Bear Digest

Why Rome Odunze's slowdown poses no problem to Ben Johnson and Bears

After a hot start, Rome Odunze's catch totals have tailed off but the Bears coach is in no panic about how the football is being dispersed.
Gene Chamberlain|
Ben Johnson doesn't see Rome Odunze's dip in catches and yards as a problem, just a different focus in the game plan.
Ben Johnson doesn't see Rome Odunze's dip in catches and yards as a problem, just a different focus in the game plan. | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

What needs to be understood about Bears coach Ben Johnson is he doesn't care.

He doesn't care about who gets the numbers from week to week. His job and style is to getthe game plan for a particular opponent together and working. The fantasy football folks won't like that but who cares?

Case in point was the last game. In fact, it goes beyond one game but Rome Odunze is showing up much the way he did last year.

When Odunze made seven catches for 128 pointless yards in a blowout loss at Detroit, everyone hailed to arrival of the explosive receiver. He did make five touchdown catches in four games.

Since then, Odunze has tailed off to two receptions in each of the last two games for only 32 and then Sunday 31 yards.

"I think as an offense it comes in waves," Johnson said. "Some guys are going to get hot and some guys are going to step out of the spotlight for a little bit.

"I think that’s the nature of having so many good players, Rome certainly being a part of that. So, there will be a time where this thing comes around again, and he gets hot all of a sudden and he’ll end up having 10 targets in a game and eight or nine catches and a couple touchdowns and we’ll be feeling good about life."

Odunze has had plenty of targets. He's had 46 wile both DJ Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus have had 31. Odunze has only a 52.2% catch/target percentage but that's to be expected because his average depth of target is much higher at 13.9 yards. That's the 13th deepest for running routes in the league.

"When you’re a perimeter player, I do think it’s hard to necessarily dictate the number of times the ball comes your way," Johnson said. "I think he does a great job, along with DJ and Luther (Burden III) and Oz (Zaccheaus), all those guys.

"They want to go out there and compete for their teammates. I think they’re doing a better job blocking for their buddies down the field as the play unfolds."

No block, no rock, was Johnson's message and that has continued to hold true.

The Bears still lead the NFL in big plays— runs of 10-plus and receptions of 20-plus yards— so no one is going to care who is getting the catches and carries.

Johnson was asked Monday if the carries split in the run game between Kyle Monangai and D'Andre Swift is ideal and in responding he revealed the core of this offense both run and pass.

“In some weeks we’ll run it that volume, other weeks we might not feature the run game quite as much," Johnson said. "That kind of fluctuates a little bit. We feel really good about both of those players and so it’s not like I call the game any different when one guy’s in over the other."

The same is true about the passing game and the balance of it between them.

"We haven't hit our stride yet offensively," Johnson said. "We're capable of a lot more. We have very talented individuals. I feel strongly in our coaching staff.

"But we're just not complementing our defense on a regular basis with the number of turnovers we've had over the last four games. We should be able to turn those into more points.”

It's a situation where they plan to able to do everything and still can get better at everything as a team, and everyone on the offense will get their chance along the way.

No individual statistics look more important than the others.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

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.