Chicago Bears Q&A: Why can’t DJ Moore get going? When will Caleb Williams start connecting downfield?

The Chicago Bears evened their record at 2-2 with Sunday’s 24-18 victory over the Los Angeles Rams , but questions remain about the passing game behind rookie quarterback Caleb Williams.

As he does every Wednesday, the Tribune’s Brad Biggs reaches into the mailbag to answer reader questions.

Does something seem a little off with DJ Moore so far this year? Communication and familiarity are going to be a work in progress with any rookie QB/receiver combo, but Caleb Williams and DJ seem more out of sync than others. Is DJ playing hurt? Even after his TD (on Sunday) he looked labored. — Tom W.

A bunch of folks have wondered about Moore’s production and the passing game in general, and they’re all good questions. For starters, I don’t believe an injury is in play for Moore. He has not been listed on the injury report, and the Bears would be flirting with significant penalties if they were playing shenanigans with league rules.

If Moore looked labored, consider he doesn’t come off the field very often. He logged 55 of the 60 offensive snaps in Sunday’s win. I’d also point out the 9-yard touchdown pass from Williams — a really nice throw — was the fourth play in a five-play stretch with no huddle. The Bears liked the matchup with the Rams defenders on the field and felt like they had momentum, so they opted for tempo. That meant less time for Moore — and everyone else — to gather themselves between snaps.

I don’t think Williams has looked particularly in sync with any of the wide receivers, so it’s not just Moore. There have been really good throws to all of them at specific moments and rookie Rome Odunze had a nice game in Week 3 in Indianapolis, but nothing has been consistent.

Here are the top three wide receivers’ numbers through four games (Keenan Allen missed two games):

• Moore: 34 targets, 22 catches, 189 yards, 1 TD, 9 first downs
• Odunze: 23 targets, 10 catches, 166 yards, 1 TD, 7 first downs
• Allen: 14 targets, 7 catches, 48 yards, 0 TDs, 3 first downs

Most of Moore’s catches have been on shorter throws. He’s averaging 4.8 yards downfield per reception (not per target). That ranks 89th in the league among wide receivers and tight ends and reinforces that Moore hasn’t made many plays downfield. It’s worth noting his average depth of target per attempt is 9.2 yards, so the Bears have tried some deeper stuff with him. Those have not connected very often.

A lot of factors are in play here. Pass protection hasn’t been optimal. We saw the pocket collapsing on Williams against the Rams, and the Bears are fortunate some defensive holding calls wiped out a few sacks. If the offense can build off Sunday’s productive rushing game , that should help pass protection.

It will take more time for Williams and all of his targets to learn each other’s nuances in specific situations, and I think some people just assumed this would be a well-oiled machine from the jump. Coach Matt Eberflus addressed one mix-up late in the second quarter Sunday.

Week 4 photos: Chicago Bears 24, Los Angeles Rams 18

The Bears faced third-and-15 from the Rams 22-yard line, and Moore got a clear release off the line of scrimmage, quickly getting behind cornerback Cobie Durant. Williams threw a heater and the pass was nowhere near complete when it looked like a pretty good opportunity for a touchdown. Receivers don’t get much more open than that in the red zone, but Moore slowed down a little and Williams’ throw indicated he expected something different. It’s possible Williams was concerned about a safety closing the window, but there was ample time and space for a completion. It didn’t have to be a dot.

“I talked to Caleb this morning,” Eberflus said Monday. “We talked about that particular play. It’s just about being on — wouldn’t say the same page — it’s just having the continuity with those guys running the routes. Everything changes, the coverage changes, who he is running it against.

“We’ve just got to do a good job of them working together with different variations of coverages during that time. They just have to be on the same page there in terms of going vertical or leaning out or leaning in. Those guys will get that. More time on task, those guys will get that continuity.

“It’s a ball where he is taking off and just staying straight. Put some steam on the ball, it’s a one ball there. That was just what the play was.”

I’d expect some improvement in the weeks ahead. The next five opponents rank in the bottom six in the league in yards allowed per pass attempt:

• Carolina Panthers: 7.28, 27th
• Jacksonville Jaguars: 7.68, 30th
• Washington Commanders: 7.47, 28th
• Arizona Cardinals: 8.09, 31st
• New England Patriots: 7.53, 29th

How long before we can expect Caleb Williams to start throwing deeper passes downfield? Won’t defenses just sit on short routes if he doesn’t at least attempt and complete a few downfield passes? Are the lack of downfield passes a product of a) Williams’ inexperience, b) poor offensive line play or c) all of the above? — Jim A., Plymouth, Minn.

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams prepares to face the Titans on Sept. 8, 2024, at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

The Bears have been taking some shots downfield, although not many last week, when Williams was 2 of 7 on passes that traveled 15 air yards or more. That included the 9-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore.

I think your perception is maybe a little skewed because they haven’t had a ton of success with the vertical passing game. According to the NFL’s NextGen Stats, Williams is sixth in the league in average intended air yards at 8.4, behind Anthony Richardson (12.6), Brock Purdy (10.7), Trevor Lawrence (10.6), Jordan Love (10.2) and Kyler Murray (8.7).

It’s in the category of average completed air yards — the point downfield where the receiver catches the ball — that Williams is lower than you would like. He’s at 4.3, which ranks 29th.

As you can see by these two statistics, there hasn’t necessarily been a shortage of attempts downfield but rather the Bears simply haven’t hit on enough of them. Through four games, you’re looking at a small sample size of data. If you mixed in, say, one deep post that was caught 25 yards downfield and maybe a deep dig at about 18 yards, Williams would rank a good bit higher in average completed air yards.

What’s to blame? I’d say you nailed it with “all of the above.” It’s a work in progress, and as Matt Eberflus alluded to in the answer about Williams and Moore, they just need more experience together.

Do you think the Bears have once again created a dynamic where the development of their young quarterback over the long haul will be hampered by a defensive coach pulling back the reins in play calling to get as many wins as possible to stay employed? — @nicklefrit1375

I’m not sure when that happened the first time. If you’re submitting Mitch Trubisky as a rookie in 2017 — when John Fox, who had a defensive background, was head coach — I’m not buying it. Trubisky was in a difficult spot that season after supplanting Mike Glennon because the Bears wide receivers made the guys Justin Fields had to throw to look like a collection of all-stars.

Did Matt Eberflus hold back Fields? I’m not buying that either. Was this a problem for Rex Grossman with Dick Jauron as head coach or Grossman and Kyle Orton with Lovie Smith?

I get the point you’re making but I think you’re a little wide of the mark. Basically you’re suggesting Eberflus is putting his interests and self-preservation ahead of what’s best for Caleb Williams and the franchise as a whole in the long run. I don’t think the Bears have been buttoned up in their coaching decisions, and they’re throwing the ball downfield — they just haven’t been very profitable doing so to this point. Is Eberflus a guy who always has his foot on the gas pedal when it comes to offensive football? No. But Williams is fifth in the NFL with 141 pass attempts.

The passing game is disjointed right now, and I don’t believe anyone involved would deny that. But Williams has done a pretty good job of taking care of the football. The Bears are trying to improve pass protection and don’t have an ideal offensive line. Williams has been sacked 16 times, the second-most in the league, and it’s more than fair to criticize construction of the O-line. They do have a terrific cast of skill-position players to help Williams along, and as the timing and chemistry improve, I think we will see more positive results.

I know it’s popular to say the Bears have destroyed a long line of young and talented quarterbacks who came their way. That’s lazy analysis. Have the Bears been good at developing quarterbacks? Of course not. Have they had ideal situations for their high draft picks at the position? No. Most, especially the recent ones, have encountered very rough starting points. The situation Williams is in is the best the Bears have offered in a long time, maybe ever.

But find me highly drafted quarterbacks who walk into great situations. It doesn’t happen. The ones who become great find ways to flash with consistency as they’re getting acclimated to the NFL. What few want to say is the Bears didn’t get the right quarterback in the past. The shortcomings were a combination of tough situations, not the best coaching and — what too many choose to overlook — not the right quarterback.

We’ll see if Williams turns into the right guy for the Bears. But Eberflus trying to win games is exactly what he should be doing. This team hasn’t had enough winning records over the last three decades. It hasn’t had enough playoff experience. Think about how valuable it would be for Williams — and the rest of the roster — to experience postseason football in January.

Have you seen issues at practice with the presnap penalities? Ten penalties for 84 yards was uncalled for. Darnell Wright and Cole Kmet both had a couple. — @pakzsports08

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The Bears had too many presnap issues during training camp. No question about that. Practices are closed to media during the regular season, so I can’t say if it remains an issue Wednesdays through Fridays at Halas Hall. It’s indicative that the operation (by everyone) and cadence at the line of scrimmage are not as crisp as the team has led you to believe .

Everyone shares in the blame here. The Bears have nine false-start penalties, second in the league behind the Houston Texans (12). False starts account for nearly one-third of their 30 penalties (10th-most).

“That’s just a thing we have to get fixed as an offense in totality,” Kmet said. “Between obviously communicating up front, being dialed in to certain play calls that we have with certain cadences and just everybody being on the same page there. Look, there are still growing pains. And that wasn’t perfect the other day. Those are things we have to get fixed up. But it’s definitely an all-11 thing for sure.”

The Bears also have three illegal-formation penalties and two delay-of-game calls. So nearly half of their penalties are presnap infractions.

The Bears had 24 false starts last season, sixth-most in the NFL. Wright, Kmet, Nate Davis and Marcedes Lewis each have two this season. You would expect this to be cleaned up in the weeks ahead, and it should be noted four of the nine came in front of a loud crowd in Houston for a Sunday night game in Week 2. That doesn’t excuse the situation but does add a little context.

With the Bears struggling to create a clean pocket for Caleb Williams and the run game still capable of improvement, why not generally field a six-man offensive line or leave a lineman in as a fullback like they did on the two plays against the Rams? Yes, it means fewer skill players out there but it seems a good trade to me. — Larry F.

You’re talking about situational football with an extra lineman who would be eligible. I don’t like the idea unless there’s a specific package — likely for running the football and grinding out the clock. The Bears have to be better in pass protection and could consider more situations with max protection in which a tight end and/or running back stays in to protect. They should be able to get this to a point where it’s more manageable than it has been.

I have good news for you too. The Panthers come to Soldier Field on Sunday with one of the worst pass rushes in the league. They have only five sacks, tied for 30th in the league ahead of only the Atlanta Falcons (four). After that the Bears play the winless Jaguars, who are tied for 25th with seven sacks.

On the Bears’ last series, why did Matt Eberflus take a timeout instead of a delay-of-game penalty? It didn’t matter but it could have if Matthew Stafford had pulled off a miracle drive. — B. Miller, Evanston

Eberflus called timeout with 1:13 remaining and one second on the play clock before a fourth-and-2 from the Rams 43-yard line. I don’t have a problem with that, but it’s a fair question. Had the Bears let the play clock run out, the Rams could have declined the delay-of-game penalty and forced the punt from the 43, increasing the chances of a touchback by Tory Taylor.

The Rams were out of timeouts, and in the scenario you present, that one second of difference has an incredibly low chance of making a difference in the game. It probably would make sense to bleed every single second off the clock in this situation though. Eberflus even could have taken the penalty and then used a timeout to make sure everyone was organized for the punt.

Lots of talk about the deficiencies of center Coleman Shelton. Why not give Doug Kramer a shot? — Bill S.

It’s not often you get a handful of questions about the backup center, but that’s where we are this week with Shelton’s lack of size — he’s listed at 285 pounds — proving to be problematic and an unknown quantity in Kramer waiting in the wings. It’s something I took a close look at coming out of Sunday’s game in 10 thoughts, and you can see what Kramer and offensive line coach Chris Morgan said there.

One thought is that if the plan is to insert Ryan Bates at center after he returns from injured reserve — my best guess is the Bears will consider that after the bye week — it’s possible they don’t want a revolving door at the position with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams going from Shelton to Kramer and then to Bates in just a few weeks.

Bates was placed on IR after the season opener, so he’s on the shelf for at least one more week. With the next game in London against the Jaguars, I’ve thought the Bears might wait until Week 8 to open the 21-day window for Bates to return to the 53-man roster, as that would come on the heels of the Week 7 bye. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to start the clock for Bates before the bye, when the team won’t practice, unless he’s ready to practice for two or three days and play immediately. That seems rather unlikely.

The Bears seemed to blitz the Rams a lot more than they usually do. What made them think that blitzing Matthew Stafford was the right tack to take? — @bearingthenews

For a long time, Stafford has been one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL versus the blitz. He has so much experience that he can identify the weakness in protection and know where opportunities will be behind it in coverage. Matt Eberflus and the Bears picked their spots Sunday, and the sack by strong safety Jaquan Brisker was a big play.

Overall, Stafford was 7 of 10 for 81 yards against the blitz (five rushers or more). The Bears got the one sack and another hit on Stafford without surrendering a back-breaking play. I imagine Eberflus was a little more aggressive because he knew the Rams were dealing with issues up front. They had a former undrafted free agent at left tackle, a rookie sixth-round pick at center and were down to their third starter at left guard. Why not dial up some pressure?

Should the Bears trade picks like the Carolina second-round pick for an already established offensive lineman or wait to draft one and hope they pan out? — @chadmizzou

I’m skeptical an established, high-caliber offensive lineman would be available for a second-round pick. Flip it around and ask yourself why it would be a good idea for the other team to trade the lineman for a second-round pick. If the Bears can’t get a really good player in the scenario you present, it would make no sense to deal for an average starter.

The pick the Bears have coming from the Panthers figures to be one of the best in Round 2 — likely somewhere between No. 33 and No. 40 — and while it’s too early to project who will be on the board, that’s prime territory to grab an interior offensive lineman who would then be on a four-year rookie contract. It would take something rather unusual for general manager Ryan Poles to consider parting with that pick in an in-season trade.

On Thursday, the Bears had 12 players on their injury report. How does this compare with other teams? It strikes me as a high number, but I don’t know where the others are. — Dennis G., Colorado

The Bears actually had 14 players appear on the injury report last week, but the key is how many had an actual designation on Friday. That number was significantly lower. Three players were listed as out: defensive tackle Zacch Pickens (groin), cornerback Terell Smith (hip) and tight end Stephen Carlson (collarbone), who was placed on IR the next day. Wide receiver Keenan Allen (heel), defensive tackle Andrew Billings (knee) and safety Kevin Byard (back) were questionable. That’s not an unusually high number to have a designation, and as you know, all three players who were questionable wound up starting.

I’d keep an eye on the number of players, especially starters, on injured reserve and the number who have been ruled out to judge a team’s relative health. The Bears are in decent shape now, especially if Allen and Billings can manage their injuries. The Rams came into that game pretty beat up, and the Bears will face a Panthers team this week that has been rocked by injuries this season.

The player to watch this week is left guard Teven Jenkins, whom Matt Eberflus said is day to day with a bruised rib that knocked him out in the second quarter Sunday.

Khalil Herbert was seemingly RB2 in preseason. Any reason why his usage has been so diminished? — @ericbonow

He has been leapfrogged by Roschon Johnson, and maybe one reason this is a surprise is Johnson didn’t get much preseason action because of a toe injury. Johnson also lost some time during training camp, so if it looked like Herbert was running ahead of him, that could have been more injury-related. Johnson is more well-rounded in the passing game, and that explains some of the recent decisions.

Should we be worried about Matt Eberflus’ quote about the No. 1 job of the quarterback is to protect the football? I don’t see an offensive-minded head coach saying the same thing and Caleb Williams is a super talented and aggressive thrower. — @mosconml

I can’t imagine Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, Andy Reid or any other offensive-minded head coach would paint it differently. The quarterback touches the ball on every offensive snap. Ball security is paramount, and the turnover margin tells the difference in so many games every week.

You’re assuming by prioritizing ball security that the Bears are coaching some of the special out of Williams. I don’t think that’s the case. They want to him to be aggressive and to learn when the time is right and when it isn’t. They want him to be creative with off-schedule plays when the opportunity presents itself, but they can’t let him live in that world. It’s not like Bears have a No. 2 quarterback waiting in the wings if Williams starts chucking too many picks. I think we get caught up too often in trying to interpet common-sense things people say.

Eberflus is 12-26 as the Bears coach, and they’re 9-5 when they’ve won the turnover margin and 7-2 since the start of the 2023 season. Why not make that a legitimate point of emphasis?

Could the Bears trade Keenan Allen to the Chiefs, who have been hit hard by injuries? Maybe get an offensive lineman in return? — Gerry P., South Bend, Ind.

I got a couple of questions about the Bears dealing Allen to the Chiefs, and I have a hard time seeing that. Allen has been hampered by plantar fasciitis in his heel since mid-August. He missed Weeks 2 and 3, and it’s impossible to say at this point how he will hold up in the weeks and months to come. Trading for a player who would come with an injury that, at minimum, could require maintenance doesn’t make a lot of sense from the Chiefs’ point of view.

According to Over The Cap , the Chiefs have roughly $4.9 million in available cap space. Allen’s base salary is $18.1 million. Even the prorated remaining portion of that salary would require the Chiefs to do some heavy lifting to make the math work.