Chicago Bears coach explains how he’s working to fix Caleb Williams’ accuracy issues

“Repetition, repetition, repetition,” Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson said Wednesday of how Caleb Williams is learning the quarterback position in Year 2. Williams is learning how to handle the pre-snap routine from the huddle to the snap.

He’s also learning how to become accurate.

Williams was extremely accurate during his days in college football. During his rookie season, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft struggled to hit his receivers with the deep ball.

How Caleb Williams can fix his accuracy

While speaking to reporters at Halas Hall after Day 2 of mandatory minicamp, Johnson said he helped Ryan Tannehill become a better passer with the Miami Dolphins through repetition, and hopes to do the same with Williams in Chicago.

 “I had that narrative in Miami when we drafted Tannehill in 2012, that he struggled with the deep ball, and you just keep focusing on it–you get close with your receivers,” Johnson said. “It’s it doesn’t matter if you’re throwing the ball deep, throwing it short, but it takes some time to develop chemistry.

“And once you get that done, then usually, it becomes clockwork after that. So it’s just the more repetitions we get as a unit, the better off we’re going to be.”

Another key lesson Johnson learned during his time in Miami was that the offensive playcaller and the signal caller need to be on the same page. Johnson said he and Williams need to spend time together one-on-one so they can view each play through the same lens.

While veteran Case Keenum was brought in to help teach Williams things that the coaching staff can’t because of CBA rules, there needs to be times for Williams and Johnson to communicate outside the quarterback room.

“For whatever reason, if you do it in the room with all the other quarterbacks, sometimes you can get a little defensive whereas when it’s one on one, the truth can can come out, and no one’s feelings are going to get hurt, and each, each person can speak the truth,” Johnson said.

The Chicago Bears want to correct the small details in practice

Johnson got on Williams last week for not commanding the huddle the right way. On Wednesday, Johnson corrected Williams for being late with a throw to Roschon Johnson in the flat during a 7-on-7 drill, despite the play ending in a completion.

Johnson said he’s worried about paying attention to the details because good offenses in the league are precise, and he’s been around bad football enough to know that poor teams let the mistakes slide, and it adds up.

Something the Bears saw with Matt Eberflus in Chicago.

“I probably have seen more bad football than I’ve seen good football over my time in this league,” Johnson said. “And so it’s trying not to make the same mistakes as the people I’ve been around, maybe in the past that I perceived as mistakes. I don’t think you can let things slide. I think offensive football is about precision, and it’s a constant communication of what that should look like.

“And when they hit the mark, we love them up, and when we fall short, then we got to let them know so we get a better next time.”

The Bears have one more next time on Thursday for their final day of mandatory minicamp before school is out for the summer break.

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