The really important aspect of Caleb Williams' Wednesday post-practice press conference had nothing to do with a book, Carl Williams, the Minnesota Vikings, or body language, and more to do with the Chicago Bears' future.
What really matters going forward is whether Williams is actually getting better within the Ben Johnson/Bears offense and becoming a well-rounded pro quarterback. A few interceptions thrown during practice aside on Wednesday, progress is being noted.
It starts with just getting out of the huddle and to the line. Johnson is cracking down on the slightest problem as a detail-oriented type. He froze everyone at practice for a second Wednesday by hollering an expletive about the way they got to the line out of the huddle and it was just one of several coaching effects on the way they perform.
One thing Williams pointed to was how Johnson has him using his left foot forward in shotgun, a change the Bears coach sees as important for getting the ball out in time with pass routes.
"I guess it's, 'The Ben Johnson effect, the Ben Johnson effect,' right?" Williams said. "He is going to get a kick out of that when he hears it.
"I think part of it is just that different coaches have different philosophies for things. That's one of his things, foot up. I've been a right-foot-up guy for, typically, all of my career. I think I've done it once or twice throughout my time of playing QB, so it's just one of his things."
Williams says he has no problem with making the change. It is a change the Bears tried in previous regimes with Justin Fields, and it seemed a bigger problem to their old QB.
What Johnson has communicated on these details seems to have left its imprint on Williams.
"Like I said, the details, being on top of it, huddle, we call it PSP, but pre-snap procedure, all of these different things matter, especially in big games and big moments, all the little things come up," Williams said. "I think that's important to him and it's important to us.
"We have to get on top of it and be on top of it, from the head down. The Ben Johnson effect, right?"
Seemingly referring to the incident when they broke the huddle at practice and carelessly went to the line, Williams pointed out how detailed Johnson can really be.
"I think y'all have been able to see it," Williams told reporters. "When he gets up here, you get a little taste of how he is. He's always laser-focused. He encourages and he pushes you and challenges you to be at your best as a team, offense, defense and special teams, it doesn't matter the position. He's sharp, he's a guy that wants to win. Being here, being the head guy, and to be honest, he's consistent with it every day.
"Him being here and being the head guy and doing all of those things and being consistent with it, so far it's been awesome and I think everybody's been enjoying it."
Overall, Johnson charts needed progress by Williams at achieving the more detail-oriented approach.
"It's been consistent throughout," Johnson said. "He's been very attentive. He's been very detailed in terms of the meetings. He's taking great notes, he's asking excellent questions.
"The more we're out on the grass together, we're figuring out what we can put in the morning and what we can execute later on in the afternoon. That's been the fun part of it so far. For everybody, there's a saturation level that we've got to find what that point is, so that as coaches we don't ask too much out of any player over the course of the season. We’ve got to be able to download a game plan and execute it. It's been a healthy process right now."
It has Williams thinking like a pro quarterback, which is to say looking ahead and seeing what is developing. It's not just Johnson but his full staff addressing this.
"I think (QB coach) J.T. Barrett is doing a phenomenal job. (Offensive coordinator) Declan (Doyle) is a big part of that as well, just figuring out how much (playbook) install we can push on these guys," Johnson said. "The good news is we got the weekend that they can get the plan and start ahead for the next week. You can really see guys separate, not just at the quarterback position, but really all around on offense and defense who's in their book a little bit extra than the next guy."
When it comes to details, though, it's Williams who really needs to reflect the coaching approach.
After a season when silly errors were made far too often at critical times, when GM Ryan Poles publicly acknowledged steps "were skipped" during the offseason and training camp with Williams by the last coaching staff, details are the required steps being properly addressed at the proper time, rather than during the regular season when it's too late.
