Last week, new Chicago Bears‘ head coach Ben Johnson, announced that second-year starting quarterback Caleb Williams will likely play more under center in the team’s new offensive scheme. The shift to having Williams play more under center rather than from the shotgun formation is questionable to some fans and NFL analysts, as the signal-caller has consistently played from the shotgun throughout his career.
Although it is a shift for Chicago’s promising young quarterback, Johnson is doing what he believes is best as playing under center could lead to a higher level of efficiency for not just his signal-caller, but the offense as a whole.
Ben Johnson’s request for Caleb Williams will only make the quarterback more of a passing threat
In Caleb Williams’ rookie season last year, then-offensive coordinators Shane Waldron and Thomas brown had the quarterback throw significantly from the shotgun, as he did during his college career at USC. With Johnson being hired as a head coach due to his immense success the last three seasons as an offensive play-caller for the Detroit Lions, a shift in offensive schemes was expected.
Although many fans and pundits believe Ben Johnson would tailor his playbook to highlight the strengths, it appears that the new head coach will look to continue what he did with his offense in Detroit.
While with Detroit, Johnson had a very wide-open offensive playbook where the only consistent trend was the capability of designing any sort of play from any sort of formation. A key example was how the Lions’ offense would run the ball out of traditional passing-formations and throw the ball when it appeared to be a for sure run formation.
Ben Johnson’s offense significantly relies on play-action play-calls to help create a freeze for the opposing defense to allow hesitation in trying to determine if the offense is running or throwing the ball.
Although Williams is able to utilize play-action from the shot gun formation, the potential confusion and surprise is decreased compared to running play-action under center. It appears that Johnson wants to have his quarterback learn how to play under center to better his signal-caller capabilities and make him a harder player to defend against, especially with his elite arm strength. A prime example of Ben Johnson’s ability to fool opposing defenses was last year’s Week 16 contest between the Lions and Bears in Chicago.
During the game, there were many instances where Johnson’s offense dialed up passing plays from what appeared to be run formations. Likewise, Ben Johnson had running back Jahmyr Gibbs record several rushing attempts from the shotgun formation. The Lions’ two longest touchdown passes in the 34-17 victory came on traditional run formation designs, including a deep 82-yard touchdown throw from Jared Goff to Jameson Williams that came off a play-action two tight end set.
Johnson’s potential could be that if he has Williams play more under center and play from a traditional pocket, it will allow for more confusion and more spacing for the quarterback to complete throws against opposing defenses. Although the second-year starter is very comfortable throwing from shotgun, it cuts back on potential play-design, creating separation via confusion.
The constant struggle with Chicago’s offense with Shane Waldron was the lack of separation being created on passing plays because wide receivers and tight ends were expected to create spacing at the start of the play via speed and ability.
Having Williams play under center allows Ben Johnson to have much more flexibility with creating uncertainty, as it is harder to call a traditional screen pass to a running back from shotgun rather than from under center. Additionally, a quarterback rollout can’t be called from a shotgun formation, as screens and rollouts aren’t a significant feature in Johnson’s offensive scheme but are seen every now and then. Williams, pairing his elite arm strength with separation created by play-design, something that wasn’t seen last year, will make his ability to make more impactful more likely.
Ben Johnson can improve Caleb Williams’ mobility by having the quarterback play under center more
Despite there likely being an adjustment for Williams, with him expected to play more under center in Johnson’s new offense, it will be the quarterback’s mobility and capability to move around in the pocket that will be helped the most.
Last year, Chicago’s signal-caller led the league in sacks despite showing an above-average ability to allude pressure and scramble for positive yards when forced to. Additionally, he was able to get pass-catchers open by extending a play with his feet, allowing for separation to be gained at the last moment downfield.
The one aspect that has been missing from Ben Johnson’s high-efficient offensive scheme has been a quarterback that is a threat to create plays with his feet, especially on passing plays. Johnson’s Lions offense has been highly productive the last three years, even with Goff being a pocket-passer and never really scrambling or needing to get targets open by moving around to extend plays.
Williams’ presence, paired with a recently improved offensive line, allows for more plays to be extended and be successfully executed due to the second-year signal-callers’ pocket mobility.
NFL: Chicago Bears at Green Bay PackersNFL: Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers
Having more passing plays begin from under center in Johnson’s offense gives Williams more spots on the field to throw from compared to the general setup seen from throwing from the shotgun. Imagine a play-call where Ben Johnson has his young quarterback take the snap under center and on the play-fake, a defensive lineman or linebacker overcommits to the running back, allowing the quarterback to scramble for an easy gain because of gap spacing.
Additionally, there could be scenarios where Williams completes a deep throw touchdown because a linebacker or defensive back lost their defender after the signal-caller broke from the pocket to extend the play before throwing.
When Johnson was hired in January of this year, an offensive overhaul was expected, with one of overhaul expected to be the development of Williams at the quarterback position. Having a signal-caller who has predominantly thrown from the shot gun now play more under center is usually concerning decision, but Ben Johnson deserves to be trusted.
Chicago’s quarterback’s strengths can be amplified due to deception created by an offensive play-caller who is regarded as one of the best innovative minds on offense in the league.
