Caleb Williams Found Unique Way To Learn Ben Johnson's Offense

Ben Johnson had one of the best offenses in the NFL for three years in Detroit. It happened that way because he was creative, intelligent, and notoriously obsessed with details. So one can imagine Johnson's offense is both large and complex. It requires tons of time and effort to absorb. Caleb Williams has spent most of his football career playing in somewhat simplified systems, allowing him to feature his incredible talent as an athlete and thrower. What Johnson brought to the Chicago Bears is leagues above anything he experienced last season or at USC.

Nobody should've been surprised that Williams struggled to digest it when things began in the spring. Johnson hounded the quarterback constantly, forcing him to redo plays whenever there were mistakes. Pre-snap penalties, botched hand-offs, and missed reads leading to sacks have regularly occurred over the past month. Williams is aware of it and has been trying to find ways to speed up the learning process. He found a creative solution, according to Courtney Cronin of ESPN.

Williams is trying to do his part to deliver on those expectations. He says he listens to voice recordings of his playcalls at the line of scrimmage and yells out his cadence while driving in his car to get more comfortable with using his vocal inflection as a weapon. Johnson said that the amount Williams is responsible for "mentally" is likely greater in this offense than it has been at any other point of his career.

"Everything he speaks, if you don't understand, he's patient," Williams said. "If you don't understand, he'll find a way to help you understand."

Nobody can say Caleb Williams isn't trying.

Hard work was never his problem. He has been putting in all the time necessary and then some to learn his craft. People should stop and think about what he accomplished last year. He had three different offensive coordinators and two head coaches. The offensive line was a mess. Through all of that, he still threw for 3500 yards, 20 touchdowns, and only six interceptions. No way that happens with most other rookie starters. We're talking twice as many interceptions as touchdowns and probably not starting the whole season. Caleb Williams delivered all of that through sheer talent and hard work. Everybody around him has never once questioned his drive to improve. The only thing needed is time and patience. There is a sense of urgency, to be sure, but it remains a process.