Ben Johnson Admitted What Biggest Issue With Caleb Williams Is

Make no mistake. Ben Johnson wasn't naive. The only thing he was certain of with quarterback Caleb Williams when he took over as head coach was the talent. Nobody goes #1 overall in the draft without considerable ability. Beyond that, it was a complete unknown. All Johnson knew when he arrived was that the previous coaching staff had done a poor job of preparing or protecting Williams. That said, the quarterback wasn't free of blame either. Plenty of the mistakes from last season were his responsibility. The trick for Johnson was figuring out what needed fixing the most.

It didn't take him long. The head coach detailed the primary issue Williams is dealing with before the Bears' joint practice against Buffalo on Friday. Unsurprisingly, it is something many young quarterbacks don't grasp when they get to the NFL.

Footwork wasn't really something emphasized in the NFL until Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh arrived on the scene. He revealed that quarterbacks with precise feet were often more accurate and showcased better timing and rhythm. His approach led San Francisco to five Super Bowl victories thanks to the success of Joe Montana and Steve Young. Since then, every prominent offensive mind in the league has emphasized footwork in one way or another.

Ben Johnson knows the challenge ahead for Williams.

One thing to remember is that the quarterback spent his entire college career playing mostly from shotgun. While footwork is still important in that formation, it isn't as precise. Ben Johnson runs an offense that requires playing under center a lot. The feet are crucial for that alignment because of the timing of drops, play-action fakes, and establishing a rhythm. Williams rarely did anything like that at USC and only dabbled in it last year. Johnson quickly learned this summer that the quarterback would need significant fine-tuning on the details before he could run the system with any efficiency. That is no doubt why he has dealt with several speed bumps in camp to this point. However, it sounds like he has made considerable progress over the past week, which would explain why Johnson doesn't seem worried.