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D’Andre Swift has been clear about his frustration level following a rough start for the Bears running game.

“It’s high,” Swift said after a Week 3 loss at Indianapolis. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it.”

That’s understandable for a player who has had success at every level, someone who may have had a bad game but never a series of them.

“He’s not totally happy that he’s not getting yards, but he’s not going to pout about it,” Bears running backs coach Chad Morton said on Thursday afternoon. “He’s not going to be angry and let his mood affect everybody else. He’s a pro. He’s still going to continue to work and he’s still going to push the envelope on trying to get better.”

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That’s the Swift way. He takes accountability if something doesn’t go right and then focuses on what he can do to improve.

That’s the mindset inside a proud and talented position group not happy about its current production. That doesn’t mean it’s doom and gloom in that meeting room.

“We are not going to change how we do,” Morton said. “Obviously, yeah are we a little bit disappointed about the production and not getting points? Of course. That’s part of football. But we are not going to pout about it. If anything, we are going to work harder. I’m going to push these guys to go even more, finish even further today, press it even more, take care of the ball more. We are never going to go the other way.”

Up is the only way this run game can go. It ranks 31^st in yards per game and yards per attempt.

That stat isn’t all on the backs. As an example of that, Swift if averaging 1.8 yards per carry and 1.7 yards after contact, meaning he’s regularly getting hit at, behind or just beyond the line of scrimmage. That means all yards are hard.

Running the ball well is an all-hands proposition that requires the right call, rush-lane creation at the line and on the second level, plus smart choices and technique by those carrying the football.

Each part of that effort has faltered at times, muddying the waters for those searching for a quick fix. It isn’t just one thing that must be corrected. The operation isn’t in sync, and that creates negative plays.

While run blocking has been a core issue in this endeavor and remains so, let’s focus this discussion on the backs themselves and go back to a meeting with Swift, the running backs and members of the offensive staff.

“They met with those guys in terms of fundamentals, technique, the partnership of that,” head coach Matt Eberflus said. “Really it’s pressing the hole, creating that for the offensive line, not coming out too fast and really pressing the hole and making your cuts off of there, and pressing the line of scrimmage. That was the main thing.”

The Bears have tried different carry splits, mixing Swift, Roschon Johnson and Khalil Herbert together over the last few games. Johnson performed better in Week 3, with 3.5 yards per carry as a more physical runner. Swift is a slasher who does well in space. Herbert is a blend of the two.

“Every running back has a different style,” offensive coordinator Shane Waldron said. “They’re not all going to be the exact same, and we want to embrace the different styles that everyone has. Different runs might come to life a little bit differently based on if it’s Swift, if it’s Roschon, if it’s Khalil, but the starting point is always going to be trying to press the heels of the O-linemen, working those one-cut runs, being aggressive into the line of scrimmage and then when big play opportunities happen, being great with ball security first but being able to work edges on second and third-level defenders looking for explosive runs.”

The Bears seem a million miles from that idealistic view, mostly because they haven’t put it on tape. It could happen on Sunday against an L.A. Rams run defense that ranks No. 25 through three games. It probably should’ve in Week 3 against a pliable Colts run defense, but continued struggles led to some raised eyebrows regarding Waldron’s run scheme and ability to mold it for function with the talent available.

“It really just matters how we block it up,” Johnson said. “It really doesn’t matter if it’s inside zone, wide zone, duo, gap scheme, whatever the case might be. It’s really just how we execute it. Sometimes we may execute it how it should be and it’ll be a good result, but sometimes we won’t. It’s really just up to us and execution.” 

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