Bears offense finding Its rhythm with Williams, Moore, and Burden

Ariana Pensy · Correspondent · 9 hours ago

CHICAGO - One of the main goals for Chicago’s offense this season is to develop quarterback Caleb Williams. He is now technically on his third head coach and fourth offensive coordinator, so some stability and structure is definitely needed.

Head coach Ben Johnson and offensive coordinator Declan Doyle have provided that structure, stability, and knowledge that Chicago’s coaching staff lacked last season, and it is paying off. Against the Dallas Cowboys, Williams perhaps had the best game of his career with four passing touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 142.6.

However, there are still areas he needs to continue working on, and Doyle is focused on refining the process of making Williams a better quarterback.

“It’s process-driven. You go right back. You don’t worry about all the other stuff. The result is dictated by the process - your habits,” Doyle said. “What you did during the weeks is carrying you into Sunday, and so that’s the biggest thing. That’s the point of emphasis. You don’t change that. But, that process (has) got to continue to get better too.”

Any quarterback needs playmakers to get the ball to. Currently, the running game has not been performing up to par, as running back D’Andre Swift has continued to underperform. Despite coming out with a 17-point victory against the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago only had 87 rushing yards.

Most of those yards came on the Bears’ 19-play touchdown drive in the second half when they had 11 straight runs.

“I think the line played good enough for us to get it done. I think every aspect of our offense, we need to continue to grow and that includes the line. It was awesome to come out of the half and be able to hammer through. (It’s) a 19-play drive and anytime you do that, that can be demoralizing to an opponent just because you’re possessing the ball, you’re moving it. I do think we left some yards on the table in the run game,” Doyle said. “It’s a point of emphasis to go make more and so, I think that that’s the o-line. That’s the running backs. That’s the blocking on the perimeter. We all can improve there.”

In an effort to get the run game going, the Bears have been experimenting with having other players in the backfield, including rookie running back Kyle Monangai and wide receiver DJ Moore.

While Moore is a talented wide receiver, Doyle said that he also possesses natural vision when it comes to running the ball, and he provides a challenge for defenses because they are unsure whether Moore will actually receive the handoff.

“I think he runs hard. He has pretty natural vision. So, obviously, in his life, he doesn’t have that many reps from back there, but being able to see those reads, he’s pretty natural back there,” Doyle said. “The biggest thing is he provides a challenge for a defense because you don’t really know what we’re going to do when he’s back there. It’s not like he’s a one-trick pony. We feel really comfortable with him doing a number of those running back jobs, and so, the biggest thing is the multiplicity that that provides us (with) stress on a defense.”

Rookie receiver Luther Burden III also got a little more action against the Cowboys, including on his 65-yard touchdown, which is tied for the longest play in the NFL through the first three weeks of the season.

There is a learning curve for any rookie, and given Burden III has already made some progress, it would not be surprising to see him more throughout the season, including against Chicago when it takes on the Las Vegas Raiders on Sun, Sept. 28 (3:25 p.m. / CBS).

“Luther is doing a really good job,” Doyle said. “(Wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle) El is spending a ton of time with Luther, getting him ready to go and any rookie making the transition, it’s always learning, how do we prepare for a game? How do we study? What are the things that I need specifically in order to go out there on Sunday and have confidence? And I’ve seen a guy who’s hungry to impact the game, a guy who’s hungry to do a lot for us and so, he’ll continue to get better and our expectation is that he’s going to continue to grow.”