Ben Johnson has high praise for Luther Burden during OTAs | Take The North
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Bears fans, this is Take the North. What's the reason, Doc? It's here. With your hosts. All these guys.
Dan Wiederer. The whole key to sustaining success in this league is to have a quarterback play that is top tier and can consistently push you down those roads. And Mark Grody. We're allowed to at this point. Bears fans are allowed to right now dream big and predict what you want out of the season. We're going to take the North and never give it back. Hello again, everybody, and welcome into the Take the North podcast, along with Dan Wiederer of The Athletic. I am Mark Grody of 104.3 The Score and the Rahimi Harris and Grody Show. It is OTA day today at Hallis Hall and in Lake Forest. That is where Weedzy is stationed. I am in downtown Chicago right now, and we are talking bears. Dan, how is it out at Hallis Hall today where you are existing at this very second?
Gorgeous. I mean, absolutely perfect blue sky here. It feels like summer's knocking on the door and you get this little taste of spring football. What's the appetite here for where the Bears are trying to push in their direction? Could not have been a nicer day out at 1920 Football Drive, Mark. That's great. Yeah, man, I'll take 60s for sure. And that's what the temps were in Chicago. And assuming the same thing, maybe a little warmer away from the lake in Lake Forest. However, however, boy, man, it is. I do think back. to this time last year and even in training camp when Ben Johnson is installing and I know that's like a dirty word because they install too much too much installation for the Chicago Bears last year but mostly on defense too much schematics I suppose but
Last year at this time, it was like, are Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams going to be able to coexist? As a matter of fact, to the point where Ben Johnson today, when he was up at the lectern talking to you guys, said that there were times last year when we – and we know this, Dan, because we saw it with our own eyes – where we failed to break the huddle at times last year in the spring. And then he mentioned training camp as well. And then Ben said, today we didn't have that issue. There is some relief when I hear that from Ben Johnson. There's no question. They feel like they're further along here in the spring than they were really in the middle part of training camp last year where they sense that the operation is smoother.
Caleb has a grasp of everything. He's handling the pre-snap process with command, with urgency, with the tempo that they desire. That's going to give their offense a chance to hopefully hit a little bit of a moving walkway, I think, when they get – through this period of the spring, and then obviously get through the minicamp and try to set yourself up for a high-speed runway into training camp.
What are the highlights from the Bears' OTA day?
Because you know, Grody, as well as anybody, how critical those days in late July and early August are to getting yourself up to speed and getting ready to go play competitive, meaningful football. And I think the Bears just feel like they have their standards established. They have a lot of good foundational things ready. And now you just kind of try to continue to build. I love the theme, and I think it was you that brought it up with Ben Johnson as it pertains to Caleb about artistry versus efficiency. Wanting him to play within the system to get the easy plays, as you and I have talked about a ton, but not taking away the big home runs from him. And it sounded like Ben Johnson, like he ain't backing off of any of the completion percentage stuff, is he?
No, and really, this is interesting because I can give you a couple anecdotes from practice that will marry up with what we talked about before practice. So it's really cool when you have these conversations and then they play out in front of your eyes out in the practice field. But it was very clear in talking to Ben before Thursday's practice that three things that are a major priority for Caleb and the offense are increasing that completion percentage, getting the scramble drill to be more productive.
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