Moore on frustration in Texans loss, being steady around Williams |
CHICAGO—Wide receiver DJ Moore is used to playing on teams lacking offensive success. In Chicago’s first loss of the season against the Houston Texans on Sunday night, Moore appeared visibly frustrated.
However, he clarified when speaking to the media on Wednesday that his frustration was not with the passing game or rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. “I really wasn’t frustrated with the passing game. It was just, we just like one play again, and we couldn’t just get that one play to hit, and that’s why I was really frustrated,” Moore said. “I shouldn’t have shown as much. But it’s a part of the game. Like I said, we (were) one play away from the game changing and we just couldn’t connect. Nobody on offense could connect with the one play or get the one play started to get us on track to go up. It’s football. Everybody’s going to have their ups and downs and frustration.” With a rookie quarterback, the talent around him needs to be strong. However, the offensive line has failed Williams to this point, especially after allowing him to get sacked seven times against Houston. Furthermore, perhaps the best offensive lineman who played against the Texans, Teven Jenkins, sustained what head coach Matt Eberflus called a “deep thigh bruise,” putting his availability into question for this coming Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts (Noon / CBS). Given the combination of injuries and offensive line struggles, Moore recognizes the importance of keeping things steady and staying on top of the calls. “You want to keep things steady because then you don’t want (Williams) to get frustrated and just go out there and try to make a play, which he really didn’t try to go out there and make a play. He was just being himself, and that’s all you can ask of him,” Moore said. “We got to just be on it - know our calls, know the protection, know when we (are) hot just to help Caleb out. I know we got to nip that in the (bud because) it’s a copy-cat league and other teams (are) going to try to just bring the house at him.” Williams was a Heisman winner when he was with Southern California. He had a high-powered offense that included Minnesota Vikings receiver Jordan Addison and Brendan Rice, the son of Hall-of-Famer Jerry Rice. Thus, he is used to having high-caliber receivers around him. However, Williams has not been able to develop the same level of chemistry with Moore and the other receivers the Bears have in Chicago. Even with that, Moore says Williams has not expressed any frustration and believes in the Bears' talent. “He hasn’t been vocally frustrated or anything. He’s been coming in and still learning. So, waiting to see how he bounces back this week,” Moore said. “We (are) all gifted and talented; we just got to make it work, and once we make it work, it’s going to be off to the races.” Going against the Colts will be another challenge for Williams, Moore, and the rest of the offense. The Indianapolis defense has allowed the eighth-least passing yards through the first two weeks of the season. However, with defensive tackle DeForest Buckner being placed on injured reserve (IR), their defense will most likely look a lot different on Sunday.
