ESPN host criticizes Chicago Bears receiver Rome Odunze received fierce criticism from the NFL rookie’s father on Thursday.
Dan Orlovsky wrote in X earlier this week about some of the issues freshman quarterback Caleb Williams is facing with the Bears’ 31st-best passing offense.
“The Bears and Caleb will have to be content with giving Rome more ‘covered’ opportunities,” Orlovsky wrote on X. “Rome doesn’t get open at this level — Caleb will have to be content with throwing him 50/50 balls.”
But the suggestion that Odunze ‘wouldn’t be open’ was too far-fetched for his father James.
The proud father responded to X with a clip from Chicago’s Week 1 win over the Tennessee Titans.
Rome Odunze, center, is seen with his mother, Necia Bunnell, and his father, James Odunze
Dan Orlovsky stood by his criticism of Odunze when confronted by Bears fans on X
Odunze can be seen going from one side of the endzone to the other unmarked, while Williams ignores him during the action.
James also shared a statistic showing his son ranks fifth among NFL rookie wideouts in winning percentage, a percentage that indicates how often a receiver beats his primary defender in coverage.
And to make his point, James spelled Orlovsky’s name almost entirely in a later post on X.
“A quick (2 GAMES out of 17) reference guide for those with the initials DO and who work for the Entertainment & Sports Programming Network W/respect,” James wrote.
Some suggested that James’ post appeared to be critical of Williams, but Odunze’s father was quick to refute that claim.
“To clarify, this tweet was solely about Dan Orlovsky’s nonsense statement,” James wrote. “It’s not about anything else. PERIOD.”
Dan Orlovsky outlined some of the issues freshman quarterback Caleb Williams has faced
Odunze had just three catches on nine targets as the Bears went 1-1 over their first two games. Williams, his fellow rookie, has been predictably inconsistent, completing just 56 percent of his passes for 267 yards. What’s more, Williams has yet to throw a touchdown pass, though he has been intercepted twice.
Orlovsky’s criticism of Odunze also irked Bears fans, who had more faith in the former Washington Huskies star’s performances in Weeks 1 and 2.
‘Dan, I’m just curious, how many match clips have you actually watched?’ one fan responded to X. ‘I’ve seen at least 5 clips of Rome hitting his corner deep. Caleb just doesn’t have the time to get it out there with that line. This seems like a lazy, clickbait take to me with Caleb being the hot topic lately.’
Orlovsky did not appreciate it.
“Is this serious?” the former Connecticut Huskies star player responded.
The fan didn’t give up: “This couldn’t be more serious. After watching reporter after reporter spout off about Caleb ‘holding the ball too long’ when the numbers completely prove that’s not true, it’s pretty hard to take any of you guys’ opinions seriously.”
Orlovsky wasn’t done yet: ‘I watch every snap. Of every game. Every week. Always.’
