higher completion percentage, more run after the catch opportunities. That’s not to say we’re not going to take our shots down the field and look for big explosive plays, chunks or touchdowns that way. There’s a lot of ways we can get that done.”
Williams ranked 20th in EPA last year. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was first.
Tyrique Stevenson has potential — but that’s a dangerous word.
Johnson is intrigued by the skills he sees in the cornerback, whose notorious Fail Mary gaffe last season started a spiral from which the Bears never recovered.
“He’s a young player that’s still learning, he’s still growing, he’s still maturing,” Johnson said. “But you see all the athletic traits and you see the potential. That’s always a dangerous word to throw out there, but I’m really encouraged.”
He won’t have eight captains.
Former coach Matt Eberflus named eight season-long captains last. Mercifully, Johnson won’t do that — instead, he’ll have players vote for three-to-five of them.
Braxton Jones is on track in his recovery from ankle surgery.
The left tackle is probably the Bears player most in danger of losing his starting job to a first-round draft pick. Johnson, though, called Jones “a phenomenal athlete” the Bears can work with.
“The No. 1 thing in my opinion that tackles need to do is pass protect,” he said. “I think he has the feet to get that done. We’re going to challenge him to maybe gain a little more weight so that he can anchor a little bit better. “
Jaquan Brisker is healthy.
The safety missed the last 12 games of last season after his third concussion in as many years. Johnson said Brisker is a player other teams will have to account for, but vowed to work on him being too aggressive on play-action throws.
He wants to spice up training camp.
Johnson wants to hold two joint practices during training camp. The Bears have never participated in more than one.
Johnson will wait until the schedule becomes official next month to lock in the practices against other teams, which usually take place in the days before the same two teams meet in a preseason game.
“It helps break [training camp] up just a little bit and it keeps the guys fresh,” he said.
