What we learned from the Chicago Bears offensive assistants on Wednesday

LAKE FOREST, Ill. - After practice Wednesday, the Chicago Bears' offensive assistants had a chance to meet with the media.

Here's what we learned from Matt Eberflus' offensive assistants, specifically Chris Morgan, Kerry Joseph and Chris Beatty.

Where did the slip-n-slide idea come from?

On "Hard Knocks," the Bears quarterback room showed off the kind of fun they have when they're not, as Tyson Bagent put it, grinding their "absolute face off."

Bears quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph brought out a slip-n-slide out after one of the days of camp. The idea was to work on the quarterback's sliding skills, should they need to give themselves up after a quarterback run.

The "Hard Knocks" crew caught the Bears quarterbacks having fun while clearly working very hard on their slide techniques. Joseph said 

"I did it back in the day when I played," Joseph said. "It's hard to practice that on the grass. And I did it and it works. I learned how to slide that way. I played baseball, but at the same time, when you got guys that not used to doing it, I just thought about it and I mentioned it to coach 'Flus and he thought it was a great idea. It's just getting them to understand: you got to protect yourself in this business, in this league. And knowing how to do it is a really important thing."

What impact does assistant QB coach Ryan Griffin bring?

This offseason, the Bears added Ryan Griffin to the coaching staff. He's serving as an assistant quarterbacks coach as part of his duties.

Joseph said it's good having Griffin in the quarterback room, especially considering how much time he spent in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It's another brain to pick from a person that's been around football for a long time.

One of the things Griffin has done well is helping separate the things Williams needs to know from any extra information that might be overload for the rookie.

"He's been doing well with us," Joseph said. "So it's always good to have the knowledge that you have in the room and just trying to feed him as much as we can and give him the stuff that he needs to know and just not really overloading with things that he really don't need to know right now."

Is the coaching staff concerned about Nate Davis?

Guard Nate Davis suffered a strain on July 27, and has been back and forth between limited in practice, to not participating in practice at all. 

The attention around him heightened as Eberflus pointed to player availability being 

"If a person's out for an extended period of time and the player that's in that position is playing very well, at a starter level, and doing a good job there, then you create the competition," Eberflus said Tuesday. "If the guy that's playing gives our team a good look and a good benefit for him being in that position, then it's a competition."

Bears offensive line coach Chris Morgan didn't harbor concerns as Davis continues to work his way back from his injury. Mainly because other offensive linemen, like Bill Murray and Ryan Bates, have stepped up as a result of his injury.

"We still got time," Morgan said. "He's doing everything he can to get back and a lot of other guys are getting reps. So, it's been a really good process for those guys."

When pressed on if there should be pressure for Davis to return in order to keep his spot, Morgan said there's pressure across the entire offensive line to compete in a league where nothing is really guaranteed. 

"Those guys should be competing their off every day," Morgan said. "It's not added pressure from us, it's kind of the way we work, the way we think as far as the best five are going to play. So it's not an added pressure to me. You should be out there competing every day doing your best."

What's to like about Coleman Shelton?

With Davis sidelined, that means Bates slides into the right guard role and Coleman Shelton takes the majority of the starting center snaps with the first-string offense.

When it comes to Shelton's skills, Morgan likes his intelligence the most. That feeds into his drive to win every rep, but to make sure he can help his teammates.

"Every snap is going to be everything he's got, "He's a guy that kind of settles everybody, gets everybody on the same page. 

Morgan said Shelton has some "center moxie." He's one of a few guys that has it on the Bears, and that combines skills, smarts and leadership in a position that operates as the quarterback of the offensive line.

"We've got a few guys that have that,"  Morgan said. "He's played a lot of football and he's played winning football and we're glad we have those guys."

Rome Odunze continues to impress coaches 

Williams' progression as the rookie quarterback continues to be what the Bears want to track.

But, rookie receiver Rome Odunze continues to impress the Bears coaching staff with his learning of Shane Waldron's offense. 

"The process is not too big for him," Bears wide receivers coach Chris Beatty said. "He wants to understand everything about it."

Odunze has impressed with his ability to get open in camp, especially last week when he caught a touchdown pass from Williams during camp on July 30th. Odunze beat Kevin Byard in the corner of the end zone. He later caught a pass in the end zone on a two-point conversion attempt.

That's all a result of his preparation.

"He takes notes like nobody's business," Beatty said. "If you looked at his notepad, I mean, it's filled up every day. He wants to be great and that's what you want."