The Chicago Bears quarterback coach had a simple solution for Caleb Williams to improve this offseason. Barrett simply wanted Williams to “do less.” Barrett stated that he wanted Williams to take the simple things and not try to turn every play into a scramble drill.
When Ben Johnson was asked about the comments that Barrett made, he gave an insightful response.
Bears QBs coach J.T. Barrett said recently that he wants to see Caleb Williams "do less" with regards to working through a progression and getting the ball out on time instead of having to extend plays and create.
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) June 10, 2026
What does doing less look like to Ben Johnson?
Johnson: "There…
The Chicago Bears need their quarterback to take the easy plays in 2026
This is a fair criticism of Williams and one that has been noted. Nobody held the ball longer than Williams did last year. More than that, he was one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL by all metrics when it comes to passing the ball within 2.5 seconds. The coaches see it, and the stats back it up. Williams does not take enough easy passes and struggles to find the quick plays. That does not mean Williams cannot make those throws. In fact, he has shown he can when he stays on schedule. The issue is that he often passes up those opportunities while looking for a bigger play.
There are two ways to look at this, though.
First, Williams is not familiar with the offense. Johnson is his third play caller as he enters his third season, and after the turmoil of his rookie year, he had to unlearn a lot before catching up to what Johnson wanted. Now that Williams is more in tune with what Johnson is looking for, he should start to play more confidently.
Playing with more confidence and understanding within the offense should lead to more efficient numbers. However, the other side is that this is just not who Williams is.
There were a lot of scouting reports that noted the knock on Williams was that he tends to want to rely on himself too much. He trusts his arms, legs, and scrambling ability, and while that can work in moments, it is not consistent enough to be quality football.
Perhaps Williams just cannot see the field well enough, and he needs to get out of the pocket to get a better understanding of where his receivers are in relation to his defenders. Perhaps it is just a familiarity thing, and like the playbook, it is something that has to be broken down before being built back up.
Either way, all eyes are going to be on what Williams can do when throwing the ball under 2.5 seconds next year.
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