NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Before he walked off the field after a hot — and heated — joint practice, Titans coach Robert Saleh wanted to talk to Ben Johnson about his quarterback, Caleb Williams.
“Just telling him like, he’s like a modern-day — and I don’t wanna compare the two — Russell Wilson,” Saleh said Thursday, invoking the recently retired former Seahawks star. “When it got to the fourth quarter you better be up three scores. There’s no lead safe from Caleb.”
In his 14-year career, Wilson led his teams on 32 regular-season fourth-quarter comebacks — and four in the postseason. Williams led all quarterbacks last season with six regular-season fourth quarter comebacks — and added another in the first round against the Packers for good measure. Only three of those came in the red zone, though, and only one in the red zone was a pass.
The Bears want Williams to get better in the red zone. As training camp wound to a close Thursday, Johnson said he was excited about exactly that.
“I think that’s been probably the best thing so far this camp,” Johnson said. “Just the anticipation, the timing, the understanding of where we want to put the football.
“He is not afraid to fit it into tight windows. He trusts his pass catchers.”
That wasn’t the case at this time last year, when Williams was more focused on learning the playbook from his new head coach.
“A year ago, I think a lot of the things we’re foreign to him,” Johnson said. “And now you can tell he has some banked reps and he’s able to anticipate where he wants to go with the football.”
Williams pushed back when asked whether he was processing the coverage better. If anything, he said, he’s benefited from an increased knowledge of what the Bears are doing — not the defense.
“I think it’s just understanding the play better, the plays that we’ve put in,” he said. “And then not having necessarily to relearn plays …
“Coach can add in more detail. Coach can add in more plays.”
That trust is paramount — and the reason why, when asked to give advice to Titans quarterback Cam Ward — a fellow No. 1 overall pick — Williams focused on the play-caller. Former Giants head coach Brian Daboll, the new Titans coordinator, has developed quarterbacks throughout his career.
“Just believing and trusting in him,” Williams said, “and what he’s coaching you and teaching you.”
Ward said he’s watched film of Williams last year to try to learn how he could grow in the same way. He’s talked to Williams, too. Their dads are even friends.
“We both go through different situations, different types of adversity, whether it be early or late,” Ward said.
Williams has been a lot better late in games than early.
Williams and the Bears scored touchdowns on 57% of their red zone trips, which was tied for 14th-best but still far off of the Eagles’ league-leading 70%. Johnson has big goals — he tells his team he wants to have the highest-scoring offense of all time. To get anywhere near there, the Bears need to be more efficient inside the 20.
Williams needs to be more accurate in an area where the throwing lanes become more condensed. Last year, he had the second-worst completion percentage on passes or 10 yards or fewer and the fifth-worst mark on passes from 11-20 yards.
To improve that accuracy, Williams has focused on three things: his footwork, his rhythm and finding a smooth way to get his pass-catchers the ball. He has plenty of them, too — Rome Odunze, Luther Burden and Colston Loveland form one of the toughest trios in the league to try to box out on defense.
The Bears spent this week focusing on situational work — such as red zone and two-minute drills — and how to find Williams quick answers for recognizing coverage. Thursday’s joint practice limited Williams’ red zone work, though he did some in seven-on-seven drills.
A red-zone focus will continue well into the season.
“There is no end line here,” Johnson said. “This is a continual process that we started well over a year ago now and we’re just continuing to build on things that we see that he’s doing well — and things that we feel he can get better at. …
“We’ll get through this block and sit down and reassess where we’re at and what we need to focus on going forward.”
Saleh said he’s been impressed by the difference Williams’ time with Johnson has made
“He’s an unbelievable quarterback,” Saleh said. “He’s unique off-schedule. He can play. He can do it all. The amount of growth he’s had the past year and a half has been amazing.”