Normally, when the offense struggles, the offensive coordinator is the first person to come under fire. He is responsible for getting the most out of his players. When that doesn’t happen, fans won’t hesitate to call them out. Shane Waldron is already getting a taste of that from Chicago Bears fans after his unit stumbled through the first two games. Both were characterized by not being able to run the ball and allowing way too much pressure on quarterback Caleb Williams.
Waldron stated during his Thursday press conference that none of the problems have to do with talent deficiencies. It comes down to everybody not being on the same page. Communication and fundamentals haven’t been there. However, the coordinator also admitted something interesting. He seems to think a better job could be done by creating more variety in how the offense attacks. They might’ve been a little too static in what they’ve asked the players to do.
“For myself personally and us as a coaching staff, having good variety, a good mix of what we’re asking him to do. Having the run game come to life. Really being able to mix and match and play with some variety.”
Shane Waldron hasn’t been himself.
People forget that he built a reputation in Seattle for experimenting on offense. He wasn’t afraid to try different things to see if they worked. The sheer amount of straight drop-backs in the passing game and lack of misdirection in the ground game have made the Bears easier to stop. When you have a weaker offensive line, that is asking for trouble. It appears Waldron has acknowledged this. It will be interesting to see if he does something about it starting this Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.
The opportunity is there. Indy’s defense is banged up. Their best defensive lineman, DeForest Buckner, won’t play due to an ankle injury. Promising 1st round pick Laiatu Latu is dealing with a hip injury as well. If the offensive line can gather itself, Shane Waldron might be able to unleash some of that creativity he unveiled in Seattle. It would certainly get some people off his back.
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Here’s a thought: put the best Bears players on the field — rather your friends and family members.
. . .oh yeah — and have Caleb start plays from under center a bit more often.
At least Waldron is aware that things need to change now and not wait until the bye week to do his evaluations. That’s a positive for me. Let’s hope we see big improvement soon. In all honesty, I wasn’t expecting the offense to start looking decent until about Week 7 or so, but I was expecting more right off the bat though.
Perfect. The “Let’s see what sticks” philosophy doesn’t work for cooking spaghetti, but it sure sounds like a solid offensive game plan!