There were a lot of puzzling developments from the Chicago Bears’ regular season opener on the offensive side. For one, they held a rotation at right guard between Nate Davis and Ryan Bates. That seems reckless against a talented Tennessee Titans front. Yet easily the most baffling decision by offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was his usage of Cole Kmet. Here, you have a top-10 tight end in the NFL, and somehow, you give more snaps to Gerald Everett (34) than him (27). Kmet only had one catch for four yards.
Many Bears fans were upset about the decision, wondering if Waldron was favoring Everett because of their history together in Los Angeles and Seattle. One thing is certain. Kmet wasn’t happy about it. He spoke with Adam Hoge on The Eighty Five podcast about the situation. The tight end was careful with his words so as not to cause a ruckus, but it was plainly evident he felt he should’ve gotten more opportunities in that game. His production from last year alone justified it.
Cole Kmet has every right to feel upset.
The Bears just got done making him one of the highest-paid tight ends in the league. Both GM Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus have indicated he is a big part of the offense. So for him to only be targeted once in a game where the offense struggled must’ve felt frustrating. Kudos to him for not throwing anybody under the bus. He stayed professional with his comments, stating you have to stay unselfish if the team is going to have success. That said, he’s still a competitor.
Cole Kmet has said he knows his time in the NFL won’t last forever. Depending on his health, he probably has 4-6 more good years left. Nobody wants to spend that time as a part-time player mainly used for blocking, not when he knows he can be a legitimate weapon in the passing game. It will be interesting to see what happens on Sunday night in Houston. If Kmet again doesn’t get much action in the passing game, it will be time to start questioning what exactly Waldron is doing.
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I don’t know what’s going on with the organization but I do know I don’t like it. First you have the issues on the offensive line with Nate Davis. PFR says he graded out OK but his playing time gets limited as opposed to Shelton who struggled but played the whole game. Now you’ve got Kmet, who was one of our key players last year, having his playing time limited. I don’t know if there is some kind of internal power struggle or what going on but they coaches and upper management need to get on the same page and… Read more »
I don’t think Kmet has ever been described as a weapon. He’s slower than most weapon tight ends in the league, Kelce, Kittle, Andrews, etc etc. I would say he is a reliable route runner with good hands and a big body. He’s above average but not a weapon. I, too, was shocked he didn’t have more of a role in week 1.
Kmet will get his chances. This was Waldron’s first game as Bear’s OC. He had to watch Nate Davis ole-ing guys, and Coleman Shelton getting LB’s cleat marks all up and down the front of his uniform. Number 53 should really send Shelton a thank you note… But give Waldron time. All we heard when he was hired was that it was a genius move by Poles and Eberflus. Now, after one bad game, it’s one more game like that and we need to wonder what he’s doing? Seriously? It’s all on the OC and QB after one game? Maybe,… Read more »
Noticed Kmet didn’t get much usage. Kind of surprised given that Waldron is known for running a lot of 2 TE sets, sometimes even 3 TE. Given the performance of the OL, perhaps we should have seen a lot more Marcedes Lewis as well. Or, maybe Waldron has never had a top 10 TE before, and he thinks of TEs as decent blockers and decent pass catchers, and that’s it. If that’s the issue, Flus needs to get in his ear about using Kmet more. That, and the fact that he’s calling games for a whole bunch of new players,… Read more »
Did you mean good enough? How about a real breakout game against the Texans? The Bears need it to win.