The winds are changing in the Windy City.
First-year head coach Ben Johnson isn’t putting up with the mistakes and lapses of judgment that have been synonymous with Chicago Bears football for what feels like the last two decades.
As the Bears prepare to kick of their preseason against Miami on Sunday August 10, Johnson is making his presence felt.
That has been evident so far at training camp, where he has wanted to find out, “who’s here to survive through training camp and who wants to be king of the mountain.”
Johnson doesn’t want survivors, he wants kings.
Just ask talented second round draft pick Luther Burden III what the expectations are.
Earlier this week, according to reports, Burden was pulled off the field because he didn’t know where to line up.
An honest mistake by a rookie, especially one that missed a lot of the spring due to a hamstring injury, but one that Johnson will not put up with.
“It shows up already,” Johnson said. “We were in the walk-through yesterday afternoon and the misalignments – we have to re-huddle, we have to start it all over again — so he’s a little bit behind right now.“
Burden spoke to the media after practice on Thursday and reflected on that moment and what he has learned so far.
What is Ben Johnson’s new standard?
“I feel like I’ve got to know my stuff,” Burden said. “[Johnson] holds everybody to a high standard here. It’s great for us, great for the team and that’s the standard here.”
Burden responded to Johnson’s hook by having one of his best practices of the summer.
The standard that Johnson is trying to implement for a team that hasn’t had much success in recent years, will start and end with franchise quarterback Caleb Williams.
After an up-and-down rookie season by the number one overall pick last year, it’s clear that Williams has the talent to be great, he just needs to be consistent and grow as a leader.
When it wasn’t going great last year, there were times that Williams body language portrayed a frustrated individual.
Williams got off to a rough start to begin training camp, as Johnson wanted to throw everything at him, but he has since improved daily.
He has appreciated Johnson’s tough love approach, and has talked about what he is expecting not only from him but also himself.
“If it looks good; you want to keep doing it over and over,” Williams said after Wednesday.
“And if it’s bad, you want to hear that, too, because you want to be able to execute exactly how the coach wants it.”
It was hard to tell last season what former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus wanted executed because of how much of a mess the team looked.
Eberflus was fired at the end of November and didn’t even get to finish the season.
Johnson was hired to clean it all up, get the offense – and specifically – face of the franchise Williams, firing on all cylinders.
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Williams is relishing the challenge and everything that Johnson is putting on his plate.
“We’re installing a bunch and just seeing how much I can retain,” Williams said. “I take pride in trying to retain every single detail that we have. That’s where I’ve been growing so far since Ben’s been here.”
Chicago face stern tests against Super Bowl contenders the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs in preseason, before they start the season on the first Monday Night Football of the season.
Johnson and the Bears take on their NFC North rivals, the Minnesota Vikings who have a sophomore quarterback of their own in J.J. McCarthy, who missed all of the 2024 season with a knee injury.