Blame was thrown around in every direction after what happened Sunday night in Houston. Allowing seven sacks and 11 hits on the quarterback is unacceptable in any environment. The Chicago Bears can’t let that happen if they want Caleb Williams to develop into who they hope he can be. Most of the blame was thrown at the feet of either the offensive line or offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. The former was because they kept losing their one-on-one blocks or failing to pick up stunts and blitzes. The latter because he failed to find solutions to the team’s dormant run game.
Fans weren’t the only ones echoing this. Former players said much the same thing. The line can’t make so many mental mistakes, especially along the interior. Waldron needs to do a better job keeping Williams out of straight drop-backs. However, the quarterback himself didn’t allow those thoughts to fester. At his Wednesday press conference, he made it clear that the problems up front started with him. Part of the issue on Sunday was that communication was not clear enough.
That starts with the quarterback.
“I’m always involved in communication. It starts with me and the center first. And then, throughout the game a few times, the clock got kind of low and I was on a different cadence that I didn’t want or shouldn’t have used with the clock being that low…
…There needs to be better communication between the coaches, the offensive line, and myself, making sure that we’re on the same page and that we’re making adjustments when we need to in game. You obviously have adjustments that you work [on] in practice throughout the week, but the other team’s job is to try to confuse you and throw different things at you with looks. Being able to adjust quickly. That’s the most important thing. It starts with communication.”
Caleb Williams continues to have his teammates’ backs.
It is becoming easy to see why guys in the locker room loved him at USC. Not only was he down to earth, but his selfless attitude as a leader made it easy to get behind. Moments like this are why Williams gained control of the Bears locker room so quickly. It would be so easy to throw the offensive line under the bus. Anybody with eyes would see he’s justified in feeling that way. That isn’t what good leaders do, though. When things go wrong, they take the blame. When things go right, everybody else gets the credit.
Many great quarterbacks learned this vital lesson over the years. It seems Caleb Williams already has it mastered. He also isn’t wrong. Communication is likely the primary issue plaguing the Bears protection. This isn’t about talent. It is more about mental errors and fundamentals. This is why people are so baffled. The ground wasn’t pretty solid last year. To see them struggle so much is both upsetting and confusing. Thankfully, there is time to fix the issues.
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I second that … …
Well, it couldn’t look or get any worse on the offense. I Hope. The offense has stumbled out the gate as predicted. It appears like a lot of them doesn’t know the playbook on the offensive side of the ball. Defense has been together playing the same scheme so they should look better. Torys looking as advertised. I think every time the defense sees him punt and reverse the field position it gets them juiced up. I actually think he was a large part of not getting blown off the field last weekend. Noon Sunday, Bear Down!
There are only eight fan bases that aren’t bitching about their team, because they are 2-0. And if they are anything like this group, there is still bitching going on. It’s two freaking games with a new offensive staff, a rookie QB, etc etc. We all know it will take a few games to get it comfortable and right for this offense to gel. If you have ever watched the NFL new offensive groups with rookie QBs typically struggle out of the gate. Especially when we have played 2 of the better defensive fronts, we will see. We are 1-1.… Read more »
Hey, Children of the Corn, open up your eyes and minds to recognize and accept that Bears’ problems are multiple in nature and start with Poles and travels on down to individual players. The Bears should win game #3, but only if they make the right adjustments, especially running the ball with 12 and 13 calls. If not, then some people might not make it to the easy game #4, nor should they.
This is gonna cause a pain in my soul but everyone……..R-E-L-A-X.