3 Changes Matt Eberflus must demand to help fix the Chicago Bears offense
Matt Eberflus needs to demand that Velus Jones’ role change
Look, I understand the thrill of wanting a punt returner who has the ability to take the ball to the house whenever he gets his hands on it. It’s great, but I want to see Velus Jones see more touches on offense while his role as punt returner be stripped from him.
Jones’ role has ramped up from zero snaps in his first game to three snaps in his second game and 12 snaps vs the Commanders. His muffed punt lead to the go-ahead touchdown for the Commanders. Had he just let the ball go it would have been a touchback and we may be writing about a 7-6 or 10-6 victory instead of a 12-7 loss. This was the second muffed return that Jones has had in as little as three games. It’s time to let him focus only on offense.
Eberflus should not only demand that someone else return kicks — even if only to stand back and fair catch the ball or let it bounce in the end zone everytime — but he should also demand that Jones see his snaps increase drastically going forward. He went from 0% to 6% to 17% of the offensive snaps, but he should also be seeing more snaps than Ihmir Smith-Marsette and probably Dante Pettis as well. Only Darnell Mooney and Equanimeous St. Brown should see more snaps and targets.
Jones is electric when he gets his hands on the football. We need to see more of this. Pair that with a shift on the offensive line and it’s possible that Matt Eberflus helps this offense start to find a rhythym instead of Justin Fields running for his life on one play and watching his receiver drop a perfectly thrown pass on the next. These are three easy changes Eberflus should demand and implement prior to the Patriots game.