Rookie quarterbacks often enter the NFL coddled, eased into systems, and shielded from harsh criticism. Caleb Williams didn’t get that luxury. After a rocky first season under two head coaches and three different offensive coordinators, he now finds himself under the microscope of Bears head coach Ben Johnson. Monday night’s 27–24 loss to the Vikings was surely a tough start for the new HC, but the focus isn’t on one game; it’s still on Johnson’s “tough love” approach. And if the consensus around the league is anything to go by, that’s exactly what the young quarterback needs.

The latest to chime in with his thoughts on Johnson’s ‘treatment’ of Williams is NFL legend Cris Carter. Appearing on Up & Adams with Kay Adams, Carter straight out said, “From the time he’s been in the building, Ben Johnson’s been a prick. (But) with a lot of these quarterbacks … you hear Tom Brady talk about it a little bit. Bill Belichick he was such a prick to Tom Brady. And Tom just developed this toughness that’s hard to build now– especially in today’s age where you can’t get the quarterbacks to practice, it’s hard to make them tough, it’s hard to put them in enough tough situations, so I do believe (in) that Ben Johnson’s whole tough approach to Caleb from the first press conference ”

Cris Carter’s comparison of Ben Johnson to Bill Belichick has a clear precedent. During his time with the Patriots, no player, rookie or future Hall of Famer, was exempt from scrutiny. Mistakes were called out publicly during their 8 AM ritual where Belichick would show five worst plays from the previous day in order to motivate them to “not be one of those five plays.” Even Tom Brady, who was in his 15th year in the NFL, was called out once– and quite severely so. 

“Safeties, I told you you need to be off the hashes in Cover-2, luckily we don’t have a quarterback who can hit the broad side of a barn, otherwise this would have been a touchdown,” Belichick had said in one such session. And now, over a decade later, we have Williams undergoing the same scrutiny by an HC who may have taken out a leaf from Belichick’s book. 

When Johnson stopped by the Up & Adams Show after Bears’ 38-0 preseason victory, he talked about the coaching style he’s opted for Williams. “I think that’s the natural course of coaching. You know, you gotta tell guys when it’s good. You gotta tell them when it’s bad.

“We’ve had a healthy back and forth, and he’s learning. He’s grown. He’s a young player. But I think when you’re young, you want to be coached hard because that’s going to pull out the best in you, and he’s been that way. That’s been his approach. He’s been very receptive, very coachable, and we see him getting better every day.” But that’s not all.

In another appearance on the ‘Mully & Haugh Show’ last month, Johnson emphasized, “The standard has been set, the bar has been set high,” Johnson said. “He has said he wants to not just be one of the best Top-5 quarterbacks in this league but he wants to have a legacy that lasts for a long time. So, we’re coaching him that way. We’re approaching that way, that’s not going to change.” He also added, “Is he going to be a finished product here in Year 2? No. He’s going to continue to get better year in and year out, it’s a process. We’re very clear on that, there is a little bit of grace here as we go through it, we know he’s learning, he’s going to take his bumps. As long as we’re not making the same mistake twice we’re going to be right on track and we’ll be just fine.” What mistake? Carter knows it all too well.

The message is clear to Williams: College habits, particularly holding onto the ball for too long, would not fly in the NFL. ”That prolonged holding on to the ball? That’s going to be over. And I believe Ben Johnson’s going to change that immediately,” the retired wide receiver said. And well, he’s not wrong. The ball holding was one of the many things that Johnson targeted. 

Sure, Williams threw for 3,541 yards, 2o passing touchdowns, and six interceptions in his rookie season, but the post-game footage revealed two things: How long it took him to get up after a hit, and how his body language wasn’t like that of a franchise QB. Plus, William didn’t shy away from owning his part of the issues. He admitted to holding the ball for longer than he should, which inflated his 28.2% pressure-to-sack rate, meaning more than one out of every four pressures ended with him on the ground. That tendency to extend plays didn’t just lead to sacks; it drove 19 turnover-worthy plays last season, per Pro Football Focus. And now, the target set for this season is set higher still. 

So, perhaps having Ben Johnson’s tough love will improve Williams, and the Bears can expect his true potential to come out in the long run. What do you think?