It's clear that Bears receivers have fully embraced coach Ben Johnson's "no block, no rock" philosophy that incentivizes their downfield blocking.
No play in last Sunday's 59-37 season-opening win over the Panthers better exemplified that than Kyle Monangai's 61-yard touchdown run. Receivers Luther Burden III and Kalif Raymond delivered key blocks just past the line of scrimmage to spring Monangai, and receiver Jahdae Walker shielded a defender downfield, preventing him from making a tackle.
"We talk about it, and they know that we really believe in it as a coaching staff," Johnson said. "They bring it to life, and when they see the results come from the things that we're preaching, I think it just continues to get the buy-in and the commitment to doing it the way that we're asking for. And of course there's a ton of competition too between the runners, the tight ends, the receivers, and so, as a play caller, as an offensive staff, we are committed to getting the ball to the guys that are doing it right most consistently. So, that also resonates as well."
Quarterback Caleb Williams described the TD as his favorite play of the game.
"That's who we are," Williams reiterated Wednesday. "That's who we pride ourselves on being, is we play for each other as a team out there. Everybody do their one-eleventh, and then the second effort is where we become explosive. And that's that scramble, that's blocking after catch, that's blocking after run. That's how we got Kyle Monangai's 61-yard [TD]. It's our what we call little guys out there blocking for each other, and so, like I said, that's our identity, that's who we want to be."
Walker has heard the mantra from Johnson since signing with the Bears last season as an undrafted rookie from Texas A&M.
"He says, 'no block, no rock,' and that gets us going because we all want the ball," Walker said. "That's pretty much all we are thinking about. You've got to buy into it or you're going to get left."
Williams honored
Williams has been named one of two FedEx Air & Ground Players of the Week for his performance against the Panthers. The third-year quarterback became the first player in NFL history to pass for at least 269 yards and 2 TDs, rush for at least 65 yards and 2 TDs, post at least a 124.1 passer rating, complete at least 72% of his passes and not commit a turnover in a game.
Banana ball
Tory Taylor's "banana ball" punt that was muffed by Panthers returner Jimmy Horn Jr. in the season opener and recovered by the Bears' Kaden Davis wasn't as unorthodox as it may have seemed. Taylor explained that the technique is frequently employed in Australian Rules Football to help players bend the ball into a goal.
"It's not anything new," said Taylor, who was born in Melbourne and grew up playing Australian Rules Football. "I don't mean this in an arrogant way … but that's been stuff I've been doing for over 20 years. The hardest part is just trying to hit a consistent spiral punt because that's something I'm pretty new to, like since I moved to America."
Injury update
Right tackle Darnell Wright (knee) and defensive tackle Neville Gallimore (illness) did not practice Wednesday. Running backs D'Andre Swift (ankle/knee) and Monangai (hamstring), tackle Ozzy Trapilo (knee), defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo (shoulder), cornerback Malik Muhammad (ankle) and safety Xavier Woods (groin) were limited.
Good point
It does not appear that Johnson is worried about the Bears being overconfident after scoring 59 points in last Sunday's win over the Panthers, tied for the second most by an NFL team in a season opener. Asked by a reporter if he'll need to guard against that, Johnson said: "We haven't put up any points this week."
Roaring to go
With the Bears returning home Sunday, Johnson is encouraging fans to make their presence felt like they did last season when the Bears won six straight games at Soldier Field, their longest streak since they also won six in a row in 2005.
"We need it," Johnson said. "We need it each and every week that we play at home. We're counting on that. We talked in the preseason during training camp just how powerful it is to play at Soldier, and we need to come away with home victories if we want this season to go the way we want it to."
