Bears coach Ben Johnson: Dynamic QB play is more important than protecting the ball
Matt Eberflus was a 22-year-old assistant at Toledo when his head coach, Gary Pinkel, stood in front of his players and held a football in the air.“Guys,” he said, “it’s all about this.”Thus was born Eberflus’ career-long zeal to win the turnover battle. It was enough to earn him the Bears’ head coaching job — the Colts finished second in takeaways in his four seasons as Colts defensive coordinator — but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep it.Wednesday, his replacement, Ben Johnson, said turnovers no longer define winning and losing in the NFL.“This game over the last five years has transitioned from turnovers and takeaways,” he said. “And it's now about quarterback play.”The Bears have had far more coaches over the years who side with Eberflus than Johnson. The Bears remain the only team without a 4,000-yard passer in its history. Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, the Bears have the fewest passing yards of any continuously operated franchise.Johnson is here to drag them into modernity.“It's clear that modern football in the NFL is quarterback-driven,” said Johnson, who coached journeyman Jared Goff into the NFL’s leader in passing yards and touchdowns over the past three seasons. “That is no secret. You can look at analytics right now, quarterback success is a higher predictor of winning and losing than turnover ratio, which has been for 20 plus years. O.K., that's changed.”This season, the Texans were the only team to make the playoffs with a quarterback who had a passer rating below the league average of 92.3. Ten of the top 12 leaders in passing touchdowns made the playoffs.The most convincing evidence of Johnson’s theory, though, comes by proving the inverse. The 2024 Bears did exactly that.Quarterback Caleb Williams finished the season with six interceptions, tied for the fewest of any Bears quarterback with at least 10 starts. Only three rookies in NFL history with at least 13 starts have posted fewer. The Bears turned the ball over only 16 times this season — on nine fumbles and seven interceptions. It was the fewest in franchise history.And yet, the Bears offense might have been the worst in the NFL. No one averaged fewer yards than their 284.6. Only the Patriots, Giants and Browns averaged fewer points than their 18.2. They finished second-to-last in passing yards and eighth from the bottom in rushing yards.The Bears protected the ball at all costs — and didn’t benefit from it. Williams went 353 passes without an interception, which was the fourth-longest single-season stretch in NFL history. The Bears went 1-10 during the streak.Their goal next season will be different.“Score,” Williams said. “Score an insane amount of points. I think we have the same mindset. [Johnson and I] sat down and talked and had the same mindset about scoring and all these different things ... Sportsmanship is at the end of the game when you shake hands and be respectful in those ways. But when you're on the football field, you want the other teams to feel as if you've embarrassed them.”Johnson and Williams will spend all offseason trying to see things through the same lens. It won’t be nearly as conservative as the one Williams was coached to believe in as a rookie.“The play-caller and the quarterback have to be integrated,” Johnson said. “The quarterback needs to be able to see the game through the play-caller's eyes. In my opinion, that's the only way it works. So we're going to spend a lot of time together this springtime, certainly during training camp and we'll be able to see how much headway we can make.” Latest on the Bears Bears New Bears coach Ben Johnson can help GM Ryan Poles on personnel if they establish partnership When the Bears look to allocate their projected $66 million in cap space (fifth in the league) and spend their three draft picks in the first two rounds (Nos. 10, 39 and 41), it’s vital that Poles gives Johnson equal say — and perhaps even defers to him. By Jason Lieser [month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone] Bears With Ben Johnson, Bears take first step toward closing gap in NFC North The Bears acquired a top-notch coach to nurture Cale
Matt Eberflus was a 22-year-old assistant at Toledo when his head coach, Gary Pinkel, stood in front of his players and held a football in the air.
“Guys,” he said, “it’s all about this.”
Thus was born Eberflus’ career-long zeal to win the turnover battle. It was enough to earn him the Bears’ head coaching job — the Colts finished second in takeaways in his four seasons as Colts defensive coordinator — but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep it.
Wednesday, his replacement, Ben Johnson, said turnovers no longer define winning and losing in the NFL.
“This game over the last five years has transitioned from turnovers and takeaways,” he said. “And it's now about quarterback play.”
The Bears have had far more coaches over the years who side with Eberflus than Johnson. The Bears remain the only team without a 4,000-yard passer in its history. Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, the Bears have the fewest passing yards of any continuously operated franchise.
Johnson is here to drag them into modernity.
“It's clear that modern football in the NFL is quarterback-driven,” said Johnson, who coached journeyman Jared Goff into the NFL’s leader in passing yards and touchdowns over the past three seasons. “That is no secret. You can look at analytics right now, quarterback success is a higher predictor of winning and losing than turnover ratio, which has been for 20 plus years. O.K., that's changed.”
This season, the Texans were the only team to make the playoffs with a quarterback who had a passer rating below the league average of 92.3. Ten of the top 12 leaders in passing touchdowns made the playoffs.
The most convincing evidence of Johnson’s theory, though, comes by proving the inverse. The 2024 Bears did exactly that.
Quarterback Caleb Williams finished the season with six interceptions, tied for the fewest of any Bears quarterback with at least 10 starts. Only three rookies in NFL history with at least 13 starts have posted fewer. The Bears turned the ball over only 16 times this season — on nine fumbles and seven interceptions. It was the fewest in franchise history.
And yet, the Bears offense might have been the worst in the NFL. No one averaged fewer yards than their 284.6. Only the Patriots, Giants and Browns averaged fewer points than their 18.2. They finished second-to-last in passing yards and eighth from the bottom in rushing yards.
The Bears protected the ball at all costs — and didn’t benefit from it. Williams went 353 passes without an interception, which was the fourth-longest single-season stretch in NFL history. The Bears went 1-10 during the streak.
Their goal next season will be different.
“Score,” Williams said. “Score an insane amount of points. I think we have the same mindset. [Johnson and I] sat down and talked and had the same mindset about scoring and all these different things ... Sportsmanship is at the end of the game when you shake hands and be respectful in those ways. But when you're on the football field, you want the other teams to feel as if you've embarrassed them.”
Johnson and Williams will spend all offseason trying to see things through the same lens. It won’t be nearly as conservative as the one Williams was coached to believe in as a rookie.
“The play-caller and the quarterback have to be integrated,” Johnson said. “The quarterback needs to be able to see the game through the play-caller's eyes. In my opinion, that's the only way it works. So we're going to spend a lot of time together this springtime, certainly during training camp and we'll be able to see how much headway we can make.”
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