It will take more than just a strong, accurate arm from Caleb Williams to keep improving as a quarterback.
It will take his eyes, feet and head too.
After a couple of days of film review, Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson and Williams have huddled together to go over some of the nuances that will make the quarterback a better signal caller.
They include training his eyes in the right place while surveying the defense, perfecting his footwork to make more accurate throws and not getting into the head game of facing former Bears coach Matt Eberflus, who returns to Soldier Field for the first time Sunday as the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator.
“It’s the same as preparing each week for me,” Williams said. “You have to go out there and execute the plays Ben calls.”
Here are three things we learned from Williams on Wednesday at Halas Hall.
1. The eyes have it.
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams waits to take the field in the first quarter against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on Sept. 14, 2025, in Detroit. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Williams has shown progress despite a 52-21 blowout by the Detroit Lions and an 0-2 start.
He was less erratic on his throws and, for the most part, made better decisions from the pocket — notwithstanding that ill-advised sideline throw that was intercepted by a diving Kerby Joseph.
After the game Sunday, Johnson said Williams’ “eyes aren’t quite in the right position” on several plays.
Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent explained that it’s about setting yourself up for better throws as well as manipulating the defense.
“Every play there’s one or two people that were keying on on the defensive side of the ball,” Bagent said. “During each of our plays we make sure that we’ve got eyes on that defender or those two defenders in that same area to make sure we’re making the correct decisions.”
Williams alluded to a veteran quarterback’s ability to know where defenders are, keep them there or move them, and deliver the ball around them.
“It’s something that we talk about and discuss throughout the week, and using my eyes and being able to move where I want and move the defenders wherever I want,” he said.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott possesses those qualities, Johnson said: “He’s got total control of the field. He’s looking to manipulate the defense, he’s looking to control them.”
It’s something Williams has studied under Johnson since the spring, but it will take reps to become second nature.
“You just have to do it over and over and over again,” Johnson said. “And at some point you worry less about, what’s my footwork, less about where do my eyes need to be? Who am I keying? Where do I need to set for this throw and now you’re looking to manipulate the defense a little bit more. How can I look one guy off to create a void to throw the ball into and things of that nature.
“You might fail a few times, and you learn from that, and you do it better the next time.”
2. Williams is working on mastering his footwork.
Through two weeks, he’s minus-8.6% in completion percentage above expectation, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
That’s behind Justin Fields (minus-8.4%) and second-worst to only Patrick Mahomes (minus-9.6%)
Williams is convinced his propensity for off-target throws is rooted in poor technique with his feet, and he’s dedicated himself to correcting it.
He credits his slight improvement from Week 1 to Week 2 (ticking up from a 60% completion percentage to 63.3%) to being more comfortable with his footwork.
His eyes, his arm, his legs — they’re all useless without footwork.
“I mean, it’s up there with the top list of things to be able to be accurate,” Williams said. “And that’s huge for me just because (despite) all the ‘talent,’ per se, (it’s about) just being able to do some simple basic stuff, just having my feet, eyes all tied together and being in rhythm with the routes and wide receivers.
“Having that and focusing on that each and every week is important, and it’s something I’m going to do for the remainder of the season.”
3. Williams isn’t letting Matt Eberflus get in his head.
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams receives a handshake from Matt Eberflus as players stretch for a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Oct. 13, 2024. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Eberflus was Williams’ first NFL coach, the man who, among others, campaigned for the Bears to select him No. 1 in the 2024 NFL draft.
They also struggled together as Eberflus was fired midseason of Williams’ first year.
“I think we’re at the point where we’re past that,” Williams said. “But it was good, obviously, being able to become a Chicago Bear (in part because of him). … So happy to be here and our time together wasn’t wasted.”
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It would make sense that Eberflus, a defensive mind who helped raise a rookie quarterback last season, would know Williams’ flaws and tendencies intimately.
It’s the old paradox, however: You know me, but I know you too.
Johnson said, “We’ve got guys in the building that know how his mind works, and so we had some information on just schematically how he liked to approach my offense in general and his feelings on Caleb.
“I feel like we know what he knows and we’ll be just fine there.”
Williams said a quarterback’s preparation to face a defense, and vice versa, is a “constant chess match.”
“Being able to adjust and adjust again and adjust again because that’s what football constantly comes down to through all four quarters, being able to adjust and figure out what they’re doing,” he said. “And then when they change it up or have their little wrinkle for that week, you’re able to adjust and adjust one more again.”
Williams added, “He coached me and he had tendencies himself, and I had tendencies myself. I think I’ve grown and he’s probably grown as a D-coordinator, so (it’s) just being able to go in there and adjust (to) whatever happens.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/18/chicago-bears-caleb-williams-ben-johnson-eyes-footwork/
