Bear Digest

Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams already making significant change under Ben Johnson

Ben Johnson is expected to make a big impact on QB Caleb Williams in 2025, and he's already changing one important detail to the franchise passer's game.

Bryan Perez

Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images
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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is expected to undergo a lot of changes now that Ben Johnson is in charge of... everything.

Whether it's how he executes on the field or the film study and preparation off of it, Williams' development in Year 2 will be the biggest storyline to monitor over the next several months.

It didn't take long for Johnson to begin tinkering with Williams, either. He's already changing the 2024 first-overall pick's stance; he's making an adjustment with his feet, putting his left foot forward when taking shotgun snaps.

"I've done it a number of ways in my time in the league," Johnson said from OTAs. "Really, over the last few years, I've kind of gravitated towards that. It's something that I feel pretty strongly about. He and I talked about it, the reasons why we want to do it. I think it helps out, certainly, with the quick game from the gun, and then it helps us be in a little bit better throwing posture for a lot of the other things that we're asking him to do.

"When we talked about it initially, he was already kind of exploring that himself, so it wasn't so much us telling him to do it, it was more of a mutual, 'Yeah, let's see what his looks like.' I think he's taken a knack to it."

While this may seem like a really small detail, it matters. The NFL is all about speed and pacing, and if a minor adjustment to Caleb Williams' stance while in shotgun can speed up his rep by even milliseconds, it can be the difference between a completion, a first down, or even a touchdown.

And it's the attention to these small details that separates great coaches from the Matt Eberfluses of the world. The Chicago Bears have gone through years (and years) of Eberflus-types, and years of losing.

Now, with Johnson in place, and with his commitment to elevating every aspect of the team, things should be different in Chicago. If the Bears fail, it won't be for a lack of preparation. That's for sure.

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Bryan Perez
BRYAN PEREZ

Bryan Perez founded and operated Bears Talk, a Chicago sports blog. Prior to that, he covered the Bears for USA Today’s Bears Wire and NBC Sports Chicago. In addition to his Chicago Bears coverage, Perez is a respected member of NFL Draft media and was a past winner of The Huddle's Mock Draft competition. Bryan's past life includes time as a Northeast scout for the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks.

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