ESPN released an interesting poll earlier this week in which NFL executives and coaches ranked who they believe are the best play-callers currently. To the shock of nobody, Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan topped the list after several stellar years out west, including four Super Bowl appearances between them. However, nestled right behind them in the third spot was Ben Johnson. It was a remarkable nod of approval for the 38-year-old, especially being ranked ahead of more established names like Andy Reid and Kevin O'Connell.
However, that poll was missing one thing: details. The column didn't provide much clarity on why Johnson was so respected. You can easily look at the numbers. His offense finished in the top five every year in Detroit. He was responsible for three of the four highest-scoring seasons in franchise history, including the highest, at 564 points last year. There had to be reasons for this success. Ted Nguyen of The Athletic provided answers. He spoke to NFL defensive coaches who have gone against Johnson.
They explained why they hated the experience.
“All the things I’ve come to believe analytically, he does, like, marrying the run and pass game together, he throws the most play action in the league, and in-breakers on the run to create YAC opportunities. That’s all he throws,” one AFC defensive coach explained. “He’s built around Jared Goff and the guys all do very specific things … what they do well. For example, Jared Goff is a really good anticipation thrower on in-breakers and hits them on the run, so the whole playbook is made of those concepts. And then there’s the hook-and-lateral stuff, so there are some creative things that are pretty cool. He just doesn’t call the game scared.”
The Lions led the league in YAC per reception last season (6.7).
One constant that coaches talked about with Johnson was that he can go for the jugular at any time with a trick play. Because the Lions went for it so much on fourth down, it made him completely unpredictable on third down. That aggressiveness should continue in Chicago.
Unpredictability and common sense are the Ben Johnson superpowers.
Coaches always talk about putting their players in the best position to succeed, molding the scheme to their strengths. The problem is that it's much harder to do that than they realize. Matt Nagy talked about it, but never followed through. Luke Getsy mentioned it constantly, but never put it into practice. Ben Johnson did it constantly in Detroit. Whenever the Lions introduced a new element to the formula, like Jahmyr Gibbs or Sam LaPorta, the coach utilized them to maximum effect.
Then you throw in the mystery wrinkles. Johnson always talks about making every play look the same while actually doing things differently. That puts defenses in a difficult position. While they're busy trying to decipher what's coming, Johnson already has them flat-footed. Add the trick plays as the cherry on top and it's easy to see why defensive coaches can lose sleep going against him.
