Eberflus updates injuries with Odunze and Allen, talks OL improvement |
CHICAGO - In the Chicago Bears’ first game with receivers DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, and rookie Rome Odunze on the field together, Chicago’s offense failed to score a touchdown. Now, going into a more difficult matchup against the Houston Texans this Sunday in primetime (7:20 p.m. / NBC), they are faced with the possibility of being short two receivers.
Odunze is more of a concern. In his NFL debut, he only caught one pass, although it was probably one of the more bizarre plays of the game. The ball was intended for Moore, deflected into the air and Odunze made a heads-up play to catch the ball so the pass was not intercepted. He subsequently fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Chicago to allow them to maintain possession and resulted in a 24-yard field goal in right before halftime from kicker Cairo Santos. However, near the end of the game, Odunze sustained a knee injury. While ESPN’s Adam Schefter originally reported Odunze was week-to-week with an MCL injury, head coach Matt Eberflus stated Odunze is day-to-day with a knee injury. “Rome will still be day-to-day,” Eberflus said. “When you have somebody fall on your leg like that, and you have that type of deal, it’s always fortunate that it’s not that serious and very lucky that way, very fortunate. So, we’re blessed that way.” Keenan Allen’s injury does not seem to be putting his status for Sunday in question too much. Prior to Chicago’s season opener against Tennessee, Allen was on the injury report with a heel injury; against the Titans, he aggravated that injury. Neither Allen nor Odunze practiced on Wednesday. “I think it’s just about rest, and then hopefully the rest helps, and again, I can’t say it definitively right now,” Eberflus said. “But, I know that right now, they’re telling me (rested Wednesday) and going to see where he is, going to feel it (Thursday) to be able to do some practice.” With both of these players currently injured, second-year wide receiver Tyler Scott will have more opportunities to practice with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and will most likely see more game action. Last season, Scott appeared in all 17 games. He recorded 17 receptions for 168 yards, but has yet to score his first touchdown. Eberflus says right now is an opportunity for Scott that he has to take advantage of. “It’s a strong receiving group that we feel we have this year, and again, we still got to prove it, but I would say that opportunity,” Eberflus said. “When that crack door opens, you take your opportunity and run with it.” For Williams, this will be his first primetime game as an NFL quarterback and he will be going against one of the better defenses in the league as the Texans have the reigning defensive rookie of the year in defensive end Will Anderson and four-time Pro-Bowler Danielle Hunter who spent the first eight years of his NFL career with the Minnesota Vikings. There are some mistakes Williams made against the Titans that he may not be able to make against Houston and still have Chicago come out with a win. But, Eberflus says Williams has watched the film, learned from his mistakes and continues to demonstrate his leadership in the locker room. “He’s been really good. Since we watched the plays (on) Monday morning, he comes into my office and (he did) really good there, really good with the players, owning up to everything and taking responsibility for performance and accountability,” Eberflus said. “That’s what you need from leaders on the football team, not just him. And then, moving forward to coming in this morning and figuring out what we’re doing and how we’re doing it, having conversations with him, and I think he’s in a good spot.” The running game and offensive line will both need to step up against Houston. Starting running back D’Andre Swift only had 30 rushing yards, 20 of those coming from one play. Williams was frequently under pressure from the Tennessee defense, which is part of why the offense had trouble getting going throughout the game. Eberflus does not seem too concerned about these things, as he believes the team will improve greatly from week one to week two. “I know we had some negative runs, the 19-yard sack, and all those things that take away from the true number. But, again, the number is the number, and that’s the way I live. But again, I thought the efficiency was solid. Certainly, we had better efficiency in the past, and we’re looking forward to getting that this week,” Eberflus said. “I thought (the offensive line) was solid. I think that, obviously, we want better run numbers. I do think they protected solid at times. Again, we saw a couple of ones where they didn’t. Again, we’re working on those things being more solid and firm in the pocket. But again, it was week one and the biggest improvement from week one to week two is probably the biggest improvement that you have.”
