Maybe the offense needs to see it happen once? 6 points on the Chicago Bears heading into Week 4

LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Here are six points on the Bears as they move on from the loss in Indy and return home to take on the Rams.

Maybe the Bears just need to see it happen?

DJ Moore put it plainly on Wednesday: football is just kind of like basketball.

"We get to do this again on Sunday and prove this offense is really like that," Moore said. "Once you see it happen once, it's like shooting a basket. You make it, the rest of them is just going to be automatic."

Maybe it's not that great of a comparison but, plenty of the pieces on the Bears offense agree with the sentiment.

Once they see it happen, they believe they'll be good.

In a way, it has already happened once. Look no further than the rookie combo of wide receiver Rome Odunze and quarterback Caleb Williams against the Colts. The telling moment was a 47-yard reception.

"It's huge, especially for me," Odunze said. "I love preparing during the week and finally seeing those things come to fruition when it comes to game time, and it always just reassures you that the work you're putting in and the things that you're doing during the week are going to provide success for you during Sundays."

Odunze and Williams combined to go over 100 yards with a score. It was a good example of how their connection was supposed to look.

The coaching staff believes it, too. 

"It's just the repetition of doing things over and just needing to see some kind of reward from it," Bears receivers coach Chris Beatty said. "Once things happen, there's a confidence in everything. I think a lot of times you just like, instead of hoping that things will work the way you want them and you start believing they're going to work the way you want them to work."

Beatty said that a good game from the offense collectively will snowball. There's a chance it could happen against a Rams defense that's struggled against mobile quarterbacks this season, much like when Los Angeles allowed 41 points to the Arizona Cardinals.

"We got a lot of good players and a lot of good coaches," Beatty said. "We need it."

The spot where Caleb Williams has impressed through 3 weeks

Caleb Williams went from throwing 93 yards in Week 1 to throwing 363 in Week 3. Obviously, there's been an improvement in his game.

It's fair to say Williams can't throw 52 times every game. That's unsustainable. But, Sunday did give the coaching staff a chance to evaluate Williams in what's fair to describe as extended reps.

Through three weeks, Bears' quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph pointed to Williams' field vision as the biggest facet of his game that has improved across his first few weeks of the NFL.

"You can say what you want to say from practice to pre-season to regular season, that speed of the game, it starts to speed up now you go into three weeks into it," Joseph said. "You get a feel of how the flow the game goes, the speed of the game. And I think just his field vision he has is just, he's awesome."

Williams still needs to get better with his timing. Eberflus said his first interception against the Colts, where Williams threw to the sideline but was picked by Jaylon Jones, was a pass that was far too late.

Still, Williams' showed his connection with Odunze is blossoming with a couple of deep connections and the duo's first-NFL score.

That's the field vision at work, something Williams will need to continue against the Rams' zone coverage defense this Sunday.

"I think he sees things well and it now, for him, it's just to continue to say, okay, I can do this, I can do that," Joseph said. "Even on the sideline, for a young guy to come to the sideline, the mentality that he has to reset himself and go to the next place, it's been pretty good."

Should the Bears have drafted Jayden Daniels over Williams?

No.

Daniels threw more touchdowns (3) than incompletions (2) because the Commanders have a good offensive line. Don't spend too much time pondering this. The Bears made the right decision.

Moving on.

The Bears' respect for Marcedes Lewis shined this week

As Shane Waldron got up to the podium on Thursday, he opened talking about his thanks for the Bears' offensive leadership.

Caleb Williams, DJ Moore, Cole Kmet and Marcedes Lewis earned his praise first and foremost. 

"The energy they brought, the communication they brought, Monday, Tuesday, through today getting into our walkthroughs today," Waldron said, "We know we’re built the right way and are going to keep getting better every single week as an offense."

It's not often a 40-year-old tight end makes that list, but Waldron understands what he means to this Bears team. That's because Lewis spoke directly to Waldron, sharing a message with the OC.

"From the oldest guy in the room — being me — to the youngest guy, don’t feel like you can’t coach us," Lewis said. "I want to be coached."

Lewis was re-signed this offseason and hasn't held back in his support for the new-look Bears. He's been vocal about his support for Caleb Williams, comparing the rookie to Aaron Rogers. He's explained how the Bears have all the pieces.

Now, he's using his experience to get a message to his offensive coordinator: he's got the keys to the car; don't be afraid to tell anyone how he's going to drive it.

"Sometimes as the coach coming in, you might be walking on eggshells," Lewis said. "I just kind of put that to bed. Nobody’s sensitive in here. We want to win games just as bad as you do."

That's not something I've thought too much about. Waldron managed plenty of different personnel types in Seattle, including DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Geno Smith and more. He also has multiple years to get to know them and manage them. It couldn't have been easy coming into Chicago with Moore, Williams and Keenan Allen. He's had only a few months with that core.

Not to mention, the cry of Chicago has been clamoring for a modern offense for years.

Lewis' words should be taken to heart by everyone.

Eberflus said the O-line will be ‘intact’ but is a change permanent? 

Speaking Friday, Eberflus said the Bears' offensive line will be ready to go Sunday.

Darnell Wright didn't practice Wednesday but was a full participant on Friday. Nate Davis wasn't limited either.

"We got a lot of guys back," Eberflus said. "Our offensive line will be intact."

However, he did say that Davis won't be starting at guard. Matt Pryor will stay there, remaining the starting right guard in what feels more and more like a benching for Davis.

When asked about it, Eberflus said he liked Pryor's performance on Sunday.

"We just liked the performance last week," Eberflus said "Being able to move some people, I thought that was good."

Bears' special teams eyes fewer flags

Bears' special teams coordinator Richard Hightower is keeping count.

"We have six penalties this year," Hightower said. "That’s too many. I think we maybe had six all last year."

One of those penalties was a neutral zone infraction on Daniel Hardy, which gave the Colts a first down. Hardy bit on a head bob by the Colts' long snapper, but it hasn't just been on punt plays.

Some have happened on kickoffs in the new kickoff rules the NFL has in place for this season. Hightower said everyone's learning those rules, and it's up to him as the coach to eliminate penalties.

"It hasn’t killed us yet, but we are still harping on it," Hightower said. "We don’t want to be a team that commits penalties. I want to be a disciplined team, I want to be a sound team, I want to be a team that plays relentless. A lot of that we have gotten done, we just need to eliminate penalties."

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