Ex-Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson appeared to criticize Jared Goff and the Lions’ defense during a press conference at the NFL Combine.
Ben Johnson has managed to frustrate Detroit Lions fans quite effectively since the team was knocked out of the playoffs.
He quickly secured his next position, taking only a few days before being appointed as the head coach of a divisional competitor, the Chicago Bears.
He subsequently went on to recruit a few of the other coaches from the team to accompany him in Chicago.
If his exit hadn’t already provided the team sufficient extra inspiration for the upcoming season’s games against the Bears, Johnson chose to offer the team some bulletin board material while addressing the NFL Combine.
In his press conference at the combine, Johnson lavished compliments on Caleb Williams while also hinting at criticism towards Jared Goff and the Lions’ defense simultaneously.
The deviations from structure, the unscheduled moments, the innovation—those are the aspects that are most prominent as they reflect the current direction of the league. Although you might wish to view it as straightforward progression, step one, then two, then three, the diversity is overwhelming. With the pass rush closing in, having an athlete like Caleb extend plays and possibly uncover a dynamic option further downfield is what excites me. I feel thrilled considering that because I haven’t truly encountered it since joining the league, but I’ve seen it from the opposing perspective, and I know how demoralizing it is when you’re watching your defense face that situation.
The implications suggest that Goff struggled when playing off-schedule, while the Lions’ defense was being torn apart by quarterbacks who thrived in these scenarios.
Goff’s difficulties when off-schedule are a critique that originated during his Rams tenure, yet it hasn’t been a significant problem while he’s been protected by a powerful Lions offensive line.
He finished this past season with a completion rate of 72.4% and was sacked just 31 times, indicating that he must not have been struggling too much with pressure, even in the absence of Williams’ mobility.
Regarding the defense, they appeared to have little difficulty with Williams during their few encounters in 2024. In their initial encounter, the Bears’ quarterback completed only 51.3% of his passing attempts.
In the rematch, he did better, yet the Lions still restricted him to 17 points with a defense that had been significantly affected by injuries.
The Lions will now boast a healthy defense and probably some new additions to the team when they face their former offensive coordinator in 2025, and they will definitely recall this press conference before those games.