Cubs News: Kmet on struggling offense: "Better is not good enough" |
CHICAGO - There were a lot of things that went wrong for Chicago’s offense in their 21-15 loss to the Indianapolis Colts this past Sunday. However, from an individual standpoint for tight end Cole Kmet.
He had one of the best games of his career, with ten receptions for 97 yards and a touchdown. Shockingly, that touchdown was his first in the month of September. Despite that step in a positive direction, there are several things that need to be improved. The run game continues to be one of the worst in the league, averaging only 72.7 rushing yards per game. Only one team is worse in that category, the Las Vegas Raiders, who are also 1-2 after three games. Kmet says there is certainly a sense of urgency on the team, particularly the offense, to get things going and get through the adversity of dropping their last two games. “I think (urgency) is definitely needed and not that we don’t feel that, but we got to continue to have that urgency to get better everyday. I think you also got to blend with that of not getting too overwhelmed or too frustrated by what’s going on and we got to keep things tight in here and,” Kmet said. “When you drop two in the NFL, that’s adversity. So, we’ve dropped two in a row here and offensively, we haven’t played up to the standard that we wanted to yet. I think it’s gotten better each game. But, again, we’re being real right now. Better is not good enough. We got to be (much) better if we want to win these games. You look at the positives from the other day, we were able to sustain some drives and ran the ball well at times and then, obviously, put up some really good numbers and pass yards at the quarterback position there. So, that was all good to see and we’re able to control the clock. But, we got to be able to punch the ball in the end zone and get points and I think that comes down to that and then the number one thing is taking care of that football and despite the performance against Tennessee that first week, the one thing that we could come out saying is that we took care of the football and we need to get back to doing that and I think if we take care of that at the very least, we’ll start winning some more games.” Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams also seemed to make some strides. While he had two interceptions once again, he also led the offense on two touchdown drives. The offense never got the chance to get the ball back after the two-minute warning, or perhaps Williams could have had his first game-winning drive of his NFL career. Despite the loss, Kmet saw a lot of growth in Williams last game, particularly when it comes to him reading defenses. However, he acknowledges the Bears need to be better. “You can see him getting in the flow of things better, and you can really see him (trying) to progress through his reads and see things clearly, and I think he’s been picking up his processing speed from game to game. So, that’s always really encouraging to see and when he gets comfortable and gets rolling, you can see that confidence pick up,” Kmet said. “There’s a lot of newness on the offense, and as we continue to feel better about how guys work with one another, personnel-wise, I think we’ll continue to grow this … I do think we’re close. I look at it on the film and there’s a couple plays here and there that we got to be better at. But, we’re getting there, and obviously, we needed to get there quicker, and it hasn’t been going enough. But, I don’t think it’s an all hope is lost kind of situation. I think that there’s a real opportunity here to get this thing going quickly and once it does, I don’t think that we’ll look back from it. But, we got to get there first.” Chicago will have the chance to rebound and get back to a non-losing record when they face the Los Angeles Rams this Sunday (Noon / FOX). The Rams are coming off a 27-24 win against the San Francisco 49ers, but due to injury, they will be short numerous players against the Bears.
