Shane Waldron didn’t exactly arrive with grace in his first few games as Chicago Bears offensive coordinator. His unit looked sloppy, disjointed, and downright lost at times in the first three games. Fans pointed the finger at him for not having players ready. If only they knew how deep that story goes. NFL Network reporter Stacey Dales appeared on 670 The Score with Mully & Haugh to discuss the team. When the topic of the offense came around, she revealed something difficult to absorb at first.
Apparently, Waldron did not script the opening drive of each game during the first few weeks. For anybody who has followed the NFL long enough, using a script of 12-15 plays to open a game is common practice. It helps an offense find an early rhythm, build confidence, and get quick points on the board. Bill Walsh was the first coach to popularize that approach. Waldron refused to do this despite knowing he had a rookie quarterback and a group of players still new to the system.
That is elite-tier negligence.
The player intervention saved Shane Waldron from himself.
It is hard to understand what he could’ve been thinking with that approach. Asking a rookie quarterback to wing it from the game’s opening drive is asking for trouble. Caleb Williams, D.J. Moore, Marcedes Lewis, and others recognized it wasn’t working. That is why they pulled Waldron aside to have a frank discussion. Over the past two weeks, the offense has looked much sharper early in games, and that momentum has carried into stronger overall performances.
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Lewis hinted that Shane Waldron was “walking on eggshells” around guys. He may not have felt comfortable installing a script because he wasn’t yet sure what his players could and couldn’t accomplish. If so, it’s a poor excuse. The job of the offensive coordinator is to exercise control over his unit. That means demanding crisp execution and making sure all 11 guys are on the same page. Waldron wasn’t doing that for almost a month.
What I remember of the first 3 games was an offensive line that didn’t know its blocking assignments and a QB not recognizing what the defense was showing and being able to get everyone on the same page. Was this a failure of the line coach not having his boys up to the speed on plays being called or the failure of the OC not recognizing this? Who knows, hopefully everyone is on the same page now.
@WhatDoIKnow: Nope, I’m not putting words in your mouth. You just said it yourself. “What I’m saying is that not scripting your plays as a historically bad offense’s brand new OC in the NFL with a rookie QB in one of the biggest media markets with a rabid fan base is a fireable offense.” That’s exactly what I thought you said. Let’s break it down. “… not scripting your plays …” That’s one way to run an offense. Bill Walsh found success with it. John Madden found success by letting his QB call plays on the field. Other HCs and… Read more »
This is a coaching mistake by Waldron for sure. But many of u bash Waldron and praise Flus. Let’s not confuse the fact that Flus is the head coach. This means he knew, and signed off on Waldrons decision to not script the first 10-15 plays. If he somehow didn’t know that was the plan, thats even worse. If u blame Waldron then u need to blame the HC just as much, if not more. Flus is not the DC, he’s the HC.
This just in, both the London Mayor and one of the leaders of the Liberal-Democratic Party support the intended goal of having an NFL team housed in the city whenever possible. The source is the Mirror. (The mayor and Jag’s owner have the same last name.)
@jmscooby — My expectations for Kevin Warren follow the course set by the Detroit Lions and their “non-football man.” The Lions President and CEO, Rod Wood (a former banking executive with Wilmington Trust Company and self-described “businessman”). Wood’s primary purpose is described on detroitlions.com as: “…Following organizational changes at the end of the 2020 season, Wood and (Principal Owner and Chair) Mrs. (Sheila Ford) Hamp set out to establish a new leadership vision for the Lions…” ___________ Personally, I have seen enough of Ryan Poles’ ego to recognize in him, exactly what Shannon Sharpe described, when he said: “Some NFL… Read more »