The Ben Johnson Effect

[Pixote]

There is a fun article on The NYTimes/Athletic about the origin of the chant BJ uses in his post-game locker room sessions.

Some articles on the site are subscriber-only (a cheap subscription for great articles, IMO). Here is a small clip:

Quote

For 12 years, acclaimed country singer Chase Rice and his band have done the same chant 45 minutes before their set. It’s something he learned from his high school football team, A.C. Reynolds, in Asheville, N.C.

Good, better, best
Never let it rest
Till your good gets better
And your better gets best

“It’s a core memory for me,” Rice said. “That was our mindset, man, and it was fun.”

Before Rice’s show in Chicago this past June, the band did the chant. Rice noticed one guest on the tour bus, his former teammate Ben Johnson, smiling.

(BJ and Chase Rice were teammates on the A.C. Reynolds High School football team.)

[adam]

Halftime adjustments exist:
 

 

[Alaskan Grizzly]

1 hour ago, adam said:

Halftime adjustments exist:
 

 

Yeah between that and the heavy focus on the run after the bye, I personally saw times where Johnson would make the adjustments necessary to score.  
 

The first couple of weeks of the season were rough . He tried to gameplan ( I think) more for the passing game.  But for whatever reason Caleb wasn’t quite getting it or he (Johnson) was getting impatient.  I think thar was partially why we didn’t see a lot of the optimal use of the 12 man scheme.  Especially with the top two TEs and moreso this years’ #1 pick.  If executed correctly the zone run offense will work every time.  He had what he needed in Swift and Monangai and turns out good enough players on the oline to make it work.  

We saw a few times as the season progressed where the offense (specially Caleb) struggles in the RZ.   Sure he looks great between the 20s but for whatever reason, with the need to think quicker he locked up a little. There was one game in particular (think maybe the Giants) where Ben called at least on trick play in the red zone that ended up with Caleb catching a TD from Moore that shook things up.  This added another element that opposing defenses had to account for.  Call it a little of the Campbell moxie if you will.  
 

Johnson comes by way of the Parcell’s coaching tree . Having started out with the 2012 Dolphins as an assistant.  Since then he’s added some of Bill Walsh’s West Coast Offense and a hint of the spread offense.  With the WCO you don’t have to have a superstar QB run it, just one that can play within the system.  I think Ben will work to fix the inconsistencies and tics t and hopefully have a more finished product in the coming years.  

[ASHKUM BEAR]

What the Bears 12 man personal did was take Tomlin out of his Defensive game plan.  The game of chess forced the OLB/Edges to cover instead of attack. The Bears came a long ways to get their offense to click, but we are starting to see it come together. Once Caleb figures out his touch on ball velocity and improved accuracy, this offense will be hard to beat. 

Trapilo played a good game against some tough competition. It would be a huge relief if he takes the spot and locks its down for a decade. Newman played for Jonah when he went down and played good as well. 

[adam]

Ben Johnson just outcoached Vic Fangio on a short week. DA had a masterclass with LB5 as his starting Mike. 

The Bears have scored 24 pts, the 11th time they have scored 24 or more. This offense is still a work in progress, yet still putting up those numbers.

[Stinger226]

Also the defense is slowly getting bodies back and they played well today. This could be a fairly tale year but I better wait until we beat the Packers. I may be a couple of games away from declaring a SB run. In two weeks both Edwards and Edmunds should be back . Next week Sewell should be back. 

The best is yet to come. 

[AZ54]

And Detroit is fading.  Each week they get further away from Ben Johnson is another week their offense looks a little less efficient.  

[adam]

10 hours ago, AZ54 said:

And Detroit is fading.  Each week they get further away from Ben Johnson is another week their offense looks a little less efficient.  

 

11 hours ago, Stinger226 said:

Also the defense is slowly getting bodies back and they played well today. This could be a fairly tale year but I better wait until we beat the Packers. I may be a couple of games away from declaring a SB run. In two weeks both Edwards and Edmunds should be back . Next week Sewell should be back. 

The best is yet to come. 

The other component is belief.

This sequence is the best for describing the team this year:

• The defense allows a big play TD to Brown, but PHI misses the XP
• Caleb gets intercepted on a screen pass in Bears territory
• Wright (who misplayed the Brown TD) gets a forced fumble and recovery on the Tush Push
• Starting at their own 13, they get an 87-yard TD drive highlighted by a beautiful Monangai 31 yard run that started the drive, and a 4th Down conversion to Loveland
• The defense comes right back on the field and forces a 3-and-out
• Caleb leads a 63-yard TD drive capped off with an off-platform TD pass to Kmet in 13-personnel, with 2 3rd Down conversions (Moore and Oz)

Just like that, from what would've probably been at least a 12-10 deficit, to a 24-9 ass spanking.

[Stinger226]

9 minutes ago, adam said:

 

The other component is belief.

This sequence is the best for describing the team this year:

• The defense allows a big play TD to Brown, but PHI misses the XP
• Caleb gets intercepted on a screen pass in Bears territory
• Wright (who misplayed the Brown TD) gets a forced fumble and recovery on the Tush Push
• Starting at their own 13, they get an 87-yard TD drive highlighted by a beautiful Monangai 31 yard run that started the drive, and a 4th Down conversion to Loveland
• The defense comes right back on the field and forces a 3-and-out
• Caleb leads a 63-yard TD drive capped off with an off-platform TD pass to Kmet in 13-personnel, with 2 3rd Down conversions (Moore and Oz)

Just like that, from what would've probably been at least a 12-10 deficit, to a 24-9 ass spanking.

They dominated the game overall but at the end of the third quarter the Eagles got back in the game. That is the part I got nervous and everything came together and boom. I am not sure if magic is real but BJ has a magic show flowing and the players keep giving the big play. Wright take away was huge, Kmet TD from Caleb (perfect throw) in a windy day, and then the D kept the Eagles in check. 

This is a great short video from someone I never heard of before.

 

 

[adam]

14 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

They dominated the game overall but at the end of the third quarter the Eagles got back in the game. That is the part I got nervous and everything came together and boom. I am not sure if magic is real but BJ has a magic show flowing and the players keep giving the big play. Wright take away was huge, Kmet TD from Caleb (perfect throw) in a windy day, and then the D kept the Eagles in check. 

This is a great short video from someone I never heard of before.

 

 

This is happening too much to not be on purpose. I think they would rather have better drives earlier in the game, but then the switch gets flipped and they take over.

We will see next week, but I almost want to believe that Johnson has been holding back on some things and will unleash them on an unsuspecting Packers team next week. I could be totally wrong on this.

[BearFan PHX]

5 hours ago, adam said:

This is happening too much to not be on purpose. I think they would rather have better drives earlier in the game, but then the switch gets flipped and they take over.

We will see next week, but I almost want to believe that Johnson has been holding back on some things and will unleash them on an unsuspecting Packers team next week. I could be totally wrong on this.

I think the first quarter is scripted stuff, and we do pretty well with that.

Then, the opposing defense adjusts, and we have a harder time. I also think during this middle part that Ben keeps his best stuff unused for later. Some plays in the middle are used to set up alternate options later in the game and some are used to scout how the opponent will react to certain things.

Then int he 4th quarter, the good stuff comes out, stuff weve been saving, stuff weve been conditioning the defense to expect other things from, and stuff we've scouted during the game.

Also, any NFL team with their back against the wall, will have a push in the 3rd quarter. You have to absorb that energy, and then get back on top.

I've heard NFL coaches say that thef irst three quarters are really to feel your opponent out, and hopefully stay close, and the real game is the 4th quarter.

Johnson is certainly a master strategist, and no one is better at endgame tactics.