In time, I do think it is going to work out for all parties involved, but I am not ready to crown the Chicago Bears just yet. We are a talking about a first-time head coach in Ben Johnson leaving a well-run organization in-division for one that has never made throwing the football its forte. Second-year starting quarterback Caleb Williams is a mega talent, but there are plenty of things for him to work on.
In the lead-up to their second preseason game of the summer vs. the Buffalo Bills, Johnson answered a great question at the podium about Williams' growing accuracy issues. It has nothing to do with his arm, as his delivery of the football is structurally sound and easy to replicate. His biggest issue from a playing standpoint has everything to do with his laissez-faire approach toward footwork.
Johnson took the time to break down why having proper footwork is so important for quarterback.
"In my opinion, it always starts with the feet. It doesn't matter what level you're at, but it always starts with the feet for a quarterback. And if you're not aligned properly from the ground up, then you're gonna have inconsistencies with your targets. So that's what we've been talking about."
It seems to be an issue with Williams when it comes to an outbreaking target running away from him.
"And specifically, for all right-handed quarterbacks, when you throw to a target that is moving from the right to the left, you typically throw it behind. So you have to train yourself to make sure you're opened up enough to throw it where he's gonna be and not where he's at. That's something we talk about going into the summer break and something we still harp on. You can't get enough of that. It takes a long time to develop habits."
The good news in all of this is everything else from his throwing motion seems to be in lock-step.
"That's the starting point. He's got a beautiful throwing motion. That was ingrained into him at a young age, and I think that still shows up. So there's nothing mechanically wrong, but it's just all about the alignment and getting out in front of the target."
After coming out of high school, Williams had this issue at Oklahoma, USC and last year with Chicago.
Ben Johnson with a GREAT breakdown of Caleb Williams’ accuracy issues and why he doesn’t think there’s anything mechanically wrong⬇️ pic.twitter.com/DJ0NLaG2Ja
— CHGO Bears (@CHGO_Bears) August 15, 2025
Savvy offensive minds like Lincoln Riley and Shane Waldron tried to fix this problem, but to no avail.
Ben Johnson knows Caleb Williams has to fix his footwork to be a star
For a guy that was more talented than everyone he played against growing up in the DMV, footwork was not a priority for Williams because it really did not have to be. Once he came to college, he was never going up against tremendous defensive backs in either the Big 12 or Pac-12 of old at either of his schools. But when it came to the NFL last season, it became more apparent that he has to fix this.
Not only is he going up against the best of the best the sport can offer, but Williams is playing in a cold-weather division, one that has been truly unforgiving to Bears passers from yesteryear. They are the only franchise in the NFL without a 4,000-yard passer to date. I do envision Williams will be the first, strictly because of the way the game is going. Simply, he has to make it a point to be accurate.
However, accuracy has long been a very difficult trait to groom into a quarterback. It had been one of those things that either you figure it out on your own or you never do. That being said, Josh Allen was not accurate in college at Wyoming and just won NFL MVP because of his refined game with the Bills. So there is a way for Williams to work out the kinks in his game to be an all-timer. He can do this thing.
If he does not, Williams' NFL career will never live up to the hype of being a former No. 1 overall pick.