Answers the Bears need from OTA's: Can Caleb Williams run Ben Johnson's offense?

While Williams played far better than some of his critics would have you believe, he still failed to live up to expectations in 2024. Poor coaching is a plausible excuse for that and it's one that many fans and analysts are banking on. With a vastly improved coaching staff, so they say, Williams will be unlocked and will deliver on his generational billing.

But what if more of the team's struggles last season fall on Williams than we think? What if, like Justin Fields before him, Williams is actually struggling to read the field or understand the nuances of a professional offense? Head coach Ben Johnson can scheme up the perfect play on every snap, but it won't matter if the quarterback can't deliver the football where it needs to go at exactly the right time. That's what Williams needs to prove he's capable of.

Before any Bears fan jumps down my throat for this, I'm not saying that Williams needs to have the offense down perfectly this week. Perfection is not what the coaches are looking for either. The devil is in the details, and that's what coaches, fans, and analysts should be looking for from Williams in these practices.

Is the new footwork that Johnson asked him to adopt working? Is he understanding the concepts of Johnson's offense? Does he know which routes the receivers are supposed to be running better than the receivers themselves? Is he throwing with anticipation?

These are questions that the coaches are likely hoping to have answered before OTAs are over. Nothing can be proven for certain until regular-season games are played, but it would help Johnson and his staff if they already felt pretty sure about what kind of quarterback they have.

For the record, I expect Williams to be 'The Guy' for the Bears, and I don't expect the fans to be disappointed in even their wildest hopes.