Tag: D.j. moore

D.J. Moore denied what NFL lip-readers thought was him venting about Caleb Williams to the Bears’ backup QB

D.J. Moore says he didn’t talk trash about Caleb Williams but the camera doesn’t lie.

We’re in Week 3 of the NFL season, and already, people are penning columns about how it’s too early to panic about Caleb Williams’ struggling Chicago Bears offense. Unfortunately, it’s a traumatic movie that Bears fans are all too familiar with, as Chicago’s anemic offensive line hung Williams out to dry on Sunday night against the Houston Texans.

But the most notable outcome from the Bears’ deflating performance probably wasn’t how inept the offensive line looked. It was D.J. Moore’s disconcerting body language, with the No. 1 receiver clearly being frustrated by Chicago’s struggles.

NFL lip-readers centered on a key clip of Moore talking to Bears backup quarterback Tyson Bagent after Williams missed a throw. They think Moore was saying something along the lines of, “He [Williams] can’t do it.”

It’s not hard to see those words for yourself:

During a usual Monday morning interview on Chicago radio station 670 The Score, Moore was asked to clarify this exchange. He claimed he was simply asking Bagent what he saw in the play.

Uh, that doesn’t really track and match the clip at all:

The Bears aren’t in trouble, per se, but it sure feels like they’re on the brink of a crisis with just one more poor offensive outing. Stay tuned.

D.J. Moore looked so frustrated after Caleb Williams brutally missed another throw during the Bears’ comeback attempt

D.J. Moore hates the Caleb Williams Experience so far.

To say the Chicago Bears’ offense had a rough outing against the Houston Texans on Sunday night would be an understatement. (Never mind how the Bears came to Caleb Williams’ defense.) On an evening where the Bears’ elite defense hemmed in C.J. Stroud pretty well — despite Matt Eberflus’s worst challenge efforts — Williams and the Chicago offense that couldn’t block naturally couldn’t do anything in a 19-13 loss.

I’m not being hyperbolic, either.

Here’s a summary of the Bears’ offensive possessions in the second half:

  • Punt (three-and-out)
  • Punt (three-and-out)
  • Punt (three-and-out)
  • Interception
  • Interception
  • Punt
  • Field goal
  • Turnover on downs

That is bleak, dearest reader.

The Bears’ offensive evening was especially grim for Williams. Yes, he surpassed 170 passing yards (yay?), but the Texans pressured him an eye-opening 36 times (!) on 49 dropbacks. And let me tell you, it was clear that the relentless pressure — does the Bears’ offensive line know what a stunt is? — rattled Williams. Chicago now has just one offensive touchdown in eight quarters of football in 2024. Williams has yet to throw a touchdown pass and has less than 300 cumulative passing yards on the season.

The person perhaps most hurt by the Bears’ offensive futility through two games is D.J. Moore. His body language on Sunday, in multiple instances, said it all.

Here’s Moore staring vacantly into space after another teeth-pulling Bears’ offensive possession:

And here’s Moore after Williams missed him when he was open on an “NFL throw” during a futile late comeback attempt. Please note how Moore immediately throws his hands up to his head on the ground before disinterestedly drifting off to the bench on the sideline:

Moore is a Pro Bowl-caliber receiver who doesn’t have 100 total receiving yards yet. I get why he’d be annoyed.

We’re two weeks into the 2024 NFL season, and while it’s not time to panic, every Bears fan watching on Sunday night had the same thought come across their mind. Are they (the Bears) really about to do it (ruin another first-round quarterback) again? Even if Williams was actually shining, it’s hard to imagine Chicago’s struggling offensive line lasting long enough to ensure a full game’s success.

It’s definitely not over for Williams and this Bears offense. They’re working in a lot of moving parts and the line can (emphasis on can) get a lot better with everyone gelling together. But Sunday night was a massive, all-too-familiar step in the wrong direction.

D.J. Moore revealed his initial NSFW response to the Bears trading for him after his monster pay day

Time (and money) eventually sold D.J. Moore on the Bears.

When the Chicago Bears traded for D.J. Moore in March 2023, you would’ve forgiven him for being unenthusiastic.

After all, while the Carolina Panthers were no powerhouse, he had built a steady life for himself in Charlotte, and the Bears were a bottom-feeder with the big-market pressure of a top-flight Super Bowl contender. Still, Moore was a professional and seemingly took the move in stride en route to enjoying a career first season on the Chicago lakefront.

Now, Moore is the richest Bears player in their franchise’s history after signing a monster four-year $110 contract extension that will keep him tied to rookie No. 1 overall pick quarterback Caleb Williams for the foreseeable future.

But as Moore revealed during his Bears press conference on Wednesday, he really did dread getting traded to Chicago at first. And he had a hilarious NSFW way of describing his initial thought process starting at the 5:44 timestamp below.

(Warning: NSFW language.)

It’s funny how things end up working out in life.

Moore understandably didn’t appreciate getting traded to the Bears because they don’t have the best reputation, and he had gotten quite comfortable with the Panthers. Now he’s so wealthy, in the prime of his NFL career, with a hopeful top-flight quarterback like Williams throwing passes to him for the next half-decade or so.

Moore is giving us a good lesson here. You never know what’s behind a new door in your life, and you really need time to work its magic before making a definitive judgment.

Featured image courtesy of the Chicago Bears

Vikings snubbed in PFF’s perfect NFC North team selections

In somewhat of a surprise, the Minnesota Vikings were completely left out of PFF’s perfect NFC north team.

We’ve officially entered summer, which means we’re right at the tail end of the NFL’s dead period. Training camps will be starting soon, and before you know it, we’ll have some real football to talk about. Pre-season football, roster cut-down day, and free agent signings from said cut-downs will all lead up to the first kickoff of the 2024 NFL season.

But we’re not there yet, so we’re still in the preview—and in this case, hypothetical—phase of the offseason. With that in mind, the team at PFF has been going division-by-division and building their “perfect” team out of units from the teams in each division.

For their perfect teams, the PFF crew has chosen to take a “room by room” approach, choosing one unit as a whole rather than selecting individual players. The Minnesota Vikings are noticeably absent from the selection process for their NFC North team.

It makes sense that PFF wouldn’t take the Vikings quarterback position, instead opting for Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers. Given the Vikings’ running woes last season, it also makes sense not to take their running backs—even with the addition of Aaron Jones—and indeed, PFF opted to take the Detroit Lions’ room and their 1-2 punch of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs.

Things may get a little surprising with PFF’s choice of a wide receiver room. Rather than taking the tandem of Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, they opted to go with the crew the Chicago Bears have built with the additions of Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze to pair with D.J. Moore. You can’t help but think the uncertainty Minnesota has at the WR3 was the determining factor there.

Rounding out PFF’s perfect NFC North team, they chose the Lions offensive and defensive lines, the Bears linebackers, and the Packers secondary units, leaving the Vikings completely unrepresented.

Commanders cornerback Emmanuel Forbes confident ahead of 2nd season

Emmanuel Forbes confident ahead of training camp.

It’s hard to call your second NFL season make or break, especially when you’re a first-round pick, but that’s what Washington cornerback Emmanuel Forbes faces in 2024.

The No. 16 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft appeared in 12 games as a rookie with 10 starts. He finished his rookie season with 27 tackles, 10 passes defended and one interception. On the surface, those aren’t bad numbers, but Forbes’ performance in a Week 4 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles is what everyone remembers.

Forbes was matched up one-on-one against Eagles star A.J. Brown, who finished the game with nine receptions for 175 yards and two touchdowns. The next week, in a blowout loss to the Chicago Bears on Thursday Night Football, Forbes was matched up with Bears star D.J. Moore.

Moore caught eight passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns. Forbes wasn’t covering Moore the entire game, but it was enough for Washington coaches to bench him.

Forbes did not play the following week and played only 5% of the defensive snaps in the following two games. So, the coaching staff who chose him lost confidence in him after five games.

Remember the post-draft video of the previous staff smiling as if they pulled one over on the rest of the NFL by choosing Forbes?

That tells you all you need to know about the former staff. Washington had an overmatched secondary coach last season, and defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio had no answers. Both were fired after a Thanksgiving blowout loss in Dallas.

Head coach Ron Rivera was fired in January, and the Commanders hired Dan Quinn to replace him. Quinn’s new defensive coordinator, Joe Whitt Jr., followed him from the Cowboys, where the duo led the Dallas defense to a top-five finish in each of the last three seasons. The Cowboys also led the NFL in forced turnovers.

So, when Quinn and Whitt came aboard, Forbes was excited.

In a recent social media post, Forbes expressed confidence ahead of a critical season for him.

Forbes and the Commanders report to training camp in three weeks. Fans need to see more from the second-year cornerback than social media posts. The new coaching staff did not draft him. Quinn stresses competition and Forbes must earn his spot in 2024.

The secondary struggled badly last season. Washington needs Forbes. And if Forbes resembles the same player from last season, general manager Adam Peters will not hesitate to move on from him. The pressure is on Forbes, something he understands. A fresh start could be exactly what Forbes needs.

D.J. Moore revealed he shockingly fuels his offseason training with Mountain Dew and cigars

D.J. Moore being so good despite his terrible diet is shocking.

D.J. Moore is one of the NFL’s best receivers, point blank. In 2023, he enjoyed career highs in yards (1,364), catches (96), and touchdowns (eight). He was every bit the superstar playmaker that the Chicago Bears needed for their offense.

And apparently, Moore is so dominant despite barely taking care of his body during the offseason.

During a new episode of The 33rd Team’s podcast with Amon-Ra St. Brown and his brother Equanimeous St. Brown, the pair talked to Moore about his offseason training approach. According to the gifted wideout, he barely does any workouts. In fact, in Moore’s words, he more or less sticks to drinking Mountain Dew and smoking cigars until it’s time to report for team activities in the spring.

Honestly, it’s kind of wild that Moore is so good despite his training neglect:

Imagine the type of numbers Moore would put up with the Bears if he perhaps ate more salads. Or maybe just even cut off on all the cigars. But maybe that’s just what works for Moore. When it’s time to relax, he’s taking a load off, understanding the inevitable punishment of an NFL season.

Or maybe I’m just being charitable to a professional athlete who really enjoys his time off.

Commanders CB Emmanuel Forbes says no one is getting his No. 13 jersey, even Caleb Williams

If Caleb Williams does land in Washington, Forbes doesn’t plan on giving up his No. 13.

It was a difficult year for Washington Commanders cornerback Emmanuel Forbes in 2023. The No. 16 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft was benched multiple times and only inserted back into the lineup late in the season when Washington was without several other cornerbacks.

The former Mississippi State star played in 14 games for the year, making six starts, recording 38 tackles, 11 passes defended, and one interception.

Pro Football Focus gave Forbes a grade of 50.9 for his rookie season. Per PFF’s metrics, he was targeted 60 times, with opposing passers completing 39 passes against Forbes. Opposing quarterbacks completed an average of 65% of their passes when targeting Forbes.

Forbes struggled badly early in the season when matched up with star wideouts, such as A.J. Brown and D.J. Moore. In fairness to Forbes, he should’ve never been in single coverage against those receivers.

No player on Washington’s roster should benefit from a coaching change more than Forbes.

Once the Commanders’ season ended and they clinched the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, some fans were dreaming about the potential of USC quarterback — and Washington, D.C. native — Caleb Williams coming home.

One fan even made a GIF of Williams taking his trademark No. 13 jersey away from Forbes.

Forbes saw the tweet and responded.

Since posting that tweet, Forbes has since deleted it, but the Internet lives forever.

Hopefully, for Forbes, Washington’s next defensive coordinator can help restore his confidence so he can bounce back in 2024 — whether he wears No. 13 or not.

What should the Chicago Bears do with Justin Fields?

The Chicago Bears have a tough decision to make with Justin Fields. What do the tape and metrics say about Fields’ ultimate potential?

The Chicago Bears have a serious decision to make this upcoming offseason.

Right now, the Bears have the first overall pick in the 2034 draft by dint of their trade with the Carolina Panthers before the 2023 draft, and the 10th overall pick because of their 7-9 record. No matter what happens in their regular-season finale against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, the Bears will be set up to stack talent onto their roster as they rarely have before.

But what to do with quarterback Justin Fields? If the front office is unconvinced after three seasons that Fields is the guy to lead them to the proverbial next level, they could trade him (likely for less than a first-round pick), and avail themselves of the best possible quarterback in the upcoming draft. Or, they could hold onto Fields, assume they have the game’s most important position covered, and continue to build around him.

There are no easy answers. Right now, among quarterbacks with at least 100 passing attempts this season, Fields ranks 16th in touchdown rate at 4.5%, and his 2.5% interception rate ranks 19th. Fields ranks 30th in Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt at 5.28, 39th in Success Rate at 38.2%, and his EPA of -66.38 is eighth-worst in the NFL. Fields is a dynamic runner and playmaker, but there’s only so far you can get with that if you don’t have play-to-play consistency as a passer. Only Josh Allen and Tua Tagovailoa have thrown more third-down interceptions this season than Fields’ five, and Fields’ third-down EPA of -23.68 is sixth-worst in the league.

The positive side is what Fields has done in the second half of this season, as the Bears have risen from 27th to 16th in Passing DVOA. He hasn’t been as much of an explosive passer, but he has been more efficient, completing 60.2% of his passes for 6.4 yards per attempt, five touchdowns, three interceptions, and a passer rating of 80.2.

There have been factors beyond Fields’ control. He was selected with the 11th overall pick in the 2021 draft out of Ohio State, and Matt Nagy was his first head coach. If you want to know what Matt Nagy running your offense looks like, go watch the 2023 Kansas City Chiefs as long as you can stand it. His best receiver by far has been D.J. Moore, who the Bears also got in that trade with the Panthers. His offensive line is starting to improve, and you can start to see clear paths to significant improvement in 2024. If they keep him, and put someone like Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. on the field with Moore, that process could accelerate quickly.

But that’s all contingent on whether the Bears decide to keep Fields, or to move along.

Against the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday in a 37-17 win, Fields completed 20 of 32 passes for 268 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 99.5. And he made throws that were both impressive and maddening.

The maddening throws still tend to come from Fields’ relative inability to read through progressions quickly. On this incompletion with 8:23 left in the third quarter, Fields had receiver Tyler Scott wide open on a stack release crosser against Atlanta’s Cover-3. The Falcons sent a safety blitz with Jessie Bates III, and the Bears picked it up, so that was a clean pocket. And it was one of those “throw it… throw it… throw it…” moments we’ve seen far too often. Fields waited until Scott crossed the field, and he then overthrew Scott. That’s the kind of stuff that will drive you nuts. 

But the 32-yard pass to D.J. Moore with 2:15 left in the first quarter on third-and-7 was the kind of play that gives you hope. Moore got open to Fields’ backside on a switch release, cornerback A.J. Terrell followed Moore from the slot, and Fields made a perfect throw, allowing Moore to grab it over his head as if Fields had walked up and handed the ball to him. 

Fields’ seven-yard touchdown pass to Moore with 8:52 left in the first quarter was another example of Fields reading through and getting it right.

“Yeah, three by one, or one by three,” Fields said. “They were in what we call triangle coverage where basically the safety and the slot [are] outside leverage, and outside is basically one on one. Yeah, D.J. just really has to beat the safety on that. Just make sure the corner outside attaches to the under route and then, boom, D.J. ran a corner route or had good leverage on it. At that point [Moore] did a good job. [The offensive] line did a great job protecting on that one, and great catch, great route by D.J.”

If the Bears can build on those Fields attributes, and continue to add talent around him, who knows how far Fields can take it?

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys further discuss the decision the Bears have to make. You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

Bears clinch No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, and they don’t need a new quarterback

The Chicago Bears have clinched the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, and Justin Fields has proven that they don’t need a quarterback. Not a bad place to be.

Due to their trade with the Carolina Panthers, who lost 26-0 to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday to set their record at 2-14, the Chicago Bears now have the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

And Justin Fields wanted everybody to know that they don’t need to select a quarterback with that pick. Fields completed 20 of 32 passes for 268 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 99.5 in Chicago’s 37-17 beatdown of the Atlanta Falcons. Fields also ran 11 times for 45 yards and a touchdown, and some of his plays in this hame augured well for his future and his potential. Whether the Bears are into that idea or not is a point of conjecture, but this team has some holes they could fill with some major talent and two high selections. Right now, per Tankathon, the Bears have the first and 10th picks.

Fields’ fans at Soldier Field seem to agree.

Dealing with Fields as a runner has always been frustrating, and it was a nightmare for the Falcons’ defense on this day.

But the throws he made in this game, especially to receiver D.J. Moore, were absolutely on point.

Fields isn’t a perfect quarterback per se, but in the right system and with the right people around him, he should have shown enough this season to have the Bears’ front office (whoever’s in charge of it after this season) convinced that there are other more pressing issues to address.

D.J. Moore’s endorsement of Justin Fields over top QB draft prospects is a case of being a good teammate, not QB evaluator

D.J. Moore was just being a good teammate to Justin Fields. Nothing more.

D.J. Moore is one of the NFL’s finest playmakers.

He’s got sticky hands, is an explosive monster after the catch, and seldom wastes any space or time when running routes. That reality potentially makes what he has to say about his quarterback that much more meaningful, like how he talked up Justin Fields after the Chicago Bears’ heartbreaking loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

When asked about the Bears’ upcoming quarterback-of-the-future decision — Chicago currently owns the No. 1 overall draft pick via the Carolina Panthers — Moore was indignant. He almost couldn’t believe people were talking about names like Southern California’s Caleb Williams or North Carolina’s Drake Maye playing for the Bears when they already had Fields.

Moore took his position so far that he even said none of the top prospects were better than his current quarterback. Eh, I don’t think there’s as much to this sentiment as anyone still holding onto hope with Fields wants to believe:

For one, Moore isn’t going to throw Fields under the bus while he’s still teammates with him and while the Bears are still playing out the string on the 2023 season. Moore also assuredly knows it’d be a massive story if he endorsed a new quarterback over Fields in public, with the internal drama not being remotely worth the risk for the hapless Bears.

Right now, the Bears are staring down the barrel of another lost and empty season. Fields shows unique flashes of brilliance every week but ultimately hasn’t played consistently well enough to justify giving him a fourth season on the Chicago lakefront without a reasonable debate. It’s not an obvious call in his favor in the least. To be clear, Fields, who is only 24 years old, still might possess a solid modicum of potential. But if the Bears do finish with the 2024 draft’s top pick, they have to seriously consider moving on by drafting a much more malleable and potentially more promising young quarterback.

Kudos to Moore for standing up for Fields. That’s what he’s supposed to say. But even if the Bears do stick with Fields in 2024, Moore’s comments will have zero impact on their decision.