The Chicago Bears’ rushing attack was by far the biggest surprise (and disappointment) of the early 2024 season. Remember, this was a team that finished second in rushing last year. Though Justin Fields was a key part of that, the team’s running backs found room regularly. People can’t understand what happened. This is virtually the same offensive line from last year, with an almost identical running back room. The only significant change this off-season was at offensive coordinator, going from Luke Getsy to Shane Waldron.
That is why the latter has been getting a lot of heat from fans lately. They blame his scheme and inability to discipline his players for the constant snafus. However, former scouting director Greg Gabriel has a different assessment. Sure, there have been some individual mistakes that haven’t helped matters, but the overarching reason for the Bears’ rushing woes is far simpler than that.
The short answer is that opponents stack the box with extra defenders on every run play.
So, how are they stopping the run? All three teams are doing what we very seldom see in the NFL, and if the Bears had a veteran quarterback, the opponents couldn’t do it. Teams are playing seven, eight, and nine players in the box on all run downs. The safeties aren’t playing deep, either. In many cases, they are only back 8-10 yards off the line. Five linemen cannot block eight or nine players, and I don’t care if all five linemen are Pro Bowl caliber; it isn’t happening.
In the first half of the Colts game, there were 15 plays in which the Colts had eight in the box and another six when they had nine! Add to that an additional nine plays against seven in the box. In today’s NFL, most defenses put no more than six in the box, and obviously, that makes the run game go easier as defenses try to defend the pass.
After I watched the Colts’ tape, I went back to see if Tennessee and Houston did something similar, and guess what? They did. They didn’t play nine, but they sure as hell played seven and eight on almost all run downs. My friends, no team can run against that kind of defense; if Caleb Williams had the experience, he would rip that scheme apart, but he is a rookie going through typical rookie growing pains, and it will get better. It will be sooner rather than later.
The Chicago Bears seemed to figure some things out last week.
It may have happened too late to salvage the game against the Colts, but the signs were there. One involved benching D’Andre Swift in favor of Roschon Johnson. The bigger, stronger Johnson was able to run through tackles better. On the Bears’ final drive of the game, he had runs of 12 and nine yards. The other part was quarterback Caleb Williams starting to gash Indianapolis with chunk passing plays. This forced them to lighten the box, trying to contain D.J. Moore, Cole Kmet, and Rome Odunze. It didn’t work. Chicago scored anyway.
This explains the recent rumor that the Chicago Bears likely plan to feature Johnson more in the coming weeks. Swift is a great athlete with speed and versatility, but he’s just not equipped to attack loaded boxes. He doesn’t have the strength or the vision. Johnson is the type who can grind out yards, keeping the Bears ahead of the sticks. If Williams’ evolution continues as hoped, opponents won’t be able to use this strategy for much longer. That is when the running game should get on track.
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Can someone ask Greg to let Waldron know they’re stacking the box on running plays? I’m not confident he has the ability to determine that, or counter it, on his own.