Cubs News: Kmet on offensive line struggles, says Williams staying positive |
CHICAGO—Some good news for tight end Cole Kmet: He was on the field a lot more against the Houston Texans than he was in the season opener against the Tennessee Titans.
The bad news: Chicago lost to the Texans because their offense was once again inefficient. The biggest problem with the offense is the run game. Through the first two games of the season, running back D’Andre Swift has 24 attempts for 48 yards and a touchdown; he is averaging just two yards per carry. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams is actually the leading rusher for the Bears with 10 attempts for 59 yards. Chicago’s third game of the season against the Indianapolis Colts (Noon / CBS) will require improvement, as the Colts have one of the best passing defenses in the league. “I always think it always starts with running the football. I think (for) every offense, the number one goal is to run the football effectively. So, I think it always starts there and from there, I think we can open up some things (in) the passing game as well,” Kmet said. “There’s no getting around, we’ve had our struggles in the run game here the first couple weeks. So, it’s a thing I thought we’ve been able to hang our hat on here since I’ve been here, for the most part. So, we just got to be better in that regard. But, those are things that we just got to fix and get corrected quickly here. I think we got the guys to do it, just a matter of communicating across and being better with our assignments and just playing as one.” Already two weeks into the season, Williams has been sacked nine times, leading the league so far. While the offensive line struggled against the Titans in the opener, Houston shined a lot on those issues as they continually blitzed him, which is where most of those sacks came from. While this has severely questioned the offensive line's talent level, Kmet claims the issues with the sacks against the Texans are on the entire offense, not just the offensive line. “I know everyone wants to just look at the offensive line and you see a sack, maybe you feel like it’s on the offensive line. But, there’s a lot of things that go into it whether it’s the receivers having to run the right routes and if they’re not there, that causes the quarterback to hold the ball a little bit more and those lead to sacks,” Kmet said. “Whether it’s protection adjustments that you see pressure and having to adjust off the pressure that you see and maybe making a slide different here or there and getting the alignments in the right spots in that regard or whether just a miscommunication up front as to what play we’re running. So, there’s a lot that goes into it. I don’t think it’s necessarily a talent issue (up) front. I don’t think that we were just getting over-matched totally, physically up front. But, I think us getting on the same page mentally speaking can lead to those adjustments and we can kind of see those sacks come down a little bit.” Despite the offense's issues through the first two weeks, the Heisman winner has maintained a positive attitude and kept his energy up. While Williams is still a rookie, he showed a lot of promise from the Titans game to the game against Houston. He was incredibly accurate when he was not under pressure and could deliver the football right where it needed to go. The talent around Williams and getting on the same page with his playmakers is what is currently holding the Bears offense back. “The attitude that he comes with everyday has just been outstanding. Even throughout the games, last week and this week, when we’ve kind of hit a (lull) in the game or things haven’t been going so great, he keeps his energy up. The positivity is always flowing. So, you feel that from him and I just see how he works everyday inside the building,” Kmet said. “The talent that he has, it’s there. But, it’s just a matter of us being much better around him and obviously, him getting adjusted to the NFL play style. But, he’s been great. I’m not concerned about him at all. His attitude’s been fantastic and that’s what’s going to help him continue to grow throughout the season.”
