Bears QB Caleb Williams’ up-and-down camp continues, but coach Ben Johnson ‘happy’ with is progress
The public confidence in Bears quarterback Caleb Williams starts with trust in coach Ben Johnson. And Johnson is asking for some of that trust right now.
Williams was unremarkable in his preseason debut and hasn’t blown anyone away with his training camp so far. None of it has been alarming, but it hasn’t been definitively reassuring, either.
Johnson clearly has grown tired of the topic, and questions about it have annoyed him the last few days.
When he was asked why he played Williams and the other offensive starters in the preseason game against the Bengals, Johnson’s first reaction was, ‘‘OK,’’ before resetting and repeating a line about assessing the workload and concluding with, ‘‘We felt like we needed this work.’’
He smiled and exhaled in the middle of a question when he was asked Tuesday about things he would like to see Williams clean up to be game-ready by the regular-season opener Sept. 13 at the Panthers.
‘‘I’ve been pretty consistent that I’m happy with where he’s at,’’ Johnson said before practice. ‘‘I love the approach that he takes coming in to work every day. I love his demeanor on the field. There’s a level of professionalism that radiates from him. Everything he’s doing . . . there’s a mission in mind, so I appreciate that about him.’’
Johnson then pivoted into more of an actual to-do list that included sharper passing in two-minute drills and acknowledged it has been ‘‘a little bit of a mixed bag over the last few weeks’’ for the first-team offense. He also wants better recognition and anticipation of defensive coverages from Williams and said he challenged him on that Monday.
Training camp is long for everyone, and the spotlight is always on Williams. Johnson’s standard is what matters most at Halas Hall, and he’s sick of answering questions based on someone else’s grading scale.
But this is part of Williams not only being the face of the franchise but also being anointed as one of the NFL’s next big stars with a Madden cover, the No. 51 spot in the player-voted rankings and outsized national media attention.
Also, if he had been overwhelming and had cleared the very high bar of expectations entering his third season, the questions would be different. He still is riding potential at the moment, and that too often has been a route with no destination for Bears quarterbacks.
Williams got better last season, but that wasn’t an arrival. He and Johnson both have said it.
He made flat-out spectacular plays, but he finished last in completion percentage (58.1), second-to-last in on-target throws (69.8%, according to Pro Football Reference) and 22nd in passer rating (90.1). He had three games in the second half of the season in which he threw for fewer than 200 yards.
Johnson needs him to boost all those numbers by being more of a technician, which is why he hasn’t let up on his mandate that Williams complete 70% of his passes. Otherwise, the Bears aren’t getting everything they can out of the offensive mastermind they hired.
Williams had another nondescript practice Tuesday. He threw incomplete on five of six passes during a seven-on-seven period, though one of those was a drop by running back D’Andre Swift and another was a deep heave out of the back of the end zone when none of his reads materialized.
He had two sharp passes to wide receiver Rome Odunze, one a 30-yarder over the middle and another in the back of the end zone during a red-zone period.
Williams got three possessions in the red zone, all starting at the 14-yard line: the touchdown pass to Odunze, a touchdown run by Swift from the 14 and a third-down pass to Odunze that linebacker Devin Bush deflected.
Behind Williams, the Bears got backup quarterback Tyson Bagent back on the field for the first time since he hurt his hamstring in the preseason opener against the Browns, though third-stringer Case Keenum also took some of the second-team snaps.
Williams hasn’t been available to the media this week and probably won’t be until after the Bears’ joint practice Thursday with the Titans. But coming out of the joint practice and preseason game against the Bengals, he described last week similar to how Johnson did.
He saw explosive plays but also some flat-lining. There were penalties and a fumbled snap. The two-minute drill at the end Thursday slammed to a halt when he threw an interception under pressure.
The offense can’t continue to be ‘‘a mixed bag’’ if the Bears are going to contend this season. There must be some leveling out, and that — like everything else on that side of the ball — starts with Williams.
That responsibility is greater because of uncertainty about the Bears’ defense and their offensive line. They might not survive without Williams lighting up the scoreboard, and he’ll be forced to operate much faster if the line isn’t as sturdy as it was last season.
The upside for him is that Johnson is the one illuminating the path forward, rather than the clumsy guidance Williams got as a rookie under Matt Eberflus and Shane Waldron, and things can change quickly in camp. Sometimes something just clicks and it all looks right.
Johnson seems sure it’s headed that way and, after his success last season, has the credibility to say that — even if it doesn’t seem that way to everyone else. But the Bears will dive into the season soon, and everyone will be grading Williams on the same criteria at that point.