Bear Digest

How Caleb Williams and DJ Moore Say They Got on the Same Page

A first-half missed TD opportunity had DJ Moore and Caleb Williams working all the harder at their communication last week and they hope it pays off against the Panthers.

Gene Chamberlain

Caleb Williams takes a look at what the Rams defense is presenting to him in Sunday's 24-18 Bears win.
Caleb Williams takes a look at what the Rams defense is presenting to him in Sunday's 24-18 Bears win. / Matt Marton-Imagn Images
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The Bears preached and were satisfied with communication last week when they beat the Los Angeles Rams 24-18.

They were happy with all but maybe one or two particular plays. One was the touchdown pass they had there for the taking when Caleb Williams and DJ Moore didn't connect in the right side of the end zone.

They were immediately talking about it after the play and hope they have these hiccups ironed out going forward before facing the Panthers Sunday at Soldier Field.

"We both were frustrated after that missed touchdown. He came over and we both talked about it, got on the same page right then and there and shouldn't be any more mishaps on like a ball like that going forward," Moore said.

It seemed a matter of great consternation on the bench when they both did get there. Moore was spotted sitting by himself at the end of the bench, a situation interpreted as him voicing his opinion but he would say this wasn't the case.

"It's a hole shot," Moore said. "So I was thinking he (the DB) played outside, I had to go inside and wind back out and then assess where the safety was and he (Williams) thought I was going to just run straight and now we're going to go the Caleb way and were going to get it right.”

The problem was where the cornerback played. It threw them both off.

"Just growing through the reps, we never had a clouded rep like that where the corner was trailing still, so it was pretty different," Moore said. "I said it was on me. I wasn't thinking one thing, like going back out. We got it fixed now."

Apparently they've ironed out communications to Williams' liking as well.

"They were in some sort of two-high shell (coverage) kind of thing," Williams said. "I don’t know if their corner played it bad or they were just in Cover-2 specifically, but reading it when I was dropping back, saw DJ go inside, thought DJ was going to keep it a little more vertical. He went back out.

"So just not on the same page. And I wouldn't say it's somebody’s fault. I think just us not being on the same page. We went over to the sideline, obviously, let everything calm down because I'm frustrated, he's frustrated. We both want to go make that moment and go score right before half especially because that's big for any game as y'all may know, being able to score before going into half. And so you know having that moment, letting everything calm down, go talk to him after, just get on the same page so that when it does happen again, that we hit for a big one going into half. And you never know what game or when it might happen."

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The reading was better in the second half of the game so perhaps Williams is right. In the third quarter, Williams saw Moore in presnap isolated on a linebacker.

Money.

"First you gotta know where you're at in the read," Moore said. "I probably was like second or third, but I knew it was gonna have to get back to me because it was a linebacker (on him).

"So I was like, if this thing don't get back this way, we might have some more discussions on the sideline. It ended up getting back, so there was no discussion on the sideline, it was all happy vibes. Most of the time it is happy vibes. So I gave him the ball after that. You know, I was ecstatic for him."

This one was a bit more basic read, even for a rookie quarterback. There was no signaling by Moore. Williams recognized it and threw the 9-yard TD pass on a dime over the linebacker.

"No, you just gotta trust that he sees it," Moore said. "I think we all saw it when we was spread out wide and it was just me and the linebacker right there.

"So I'm like: 'Hmm. I hope we see this fast.' But if it'd played out any different, I hope we would've scored regardless. Hopefully."

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Moore said he has to take into account he's working with a rookie and they were all there at one time.

"So I know what he’s going through," Moore said. "You can’t be too frustrated. I mean, you can be frustrated within the way you’re playing as a player, but not at a young guy that’s still coming along."

If those two are on the same page now, the question has to be whether Williams and Rome Odunze are. Moore didn't mind pointing out how wide open Odunze got on one play without being spotted.


"Shoot, he be rolling off the ball. Have y’all seen him on film?" Williams asked reporters. "This past weekend, he took off on a route that he was wide open. I was like, ‘Dang, he moving.’ I even seen him out the side of my eye. I was like, ‘Am I going slow or is he just moving fast.’

"But just his speed and confidence out there. Just going out there and playing free. "

Maybe some sideline talks between Williams and Odunze now? If Moore is satisfied now, then maybe his spot alone at the end of the bench is available for Odunze.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.