Keeping the faith: Bears rookie WR Velus Jones Jr. has remained positive despite being inactive the last two weeks

If there is a heaven - and Velus Jones Jr. certainly believes that to be the case - then it's safe to assume his grandmother is smiling down upon him.

You see, Linda Jones - who passed away 10 years ago due to complications from breast cancer - was always talking to Velus about faith and perseverance.

"I was always in church," Jones told me in early October. "She was there every Sunday. Tuesday night. Thursday night. Man, she was up in there 24/7.

"As a kid, I'd go Sunday. Sometimes I'd even go to my aunt's church and have to go to Vacation Bible School. It was church, church, church. ... The way I was raised plays an effect on my life and my mindset and my mentality."

Jones' mental state could have deteriorated after the Bears' coaching staff benched the rookie WR against the Dolphins and Lions the last two weeks.

Instead, he stayed true to his grandmother's advice and remained positive.

"I'm a big believer in Christ and everything happens for a reason," Jones said Thursday as the Bears prepared to play at Atlanta on Sunday. "So (have) a positive mindset. If you go into any situation with a negative mindset, bad most likely will come your way."

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The Bears drafted Jones 71st overall, much higher than many experts figured he would go. Jones never posted eye-popping stats during his six college seasons, but he can run a 4.31 40-yard dash and that goes a long way with some personnel departments.

Jones' campaign got off to a rough start as he dealt with a hamstring injury during training camp. He made his season debut in Week 4 against the Giants - and promptly killed the Bears' comeback chances by muffing a punt late in the fourth quarter.

Two weeks later, Jones muffed yet another punt. This one came inside his 10-yard line and led to Washington's game-winning touchdown.

Although he played the next two weeks, Jones was yanked off the punt return team. Then came the trade for Chase Claypool, which put Jones in street clothes in Weeks 9 and 10.

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So what's going on here?

When a rebuilding team takes a player in the third round, you'd think like they'd want him on the field as often as possible. That's especially true when the WR room is completely bereft of high-end talent. (Dante Pettis is second among Bears wideouts with just 12 catches through 10 games).

But there's a lot more to it than throwing Jones out for 20 or 30 plays and hoping he gets it right. Maybe - and big emphasis on maybe - you get away with that if your QB is Aaron Rodgers.

In the Bears' case, they want the most reliable receivers on the field as they develop Justin Fields.

And right now, Jones is not one of those guys.

"You have to be on point with everything," said WR coach Tyke Tolbert. "He (doesn't) have the experience or the saviness to be able to do some things that some other guys can do. ... They've seen NFL-type coverages. ...

"You have to be able to have a presnap read of coverage and a post-snap read of coverage (because) the picture changes. All that (in combination with a DB) who's getting paid a lot of money to jam you and run with you. You've got to (also) see the safety at the same time and get your route depth.

"It's not as easy as, 'Go up the field 10 yards, turn right and catch the ball.' ... It takes some guys a little more time to master that than others."

• • •

Jones said he expects to play against the Falcons. He'll likely take over kickoff return duties for the injured Khalil Herbert and may even get another chance to return punts.

It will be interesting to see if offensive coordinator Luke Getsy lines Jones up in the backfield on occasion as well. Jones told us Thursday that he did play some running back in high school.

No matter how the rest of Jones' season unfolds, one thing former Bears WR Tom Waddle wants everyone to remember is that this first-year coaching staff is extremely patient.

It's also a staff that has made plenty of changes as they learn everyone's strengths and weaknesses. Over the first 10 weeks we've seen moving parts on the offensive line, more designed runs for Fields and a larger role for third-year TE Cole Kmet.

"This is a full rebuild. It takes time," Waddle said. "We live in this instant society where everyone wants everything now.

"On that note, I would look at Velus Jones and say they're not just pulling the plug on him and admitting a horrible mistake in the draft. They look at this as we're running a marathon here; we're not running a sprint.

"So why throw Velus out there if he's not comfortable in the offense and we're not comfortable with him in the offense? Why not just take this slow?"

Getsy and Tolbert were impressed with how Jones accepted the demotion and put in extra work after practice and in the film room.

No doubt Grandma would be impressed too.

"The things she taught me - life lessons about when to be serious, when to have fun and stuff like that - I carry throughout my life now," Jones said. "I appreciate her for the time I had with her. I miss her. ...

"A lot of people never thought I'd be in this situation. But it's not even about proving anybody wrong; it's about proving myself right. And that's the best feeling in the world. I am here now. They say it's even harder staying than making it.

"(I plan on) being a sponge, becoming a pro, studying and perfecting my craft in each and every single way."

By the numbers

<b>Bears' WR stats</b>Player Rec.-Yds. Avg. TD

D. Mooney 36-464 12.9 1

Dante Pettis 12-176 14.7 2

EQ St. Brown 11-164 14.9 1

N'Keal Harry 4-44 11.0 1

Byron Pringle 3-45 15.0 0

Velus Jones Jr. 3-24 8.0 1

Chase Claypool 3-21 7.0 0

Note: EQ St. Brown has 53 rushing yards on 5 attempts; Jones has 41 on 3 attempts; Pettis has 37 on 2 attempts