CHGO Digest: As relationships between Caleb Williams & receivers grow, so does Bears offense

Good morning, friends!

Boring days are good days at Halas Hall. It typically means things are going well for the team, and it usually allows for more casual conversations.

If the Bears were still struggling to move the ball and losing games, DJ Moore probably isn’t interrupting Caleb Williams’ Wednesday presser to give him grief about Maryland upsetting USC over the weekend. Caleb probably isn’t videobombing Keenan Allen’s media scrum, either.

Boring is fun, and the Bears are having fun. The broken mini-basketball rim in the locker room might mean they’re having too much fun. Take care of business on Sunday and let’s have another boring Victory Monday.

Onto Week 8.

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— Patrick Norton

Camaraderie key to on-field success for Caleb Williams, receivers

DJ Moore is about the furthest thing from a “diva” wide receiver. Moore wants the ball, he wants to score, and he wants to win. So does every wide receiver that’s ever played in the NFL. That motor – mixed with a pinch of selfishness – is what gets them to the highest level.

Moore is not causing problems away from the field or on the sideline. However, the receiver has faced criticism for showing emotion after a deep-strike miss, sitting alone after drives, and calling Caleb Williams “bossy” despite doing so in a joking manner.

They’re lazy talking points when the team is struggling. Now that the Bears are 4-2 and still getting better every week? Nobody’s talking about Moore’s body language.

• Why has the narrative disappeared? On Wednesday, Moore said, “I don’t know. I still feel like I do the same body language things. Maybe because it’s winning, we’re winning, that everybody don’t care no more. But I mean, we don’t really, like I didn’t care for losing just as much as he didn’t. So maybe the frustration was there and it got heightened because we was losing but it was never no bad beef between us, too.”

• Like Moore, Keenan Allen has developed a big-brother relationship with Caleb Williams. How did that come about? “It’s just being friendly. I’m a great guy at heart, good guy to be around. He’s a great guy. Our energy just matched right away. It was just natural.” Friendships rely on trust. How did Caleb earn Keenan’s? “Just being himself. Coming out and being the quarterback that we knew he could be. Leading.”

• Don’t forget about Rome Odunze, who might emerge as the best of the bunch sooner rather than later. Rome and Caleb came into the league together. It makes sense that the two share a close bond. But what makes the quarterback easy to gravitate towards? “He’s super genuine. He’s himself every single day in the building. That’s something everybody can respect. He has qualities of leadership, and he’s a hard worker as well.” According to Odunze, Caleb’s best leadership quality is “his accountability factor. He holds everybody accountable, he holds himself accountable to a high standard.”

🔎 GO DEEPER | Rome Odunze and other Bears analyze the plays that propelled the Bears to a dominating win in London.

🐻CHGO Watch Party🎉

Join us at Almost Home Tavern & Grill in Wrigleyville for Bears vs. Commanders! Hang with Adam Hoge, Mark Carman, Greg Braggs Jr, Corey Wootton, Alex Brown and Lance Briggs this Sunday! $10 entry includes a complimentary Miller Lite, CHGO giveaways and more!

Caleb downplaying No. 1 vs. No. 2

• Inside Halas Hall, Sunday isn’t Caleb Williams vs. Jayden Daniels. It’s the Chicago Bears vs. the Washington Commanders. It makes sense considering Williams and Daniels won’t share the field at the same time aside from warm-ups and maybe a quick embrace in the postgame. For the quarterback, it’s just another game. “My job is to go win games on Thursdays, Sundays and Mondays. That’s it.”

• When asked why Caleb isn’t embracing the storyline, Rome Odunze joked that Jayden Daniels isn’t lining up at safety for Washington on Sunday. It’s true. Caleb Williams’ matchup is against an aggressive Commanders defense tied for ninth in the NFL this season with 19 sacks. However, aggression can sacrifice coverage, and Washington has allowed the third-highest passer rating in 2024 (107.4).

• Daniels did not practice on Wednesday due to the rib injury that forced his early exit on Sunday against the Panthers. Marcus Mariota took first-team reps with the Commanders’ offense. Caleb hopes to see the No. 2 overall pick on Sunday, but again, it’s not his priority. “I hope he plays. Obviously, you don’t wish to see good and great players down, not in games. It only makes the game better … But my job is to go out there and win the game for the Chicago Bears.”

🔎 GO DEEPER | More on Caleb Williams downplaying Sunday’s significance, and the importance of the team’s “flow”.

The Eighty Five with Cole Kmet

🎧 SPOTIFY | APPLE PODCASTS | Cole Kmet is feeling the “buzz” ahead of Bears-Commanders showdown

Join us for an upcoming CHGO event!

🐻 10/27 | CHGO Bears Watch Party at Almost Home in Wrigleyville! – Week 8 vs. Commanders
🌵 11/1 – 11/4 | CHGO Bears Road Trip to Arizona, including Desert Duel
🍻 11/10 | CHGO Bears Tailgate at Wabash & Cermak! – Week 10 vs. Patriots

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