NFL Trade Rumors
Bears HC Ben Johnson highly praised QB Caleb Williams‘ improvisational skills following Week 10’s win over the Giants, pointing out that the quarterback has shown a “natural ability” to break the pocket.
“We just watched the whole game together. He made a number of really good plays that we needed in the moment,” Johnson said, via BearsWire. “And there’s a handful of them that we talked about. And in hindsight, you might play them a little bit different. Same thing for me as a play caller. There’s a number of calls that I probably want back. In those two particular instances, the first one, we felt like we had enough time to hang in the pocket and throw that ball to (WR) DJ (Moore), without breaking contain. It’s a balancing act for him. He feels the pressure and like I’ve been saying all along, he’s got a natural ability to know when to escape and carry on. That’s not something that we want to take away from his game.”
Johnson added that he’s been pleased with Williams’ ability to hang in the pocket and deliver big passes.
“But we are encouraging, at times when we see it, where we can hang in there and either get the throw down the field or check the ball down,” Johnson said. “So the one to DJ, we felt like there was some space over the top there that we might be able to throw him open into in the end zone. And then the second one, if I remember it right, we had a number of crossers on that play, and I thought a couple guys popped. It’s a play that we hit. He threw really well in practice we felt good about. And, it’s probably another one that he felt the pressure, got out of it, but we could probably hang in there and deliver that ball down the field.”
Packers C Sean Rhyan is getting the opportunity to return to the starting lineup after spending the better part of this season in a reserve role.
“Obviously disappointment was there,” Rhyan said, via the team’s website. “If you’re a real competitor, you want to be out there with the guys, grinding it out and doing hard (stuff). But hey, I try not to hold grudges and stay ready, so that when I get my opp, I can go in there and do my thing.”
Packers QB Jordan Love said he has the utmost confidence in Rhyan and his ability to be the anchor of the offensive line.
“I think he did a great job coming into the game on Monday,” Love said. “All of our exchanges were pretty clean. We’ve just got to keep building on that. But it’s always a next-man-up mentality. I think Sean’s done a great job of staying ready, wherever he’s been called at this season. It’ll be no different for him at center.”
