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PALM BEACH, Fla. – Ben Johnson was not bashing Jared Goff, and the new Chicago Bears head coach made sure his former quarterback with the Detroit Lions heard that directly.
Johnson told reporters at the NFL's annual spring meeting Tuesday that he was not disparaging Goff when he said at the NFL combine he was excited to finally work with a quarterback who had the ability to extend plays like Caleb Williams.
"It was not a shot at Jared," Johnson said Tuesday. "I’ve talked to Jared about it. Sometimes your comments get skewed a little bit. That was not my intent. He certainly understands that. It was more directed towards Caleb and what he brings to the table."
Johnson served as Lions offensive coordinator the past three seasons, where he oversaw the NFL's highest-scoring offense and helped remake Goff into an MVP candidate.
Goff completed a career-high 72.4% of his passes and finished second in the NFL with 4,629 yards passing last season, when the Lions went 15-2, tied for the best record in the NFL.
Johnson and Goff had a close relationship during their four seasons together in Detroit. Johnson was promoted from tight ends coach to pass game coordinator midway through the 2021 season, months after Goff came over in a trade with the Los Angeles Rams.
When Johnson was elevated to coordinator in 2022, he worked closely with Goff to tailor his playbook to Goff's skill set, adding concepts Goff like during his time in L.A.
NEW YEAR, SAME LIONS: Why Lions are staying the course after playoff heartbreak: 'What you got is good enough'
Goff has never been known for his mobility – he had 56 yards rushing on 35 carries last season – while Williams is considered one of the league's most dynamic QBs and was a big reason Johnson took the job with the Bears.
"As much as you want to make it pure progression, one to two to three, there’s just too much variety: the pass rush is coming down, and to have an athlete like Caleb extend the play and potentially find an explosive down the field, that’s what gets me going a little bit," Johnson said at the combine, via PrideOfDetroit.com. "I get excited thinking about that because I haven’t really been around that since I’ve been in the league. But I’ve been on the other side, and I have experienced it, and it’s demoralizing when you’re on the other side, and you’re watching that happen to your defense.”
Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said on his podcast Johnson's comments will give Goff "that much more fire when we play the Bears," and some fans and media took Johnson's comments as a dig at Goff.
Asked Tuesday how it felt going from beloved in Detroit to being an enemy, Johnson told reporters he's had nothing but positive experiences since he left for Chicago.
"Here’s what I’ll say is I have gone back and forth, my family still lives in Detroit right now and everybody I’ve seen face to face has been super supportive and very respectable and so I certainly appreciate that and so does my family," he said.
Dave Birkett is the author of the book, "Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline." Order your copy here. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ben Johnson clears air on combine comments: 'Not a shot at Jared' Goff
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Johnson told reporters at the NFL's annual spring meeting Tuesday that he was not disparaging Goff when he said at the NFL combine he was excited to finally work with a quarterback who had the ability to extend plays like Caleb Williams.
"It was not a shot at Jared," Johnson said Tuesday. "I’ve talked to Jared about it. Sometimes your comments get skewed a little bit. That was not my intent. He certainly understands that. It was more directed towards Caleb and what he brings to the table."
Johnson served as Lions offensive coordinator the past three seasons, where he oversaw the NFL's highest-scoring offense and helped remake Goff into an MVP candidate.
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Goff completed a career-high 72.4% of his passes and finished second in the NFL with 4,629 yards passing last season, when the Lions went 15-2, tied for the best record in the NFL.
Johnson and Goff had a close relationship during their four seasons together in Detroit. Johnson was promoted from tight ends coach to pass game coordinator midway through the 2021 season, months after Goff came over in a trade with the Los Angeles Rams.
When Johnson was elevated to coordinator in 2022, he worked closely with Goff to tailor his playbook to Goff's skill set, adding concepts Goff like during his time in L.A.
NEW YEAR, SAME LIONS: Why Lions are staying the course after playoff heartbreak: 'What you got is good enough'
Goff has never been known for his mobility – he had 56 yards rushing on 35 carries last season – while Williams is considered one of the league's most dynamic QBs and was a big reason Johnson took the job with the Bears.
"As much as you want to make it pure progression, one to two to three, there’s just too much variety: the pass rush is coming down, and to have an athlete like Caleb extend the play and potentially find an explosive down the field, that’s what gets me going a little bit," Johnson said at the combine, via PrideOfDetroit.com. "I get excited thinking about that because I haven’t really been around that since I’ve been in the league. But I’ve been on the other side, and I have experienced it, and it’s demoralizing when you’re on the other side, and you’re watching that happen to your defense.”
Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said on his podcast Johnson's comments will give Goff "that much more fire when we play the Bears," and some fans and media took Johnson's comments as a dig at Goff.
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Asked Tuesday how it felt going from beloved in Detroit to being an enemy, Johnson told reporters he's had nothing but positive experiences since he left for Chicago.
"Here’s what I’ll say is I have gone back and forth, my family still lives in Detroit right now and everybody I’ve seen face to face has been super supportive and very respectable and so I certainly appreciate that and so does my family," he said.
Dave Birkett is the author of the book, "Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline." Order your copy here. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ben Johnson clears air on combine comments: 'Not a shot at Jared' Goff
Continue reading...
