Bears News: Allen breaks down what makes Caleb Williams so tough to defend

Ariana Pensy · Correspondent · 4 hours ago

CHICAGO - Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen has always had an aggressive style. His defense reflects that, as the Bears have been ballhawks this season with 20 turnovers. However, with the injuries piling up, Chicago sought some help in the secondary and added cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

In just two games, he has made quite the impact with a forced fumble and three sacks.

“He’s always had a lot of versatility, and we played him both at nickel and safety back in New Orleans,” Allen said. “So, he does have some versatility to play a couple of different spots. But, obviously where we’re at right now, he’s playing the nickel position and doing a hell of a job of it.”

Despite having six wins already this season and having so many turnovers, Allen wants more out of his defense. In fact, he believes they have not yet reached their full potential.

Perhaps Chicago will get closer to achieving their potential once some of their key playmakers, like cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon, are back on the field.

“I still feel like we’re a growing defense. I don’t think we really have even scratched the surface of what I think we can be,” Allen said. “(But), I do know where we were in week one to where we are now. I think there’s more of a belief in what we’re doing and a little bit more confidence in our squad.”

Jaylon Johnson has a chance to return this week against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. Nov. 16 (Noon / FOX). This would definitely be an excellent time for him to come back as Chicago will be facing one of the best wide receivers in the NFL - Justin Jefferson.

Jefferson only has 76.2 yards per game this season, which is relatively low for him, but he is still a threat every time he steps onto the field.

“I think he’s got a great feel for the game,” Allen said. “He does a great job of understanding how to step up his routes to create separation and I think more so than anything else, this guy is one of the more competitive guys that we’ll go against and I think that’s what really makes great players great and I don’t care what position you play is just that competitive nature. He expects that every ball that’s thrown his way, he’s going to make a play.”

However, Chicago has an elite weapon of their own. It has been a long time since the Bears had a true quarterback. Caleb Williams is truly a dual-threat quarterback. He can beat you down the field, like he did on multiple occasions against the Cincinnati Bengals, or beat you on the ground with his legs, like he did against the New York Giants.

Allen is glad he does not have to defend Williams on gamedays, but also explained some of the difficulties other teams face when going against Williams.

“I think he’s grown tremendously from where he was in the spring and in training camp, where he’s at now. I think he’s seeing the field much better and he’s always had that athleticism,” Allen said. “He’s always had that ability to get himself out of trouble and so, when you see that happen, first thing I’m thinking is, ‘I’m glad he’s on our side’ because it’s a pain when you see guys that can create with their feet. It just creates a lot of problems for the defense in terms of how you want to rush him, (do) you want to play man coverage in the back end? Well, if you play man coverage in the back end and he escapes, there’s a lot of backs turned to him. You want to rush four and play zone coverage behind it? Well, they got five and six people blocking versus four, creates escape lanes for the quarterback. So, I think the mobile quarterback is a huge challenge defensively.”