After the Chicago Bears dropped their Week 9 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals, there was quite a bit to unpack.
For starters, the offense failed to score a single touchdown and the team totaled just nine points in the end. This came against one of the worst defenses in football. Injuries aside, it was yet another ill-prepared performance from the Bears under head coach Matt Eberflus.
The loss has sparked a lot of conversation over whether Eberflus finally deserves to be fired, but whether or not the Bears chose to do so in the middle of the season remains to be seen. Speaking of Eberflus and the coaching staff, there have been multiple times this year where the leadership has brought coaching into question.
Did that have anything to do with what we saw from wide receiver D.J. Moore on Sunday afternoon?
Monday, fans were in an uproar and, to be frank, some confusion over a video that surfaced of Moore apparently walking off the field during the middle of a play against the Cardinals.
At first glance, it does indeed look like Moore decided he was done on the play and walked off to the sideline. That, in and of itself, lit a fire under some Bears fans.
There were those who chose to run with the idea that Moore quit on his team, or maybe that he was done playing for this coaching staff. As fans, we love to rush judgement at times. It's what we do best, but what really happened here?
As you can see in the above linked video, there are some who also noticed Moore walking with a limp on that play. He sat down on the bench thereafter and appeared to have something wrong. As of Monday morning, there was no update on a Moore injury, though.
Moore is historically a pretty tough guy, which makes this all the more intriguing. He's known to be a fighter and someone who puts forth good effort, but this season, something has seemed off about him at times.
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Coming off a nice, fresh contract extension, Moore hasn't seemed to be himself yet this season. The effort has been lacking at times, and one has to wonder why? Does the veteran truly have an issue with the coaching staff? Is he trying to send a message?
On 670 The Score, Monday morning, Moore was asked about whether or not he believes Eberflus has lost the locker room.
As one of the team leaders, Moore's opinion is respected. He's more of a laid-back personality and doesn't wear his emotions on his sleeve, so hearing him even speak slightly in question of the coaching staff is somewhat alarming. This was Moore's response:
"I want to say no ... the message yesterday was that we know we're 4-4 now, it's just like being 0-0. You just gotta go out there and start stacking wins."
The very beginning of that response is telling, and it doesn't' sound convincing one way or another.
In a nutshell, it's safe to say Moore is, indeed, frustrated with this coaching staff. Whether or not his feelings are strong and had anything to do with walking off the field Sunday? I suppose we'll have to wait for his answer.
