Over the last few seasons, quarterback footwork has been a huge topic of discussion for the Chicago Bears. During Justin Fields' tenure, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy had Fields change the way he took the snap from the shotgun. Fields came into the NFL with his right foot forward, but Getsy wanted his left foot forward.
Ultimately, changing Fields' footwork seemed to do more harm than good for him. So, when last year's coaching staff allowed Caleb Williams to stay in his natural stance, there were no complaints. That said, it seems that Ben Johnson is working with Williams to switch his footwork.
Following the first day of open OTAs on Wednesday, Johnson spoke about this change. According to Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic, Johnson said, "I’ve done it a number of ways in my time in the league, and really over the last few years, I’ve kind of gravitated towards that. It’s something that I feel pretty strongly about.”
He added, “He [Caleb Williams] and I talked about it, the reasons why we want to do it. I think it helps out certainly with the quick game from the gun, and then helps us being a little bit better at a throwing posture for a lot of the other things that we’re asking him to do.”
Ben Johnson Working with Caleb Williams on his Footwork
On the surface, Bears fans have every right to be skeptical of this change. As mentioned above, he seemed to do more harm than good for the last QB. However, there are a few reasons Bears fans should give this change a chance.
First off, Johnson is clearly a better offensive mind than Getsy ever was. Getsy was never even an offensive coordinator in Green Bay before coming to Chicago. Johnson, on the other hand, built a great reputation as the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator over the last three seasons.
Furthermore, it sounds like Williams himself was already exploring the switch before Johnson talked to him about it. Therefore, it sounds to be more of a mutual agreement rather than something Williams is being forced to do. This should hopefully result in a smoother transition.
Johnson and Williams have two more months to nail down the footwork before their preseason opener. Chicago opens the preseason on Sunday, August 10, in Miami against the Dolphins.