Cubs News: Beatty on offensive performance against 49ers, Odunze's abilities |
CHICAGO - Last Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers was a rough way for Chris Beatty to start his career as an offensive coordinator.
Beatty is Chicago’s third offensive coordinator of the season after Shane Waldron was fired and his replacement, Thomas Brown, was promoted to interim head coach. “Obviously, last week, we didn’t start as fast as we would like. That’s two weeks in a row that we didn’t quite start as fast as we like. So, those things are trying to be addressed and trying to get better at the overall communication and all the things that we’re trying to get done as an offense and as a team in general. Those things (have been) a huge focus for us. So, we’re going to continue to try to build on what we have so far. There’s been a lot of positives. We just got to make sure that we continue to make more positives than negatives and figure out a way to score one more point than they do,” Beatty said. “I think we’ve done a really nice job of making adjustments as the games went along. I think that’s kind of showed out. "At the same time, we need to start faster, maybe be a little more aggressive at the beginning of the game. I don’t think it’s a matter of holding these things back bags as it is trying to let the quarterback get into a rhythm and sometimes, you don’t have a chance to get into a rhythm. We need to make sure that we play aggressively from the start, and I think those things will change a little bit here moving forward, but not too much. I think at the end of the day, it’s about execution, us calling the right plays and us putting the right people in a position to make those plays, and if we do that, hopefully, those things will take care of itself.” His challenge does not get any easier as he has to prepare to face the Minnesota Vikings this coming Monday (7 p.m. / ABC) and their defensive coordinator, Brian Flores, who is notorious for his blitz-heavy scheme. This is when having an intelligent veteran like six-time Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen on the field comes in handy; as Beatty said, Allen can break down Flores’ defense. “This defense is so complicated with all the different looks that they give you and the different ways they drop guys in and drop guys out, and Keenan just has a knack for seeing those things before they happen. A lot of receivers see them as they happen,” Beatty said. “He can sit back and tell you what’s happening before it happens, and so, I think he’s always generally a step or half a step faster than everybody else, which against a defense like this as good as they are and the vets that they have, you need every little advantage that you can get.” Coming into this difficult division game on a seven-game losing streak, the Bears need every advantage they can get. That is why it also helps to have a young receiver like Rome Odunze, who has shown a lot of promise throughout this season. While Chicago’s game against the 49ers was a dismal offensive performance, particularly in the first half, Odunze had a good game, scoring the only two touchdowns. It marked the first multi-touchdown game of his career. “Rome is advanced as a route runner,” Beatty said. “There’s a lot of room for growth, but he has (a) knack for being able to move his body and get himself to where he’s friendly for the quarterback.”
