Greenberg: Ben Johnson touts flexibility as he puts together Bears' offensive identity

New York Times

3 days ago

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — 'We like to say upstairs, 'No one adjusts better than us.''
If what Ben Johnson is saying is true, well, the Chicago Bears just might be headed in the right direction. Heck, if the Bears coaches just believe they're the best, that's a positive sign.
In the last 12 years or so, I'd be more inclined to describe the vibes coming from 'upstairs' at Halas Hall as, 'No one panics like us' or 'No one makes excuses like us' or 'No one learns less from mistakes than we do.' A new twist from the business side is, 'No one prolongs a stadium decision like us.'
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Unlike some previous coaches who were determined to fit their talent into their schemes, Johnson has been pretty open from his introductory news conference that he's not bringing the Detroit Lions offense to Chicago. He doesn't just want to adapt his offense to his talent, he doesn't see any other way to coach. And so what he's trying to build in Chicago will take a little time to coalesce, even if the goal is to win immediately.
Let's be clear. No one here is patient. Not after four coaches and more failed eras than a Taylor Swift karaoke contest. It isn't helping that Caleb Williams is coming off a fine-but-not-generational rookie season and he's off to a bumpy start at practice. You don't need to be at training camp to know that the offense has an 'up-and-down' day pretty much every practice as it tries to figure out everything from the lengthy play calls to the rhythm of the game.
I'm a little nervous about his ability to quickly process, the biggest challenge for any quarterback who jumps from college to the pros. But if anyone can help Williams make the leap, it's Johnson and his coaching staff. At least that's what we're believing right now.
The Bears' offensive installation period is over and with three weeks to drill the offense until the season begins, Johnson spoke Wednesday about flexibility and how his players are still trying to digest everything the coaches have fed them since the spring. With no set offensive identity, it's a lot for them to take in.
'This has been the plan from the get-go is that we don't know yet who we are going to be on offense — zone scheme, gap scheme, up front in terms of the running game, play-action pass,' Johnson said. 'Are we going to be more from the shotgun, under center? By design, we gave a lot so we could determine what we want to do and which direction we want to go. We are at the point now where we will start honing in on some of those things. As far as they know, everything we have installed from this point is still alive and well.'
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On Wednesday, we saw tackles mix and match on the offensive line with Theo Benedet joining Braxton Miller on the left side and rookie Ozzy Trapilo work as the second-team right tackle. We've seen how shoddy offensive lines have hampered Bears quarterbacks before, so this is pretty important.
We won't see this offense really hum until the offensive line and running back positions are solidified; both are still congealing. Speaking of flexibility, receiver DJ Moore has been playing a little running back in camp. We've seen him run the ball before, but it'll be interesting to see how that idea works during the season.
'He's a great athlete that has good vision and he does a great job of just applying the little detail things that you talk to him about,' running backs coach Eric Bieniemy said. 'And so he's a flexible player.'
As for the quarterback, on Wednesday, Williams made some nice throws — particularly to Rome Odunze — but also saw a flurry of false-start penalties. He made a bad pitch that would've been returned for a touchdown in a real game. He wasn't bad. But no one rushed to their phones to make longshot MVP bets.
It's important to note that Dennis Allen's defense looks sharp — though the nagging injuries in the defensive backfield are worrisome — but there hasn't been a ton of good news, in terms of Johnson's offense, emanating out of Halas Hall. That's nothing new, of course. If the apocalypse ever comes and the sun burns out and the Earth begins to rot, one thing will remain constant: The defense will be ahead of the offense at Halas Hall.
It makes sense. There's less gray area in a defense and more of a lingua franca between systems. What an offense needs is time and repetition. (And, of course, talent.)
Coach Johnson announced that starters will play in Sunday's preseason game against the Bills pic.twitter.com/3SbDitj4O4
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 13, 2025
And so if you wondered why quarterback Williams and his cohorts didn't play a few series in the preseason opener Sunday, Johnson explained his logic in keeping them out. Williams got to Soldier Field bright and early to get some work in and then practiced Monday.
'Well, last week, and really all through camp, I've been pretty consistent with the thought of reps, reps, reps are the most important thing to get him up to speed,' Johnson said Wednesday before practice. 'And by the plan that we had a week ago, we were able to get him probably somewhere between 80 and 100 more reps than we would've been able to do had he played in the game. This week, it's a different schedule, different length of time in terms of in between games and all that. And so, our plan right now is the guys that sat out last week, they will be playing this week.'
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So that's the change and it makes sense. Williams and the rest of the starters on both sides of the ball will play against the Buffalo Bills (who are also coming in town for a practice) in a preseason exhibition Sunday at home.
How much will they play? I'd guess a quarter and maybe a series into the second. But that's where the opening quote about adjusting comes in.
'To be determined,' Johnson said. 'We'll talk about that. We'll see how the joint practice goes and reassess. There's things that you kind of have in the back of your head when you make the plan for training camp and as you go through training camp, things change. And that's what we do, we adjust.'
Some would say they're the best at it, even if it's only in their own minds. I, for one, like that kind of confidence.
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