Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show
Ben Johnson has high expectations for Caleb Williams' completion percentage
01 Apr 2026
Chapter 1: What are Ben Johnson's expectations for Caleb Williams?
This hour is sponsored by Wintrust. The views and opinions of Layla Rahimi, Marshall Harris, and Mark Grody should not be taken too seriously. Especially when they give advice. Do not take Marshall's analogies literally. Especially when it comes to Russell Dorsey. The sports thoughts of Rahimi, Harris, and Grody may change at any time. It's just sports. Okay, thanks. Bye.
Rahimi Harrison-Grody, 10-2 on 104.3 The Score.
You know who else needs full coverage?
We're going to talk about Caleb here in a second, but if I may, just to pick up where you guys left off there in terms of ā and I had this revelation last night hearing Kevin Warren and hearing that soundbite, spring and summer. And you know me, I've been pretty even-keeled about the stadium thing because I have heard on record and off record a lot of things about
things that I've reported here about Indiana being absolutely real and George McCaskey maybe not having the stomach to move to Indiana, not wanting that on his legacy. I've come to the conclusion that Indiana is bogus.
and that if the Bears were actually serious about Indiana, and this is new for me because it's a fluid situation, if they were serious about Indiana, they would have committed to Indiana by now. They are allowing Illinois at every step to push this back, to kick the can down the road further, to allow the legislators to push back against Kevin Warren and take deep breaths.
They are just waiting for Illinois to get their acts together so they can move to Arlington Heights. The Bears are going to Arlington Heights. Indiana's bogus.
Indiana is that honey bun that's been sitting in your cabinet for the last five years. Like, technically, it hasn't gone bad. And you know you would never eat it, except if there was an absolute emergency. Like, there's nothing else left. The grocery stores have been shut down.
And there's that honey bun. I think that's a pretty good analogy right there. Because at this point, yeah, it would be, right, a desperation at this point. And there was a time. And you know this.
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Chapter 2: How does completion percentage impact Caleb Williams' performance?
from me saying it on these airwaves, on 50,000 watts of 104.3 the score, saying, yeah, Indiana's real, folks. This is real stuff. It's bogus. It's bogus. Or they would have done it by now, and they wouldn't just keep on, okay, we'll wait. We'll wait a little bit longer. We'll wait for the cranes a little bit longer. It's becoming foolish by now.
And Arlington Heights will be great, and we'll all be happy, but I no longer believe, as I did before, that Indiana's actually in play.
We'll be happy when it's done.
Period. A year's a lifetime. Oh, that too. And I've been that guy, and there's people listening right now who are like, just let me know when it actually happens. Unfortunately, the nature of what we do around here dictates that we have a little bit of information and a little bit of insight and have an actual discussion about these things.
We have to disseminate the information, Mark.
We do, and it can be boring. But I hope it's not boring for people to hear me say right now, it ain't happening in Indiana.
I'm not bored, Mark. Mark, if that makes you feel any better.
That does make me feel happy. How about Caleb Williams? Does he bore you?
Nothing about Caleb Williams bores me. In fact, anything related to Caleb Williams, as we disseminate the information, as we get it directly from the horse's mouths of Ryan Poles or Ben Johnson, it is actually the opposite feeling of when I hear about the stadium.
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Chapter 3: What challenges does Caleb Williams face in improving his stats?
Let me gorge myself on Caleb Williams' information.
Amen. And let us gorge ourselves on the Bears head coach, Ben Johnson, who says all the right things in terms of what Bears fans should want to hear. That enough with last season. And there's no sense of entitlement relative to last year. And when we're out in public, we don't need to hear about a great... Don't feed the bears, folks.
You're only hurting the bears if you feed the bears that sort of information. One of these things, too, is one of the... I would say if there was one phrase or two words... that Ben Johnson has been most famous for as it pertains to Caleb Williams, it is completion percentage, which some people push back on when it comes to Caleb Williams because of the unique nature of this quarterback.
Because Caleb Williams was dominant in fourth quarter. Seven fourth quarter comebacks in the last two minutes of games. Excellent. Stellar. That's where you see the elite. But we don't see the elite in three quarters of football, typically from Caleb Williams, to the point where his completion percentage, second worst in the league at 58.1%. And I have heard people saying it.
I have seen it written that it's a bogus stat and we shouldn't pay attention to it. But...
If we all are on board with Ben Johnson, which it feels like we are, Ben Johnson has not gotten much pushback in this town yet because he's been successful, he sounds smart, he literally developed a quarterback for you to the point where we all think that Caleb Williams is going to get the big, mega contract extension at some point in time.
If you do believe in Ben Johnson, then you have to hear and listen to some of the things that Ben Johnson is saying about Caleb Williams and what Ryan Poles has been saying about Caleb Williams. And that is, Marshall, he needs to be better. And he needs to be better when it comes to completion percentage. Let me read you. We've got some great audio that we're going to play here in a second.
But, Marshall, let me read this to you. First of all, Ben Johnson to our guy Dan Wiederer of The Athletic. He happens to host a podcast known as Take the North with George Truly, which we'll be recording later on this afternoon. We are lucky to have Dan in Phoenix, Arizona for those owners' meetings.
But here's what Ben Johnson said to Weedman in The Athletic today, if you want to go and read the entire article. Quote, There are going to be a number of snaps on tape where he'll, Caleb,
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Chapter 4: How does Ben Johnson's coaching history influence his approach?
look at it and be like, man, I've got to put that ball six inches further out in front, or I need to put this a little bit lower, things of that nature. Really, he's got to challenge himself. We're going to challenge him, Ben Johnson says, but he has to acknowledge, I need to be better here. in these areas, close quote.
In other words, for those who hate hearing about completion percentage as it pertains to Caleb Williams, Ben Johnson has doubled down and he is being very specific about it. When you hear the audio, you'll know what we're talking about. But Marshall, how do you feel about completion percentage and how seriously do you take it?
Because it's never wavered for me because I want Caleb Williams elite for four quarters, which I think is attainable.
Well, here's the thing about completion percentage. And people might make excuses from time to time, right? And they might say, well, it's not as important when you have a guy who's good on his feet, who can scramble, who can make the big play with his legs, who can extend plays, right? I just want to point something out.
Ben Johnson got this head coaching job on the strength of what he was able to do as an offensive innovator, not just a play caller, but a guy who can design things that work. And he worked with Jared Goff, a guy who in 2024 had a 72.4% completion percentage, who has never under Ben Johnson had a completion percentage under 65%. So if Ben Johnson, after working with Jared Goff,
for three years, make that four, determined that completion percentage is a benchmark in how he measures offense, offensive efficiency, and its potential. Why would I not listen to Ben Johnson? And so for him to, you said double down. No, no, no. I believe he has quadrupled, maybe even quintupled down.
Woo, that sounds like a Taco Bell thing.
Well, because he said it multiple times over the course of the season, and he's never backed off of the point. The conversation and the narrative has changed because of the magic that Caleb Williams was able to provide us in the most important quarter, a.k.a. the fourth quarter. But he has not been elite.
And when you talk about completion percentage and that magical number of 70%, there was only one quarterback who did it last year. And his name was Drake May. And he happens to be from Caleb Williams' draft class. And understanding all this talk is certainly something that Caleb Williams is not new to. He's heard it over and over again.
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Chapter 5: What specific improvements does Ben Johnson suggest for Caleb Williams?
But to see someone drafted after you, someone become the runner-up and MVP, do this? Why would he not strive to hit that mark and shut everybody up?
Also, back to what you were saying about Jared Goff, who listening right now, raise your hands as you're in your cars driving all over the great, big, beautiful city of Chicago, doesn't think that Caleb Williams has more potential as a quarterback than Jared Goff. He's not reached Jared Goff status yet, but who doesn't think that he's ā as good or more talented than Jared Goff.
And I think that's what Ben Johnson knows. Ben Johnson obviously worked intimately with Jared Goff. Ben Johnson raised his hand in his car as he was listening to Raheem Harrison grow and said, I want to go. I want to go to Chicago because Caleb Williams, look at the raw material that this guy, he can be better than my guy.
Like he's got natural coach bailout skills, does Caleb Williams, that Jared Goff didn't have.
I also love when Ben Johnson says, we're going to make mistakes, talking about the coaching staff. And he's mentioned over and over again how many times Caleb Williams has bailed them out from a programming standpoint, if you will, in terms of this play was called and it wasn't the right call. And Caleb Williams made it look good, even though it was a mess.
That's right. Right. And I love that Ben Johnson is transparent about as transparent as he is about calling out his players. Ben Johnson has called himself out any number of times as well. We're open here, by the way. Text messages are flying in because you guys know the number.
But for those of you who don't, like listening on the FM, which we appreciate at 104.3 The Score, Rahimi Harris and Grody, Marshall Harris and Mark Grody here today, 312-644-6767. A texter from the 317 says, you can't expect Caleb to have another seven comebacks again next year. Look at the Chiefs the last two years. The Chiefs the last two years. I don't know if that's true.
I'm pretty comfortable with Caleb being a master of the fourth quarter. Hold on a second. I don't want to see him have to do that, though. I want to see them. Remember the original mission statement from Ben Johnson and Caleb? We want to embarrass teams.
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Chapter 6: Why is completion percentage a controversial stat for quarterbacks?
I didn't forget that, and I don't think Ben Johnson has forgotten that, and I doubt that Caleb Williams has forgotten that.
And I think that's why Ben Johnson remains frustrated, even with the progress that Caleb Williams showed from Game 1 to the final game of the playoffs. There was progress there. But he understands what the true potential is. You know why he understands? Because he's coached No. 1 offenses. He knows what those look like. He has done it before.
And now Caleb Williams just needs to do his part to make sure they have a No. 1 offense or are in the running to have a No. 1 offense.
Oh, you need more evidence as to what Ben Johnson is saying in terms of Caleb Williams, the need to be better, and the completion percentage to be better? Take a listen to this. This is from the Hogue and Johns podcast. talking to Ben Johnson. Everybody got a little piece of Ben Johnson. Everybody got their one-on-ones, including Hogan Johns.
This is some really good, honest stuff from Ben Johnson, which might help those of you who push back against completion percentage, which I understand, but I want you to listen to this regardless.
You look at the draft. Earlier you said the passing game leaves something to be desired. What do you desire next from the passing game? And how are you measuring that progress?
Well, when I watched the self-scout, I would still say that rings true. I showed up...
you know the easy thing and something i've been talking about all day here is the easy thing is the completion percentage you know we're at 58 to 59 i made it a statement last year that we really if we want to be elite we want to be that 70 marker and so we fell short of that and uh you know we don't shy away from that i think when you look at it for us to get to 65 completion even cut that in half
We need to find 40 more completions over the course of the season. Well, let me tell you something. When you watch the self-scout, there's 80, 90, 100 completions we left out on the table. And I'm not just talking about passes dropped.
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Chapter 7: What examples support the importance of completion percentage?
I know that's the first thing that probably comes to mind. But every team's going to have some passes that are dropped on the ground by their route runners and catchers.
um that that's going to happen but there's a number of things when you watch this tape that we're going to continue to get the timing down our footwork down our ball location down i put a lot of stress on our coaching staff myself at the forefront of that of where we can coach this stuff better um not just to get the primary receiver open more but to where our route details more defined when caleb um
creates on his own, we have the proper reaction on the back and we come alive on the back end and use it as an opportunity to get a big play down the field. We didn't feel like that happened nearly enough. And so I think there's more than enough opportunities on the tape. And when the guys get back in the building, that's something that we're going to really stress to
Like when you factor in, say, throwaways or a scramble, some of those could be positive plays. But when you look at the self scout, like there's potentially a completion there. And that's something that needs to be discussed. Yeah.
And I'll be honest with you that the throwaways aren't even something that I'm really, to me, that's part of that. When you talk about 70%, that's part of the 30%.
percent is is the throwaways i think that's going to happen as well so you want to get to 70 with all that factored in the expected drops that you're always going to have oh yeah plus the throwaways all that if you want to be elite in this league you're going to have your top five to three quarterbacks in the league completing that at that clip at this point and so That's where we want to be.
That's where he wants to be. He wants to be one of the best ever. So why are we shying away from that goal? And when you watch the tape, there's that to be had too. So we're all in it together, and we're going to find a way to make a significant jump here this season.
Fair to point out the throwaways. Caleb Williams had 28 of those last year, second in the league. And the drops, too, need to be pointed out. The Bears dropped an estimated 400 yards worth of footballs last year, which, by the way, would have put them over 4,000 yards. The Bears had 29 drops, fifth most in the NFL.
Mark, the standard is the standard. And for all the people making excuses for Caleb and why he didn't reach... Forget about 70%. He didn't reach 60%. Right. There's a reason why he did not do that.
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Chapter 8: What are the overall implications for the Bears and Caleb Williams?
He was not good enough. And Ben Johnson is letting us know and letting him know and letting everyone know this is the expectation. And if you want... What you think you want, a winner, a Super Bowl contender, a guy who can dominate a quarterback, this is what has to happen.
Join us tomorrow at Wings and Rings on Halstead before the Southside home opener. We'll be talking Chicago baseball and more. That's tomorrow from 10 to 2 at Wings and Rings on the Southside. Rahimi, Harris, and Grody. We'll all be there. We love it when you come by, say hi. We'll talk to you. We love it. We love being out in public, and that's what we are going to be tomorrow.
Thanks to everybody that is putting this show together that is in our studios today. Of course, Marshall Harris. I see Ray Diaz over there being bothered right now by Sean Sears, it looks like. We got Tyler Buterbaugh after his five buttes open that we had today. Our score video producers online. are Connor O'Donnell, Jacob Stutz, and Max Curtis.
I didn't realize how bears all of those names were.
You just made them very bears. I just want to point that out.
Well, I've always known the Connor. I mean, come on, Connor O'Donnell. I mean, crying out loud. If he's not here, he's at a pub somewhere. He's drunk as a skunk right now. Log on to twitch.tv slash thescorechicago. When we return, we'll talk a little bit about the Cubs' loss last night. Pretty uneventful, but there were a few events that we should talk about from the Cubs' 2-0 loss to the Angels.
More importantly, Tommy Haddavy was on with Mully and Haw today, and he was sounding very excited about Chicago. Shota Imanaga, despite giving up a three-run homer in his first performance. We will listen to that and discuss it all next on Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score.
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