The Chicago Bears are 1-0, but an ugly showing from the offense plus a huge gaffe on special teams left plenty of questions after Sunday’s 24-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans.
The Tribune’s Brad Biggs tackles some of them in his weekly Bears mailbag.
Does Velus Jones’ roster spot have more to do with Ryan Poles and staff not wanting to admit to the error of using a third-round pick on a 24-year-old player with bad hands that can’t find a position than it does any real upside? At this point, Jones has made many more impact plays toward costing the Bears games than he has winning them. From here on out, any more fumbles from Jones are more on Matt Eberflus than anyone else. He can’t be trusted. — Jeff G., Houston
As you can imagine, this was a hot topic in the mailbag this week after the Bears’ first kickoff return of the season bounced off Jones before he kicked it and the Titans recovered, setting up an easy field goal.
I thought Jones would have a difficult time making the roster, and in my 53-man projection after the preseason finale, I had him on the outside looking in. The Bears decided to keep him a couple of weeks after converting him to running back. I won’t defend that decision but I will try to put it in context.
What has this offense lacked? What was it missing last season and again Sunday? Explosive plays. Sure, you can flip that around and make the point that Jones’ mishandling of the ball can lead to explosive plays — or sudden change — for the opponent. But the Bears, in their bid to overhaul the offense, need to find more ways to produce explosive plays, and it’s pretty clear that was their thinking behind keeping Jones.
It’s interesting that of the four turnovers Jones has committed in two seasons plus one game, three are a result of his struggle to catch kicks. He muffed punt returns against the New York Giants and Washington Commanders during his 2022 rookie season and then botched the kickoff return Sunday. His only fumble on offense came late in 2022 in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
I’m not saying Jones is sure-handed because we’re looking at a pretty small sample size of offensive touches. But the ball-security issues have been directly related to poor judgment of ball flight on punts and perhaps taking his eyes off the ball against the Titans.
If Jones is off kickoff returns now — and how can the Bears put him back out there if they feel good about Khalil Herbert paired with DeAndre Carter? — he has less value to the roster. Perhaps the coaches still believe they can find ways to put his speed and power to use with occasional work on offense. He got four offensive snaps Sunday with two carries for 11 yards and one reception for 8 yards. But as I’ve written previously, it just seems forced for a guy who has, for a variety of reasons, struggled to put it together.
Week 1 photos: Chicago Bears 24, Tennessee Titans 17 at Soldier Field
The issue will hang over the Bears every time Jones touches the ball because if he fumbles again, no one can say, “Who could have seen that coming?” But if the Bears turned down a draft pick for Jones — as HBO’s “Hard Knocks” insinuated — they went into the season projecting real value and a plan for him on the roster. In that scenario, it’s hard for me to see the muff against the Titans being the final strike for Jones, but no one would be surprised if the team moved on from him.
It’s not rare that a player drafted in the first three rounds doesn’t make it through at least three seasons with the Bears, but the list since I began covering the team in 2001 might be shorter than you think. In some instances, injuries led to these players having truncated careers at Halas Hall.
- 2002: CB Roosevelt Williams, third round
- 2007: DE Dan Bazuin, second round
- 2007: LB Michael Okwo, third round
- 2009: DT Jarron Gilbert, third round
- 2009: WR Juaquin Iglesias, third round (compensatory pick)
- 2011: OT Gabe Carimi, first round
- 2012: S Brandon Hardin, third round
How come Cole Kmet wasn’t used more? — @frankie_scafidi
This was the other burning question in the mailbag after Kmet was on the field for only 27 of the offense’s 56 snaps (48.2%). Gerald Everett played 34 snaps and Marcedes Lewis logged nine in heavy packages.
Unless some kind of injury issue is in play that we’re unaware of, I’d imagine GM Ryan Poles also would like to know why offensive coordinator Shane Waldron didn’t have more use for Kmet. It’s likely Poles already has sought an answer to that question.
The only thing I can think of is Waldron had a lot of personnel groupings, packages and designs he wanted to put on film. I’m not sure that would be a great answer, but it’s one thing I considered when trying to explain why a guy signed to a four-year, $50 million extension 14 months ago was reduced to a part-time role.
Kmet has been a proven contributor in the passing game and as a blocker in the run game, and while the Bears probably want to avoid having him on the field for 90% of the snaps, I think 80% is a nice target. That would have meant about 45 snaps Sunday — 18 more than he played.
Perhaps Waldron, who will meet with reporters Thursday, will say it was a mistake and the coaches plan to have Kmet more involved moving forward. He shouldn’t lean on the fact the Bears had only 56 snaps and that limited them from getting to other stuff that would have more prominently featured Kmet. He’s one of the offense’s better players and maybe the Bears totaled only 148 yards and 11 first downs in part because personnel wasn’t deployed in the best possible way.
Sunday’s game felt like a 2006 flashback — all defense, no offense. Seriously, though, we know Caleb Williams missed some wide-open shots, but with time, he’ll get better. My question: Did the interior O-line look as poor to you as it did to me? And is there much Chris Morgan can do about it? — Marc B., Nashville
There’s no comparison between the offensive line the Bears had in 2006 and the current group, that much is sure. I don’t think you were necessarily making that point, but the Bears were elite from guard to guard with Ruben Brown, Olin Kreutz and Roberto Garza, and tackles John Tait and Fred Miller played pretty well too.
The Bears left plenty to be desired with their play on the interior Sunday. It needs to be better and everyone involved said as much. Was it a reason for not scoring an offensive touchdown? Absolutely not. The offense never got any rhythm going until a clock-draining drive near the end, and blame for that goes all the way around, beginning with the coaches.
Plenty of folks have piled on center Coleman Shelton, and he needs to be better. But the one clip a lot of people showed — Shelton getting run over by Ernest Jones — failed to note that left guard Teven Jenkins tripped up Shelton on the play. Get tripped by a teammate and good luck handling a blitzing linebacker.
There were plenty of plays to be made, and need to be made, behind the protection the Bears had. I imagine when Morgan meets with reporters Thursday, he’ll say the group — across the board — needs to improve.
What’s the plan for Tyler Scott? Was shocking seeing him start the season as a healthy scratch. — @mgrotis
If Rome Odunze’s knee injury sidelines him Sunday night in Houston, it’s a good bet Scott will be active. I wasn’t shocked Scott was inactive for the opener. The fourth wide receiver — especially if he’s behind DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Odunze — will have to be a top-flight special teams performer to get a uniform.
The Bears didn’t choose Scott as a returner, having DeAndre Carter active to handle that role. Carter also got 13 snaps on offense. So it probably shouldn’t be surprising they didn’t have a role for a fifth wide receiver, especially considering they could have used Velus Jones at that position in a pinch.
Scott had a solid training camp and performed well in the preseason with seven receptions for 116 yards. He will have an opportunity to contribute on offense this season. Just keep in mind that decisions at the back end of the game-day roster are heavily dependent on special teams.
Any changes on the inner three on the offensive line? — @jporigel
If you’re putting stock in what Matt Eberflus said Monday, it sounds like the Bears plan to rotate Nate Davis and Ryan Bates at right guard again Sunday in Houston. This isn’t a long-term plan and my hunch is that after this week, the team would like to settle on a starting lineup and stick with it.
Fortunately, the Bears won’t face many defensive tackles the rest of the season who are as problematic as Tennessee’s Jeffery Simmons. They also struggled at times with massive rookie T’Vondre Sweat, who might turn out to be a super find for the Titans in the second round.
The Bears won’t be able to make sweeping changes on the offensive line. They all need to play better, especially from guard to guard, but this wasn’t the kind of disaster some have described for a disappointing offensive effort that produced only 148 yards.
Is Dominique Robinson in danger of losing his spot on the roster? Darrell Taylor played really well on Sunday and it seems that the Bears are committed to developing Austin Booker. With DeMarcus Walker and Daniel Hardy having D-line flexibility, does Robinson still deserve a roster spot this season? — @coachsmyth
Here are my first questions when people speculate about a player losing a roster spot: Who are you going to replace him with? How would the move make the roster better? And what need is being filled?
They are legitimate questions for any player near the bottom of the depth chart at every position, and you can apply this thinking to Velus Jones’ situation as well. Injuries are what prompt the majority of roster moves in season, and at some point the Bears will have to clear a spot for long snapper Scott Daly while he fills in for Patrick Scales because they can elevate Daly from the practice squad for only two more games.
The Bears went heavy at defensive end with six on the 53-man roster, and Taylor and Hardy each had strong games in the opener. I’d be surprised if they carry six edge defenders all season, but that doesn’t mean Robinson is in imminent danger. Coaches spoke pretty highly of him over the summer and in the preseason. Cases of addition by subtraction on the roster are sort of rare.
How much of the blame should be put on play calling? — @mattkajmowicz
As former Bears coach John Fox once said, “It’s all a problem.” When you total 148 yards of offense and 11 first downs with no offensive touchdowns, there is blame to go all around.
The Bears never got any rhythm going on offense, and that starts with coordinator Shane Waldron. No question about it. It extends to quarterback Caleb Williams missing too many throws. It includes inadequate offensive line play, especially on the interior. There was a potential big play if fullback Khari Blasingame had picked up a block. Wide receiver Keenan Allen dropped what would have been a touchdown. I could list another five or six plays in which one guy executing would have led to a big play.
My point is there’s enough blame to spread all around the offensive meeting room. With better execution on a small handful of plays, Waldron’s offense would have produced significantly better results. But we can have that same conversation for every team in every game every week in the NFL, and Waldron needs to be better in Week 2.
Should we be concerned with how may passes Caleb Williams had knocked down by the Titans? Is this a sign that his height will be an issue? — @chicagofan9320
The Titans had five pass deflections and I believe two were made downfield in coverage by safety Amani Hooker. So we’re talking about three of Williams’ 29 pass attempts being deflected at or near the line of scrimmage. That’s more than the Bears would like. They would prefer that number to be zero every week. In comparison, none of Will Levis’ 32 attempts were touched at the line of scrimmage, according to the gamebook.
Williams doesn’t have ideal height at 6-foot-1, but you don’t look at him and say his height is problematic. I’d call this a sign of something to be mindful of and keep an eye on moving forward. It’s a natural concern for any quarterback who isn’t 6-3 or taller, but we’re not talking about someone like Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, who is 5-10.
Obviously you try not to overreact to one game but how long do you think the leash is for Coleman Shelton? If he struggles again, do you see Ryan Bates taking the center spot? Could we see Matt Pryor or Bill Murray getting right guard snaps soon? — @mrryancox
The biggest focus from my vantage point is at right guard, where there is an open battle for the starting job between Nate Davis and Bates. Shelton didn’t play well enough Sunday and he knows that. He struggled with some power. But I don’t think the Bears want to change centers right away and give rookie quarterback Caleb Williams something else to think about.
I also think they have Pryor and Murray for depth, not as options to try to get on the field right away. Doug Kramer could be an option at center, too, but again, the Bears are looking for stability and chemistry and not to continue the musical chairs they’ve had going on for a few seasons.
Why would Ryan Poles draft a developmental left tackle in Kiran Amegadjie when there are such glaring holes at center and guard? His idea with Lucas Patrick/Cody Whitehair failed the last two years so he tries the same thing again with two other nondescript veterans and expects better results? Explain. — @realdxs
The Bears have different players and more depth, so you start there. Amegadjie was available in the third round because of the quadriceps injury he suffered last fall at Yale. Had he made it through the season healthy, he probably would have been a second-round pick and maybe a high second-rounder.
It’s hard to say if there were interior linemen available whom the Bears liked when they chose Amegadjie at No. 75. It wasn’t a great draft for interior linemen, and if you start reaching for need with third-round picks, that can be a good way to get yourself in trouble down the road. You can draft a guard or center in Round 3 and a year or two from now still have an issue there because you didn’t get the right guy and reached to draft a player who was a round or two lower on your board.
Because you’re in tune with the offensive line situation, you’re probably aware there are reasonable questions about Braxton Jones at the beginning of this third season. Having Amegadjie gives the Bears an option for the future, and if they hit on him, he might wind up being a steal in the third round because of that injury in college. All of that being said, until the Bears get more stability on the line as a whole, all questions are fair game.
