When the offense scores only 12 points and your rookie quarterback gets sacked 15 times in two games, something has to change. Even Matt Eberflus seemed to recognize that reality after a dispiriting loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday at Soldier Field. The Chicago Bears head coach tried to maintain some form of continuity to ensure Caleb Williams wasn’t overwhelmed by constant changes. However, nobody could’ve predicted it would get this bad. Nowhere is the fury stronger than at Shane Waldron.
The embattled offensive coordinator has managed only two touchdowns in his last 30 drives dating back to the bye week. That includes 20 straight without one. Williams isn’t playing well. He looks skittish in the pocket and is holding the ball too long. The offensive line is a complete mess, overcome by injuries and a poor protection scheme. Worst of all, the supposed top group of wide receivers hasn’t achieved much of anything for weeks. Eberflus has to recognize his job is very much in jeopardy. He must do something.
Matt Eberflus doesn’t have many viable options.
The likely course of action is to hand the call sheet to passing game coordinator Thomas Brown. He has the most coordinating experience of anybody on the staff. He held the job for three years at the University of Miami and again last season in Carolina. He briefly took over play calls there as well. It didn’t go well. The Panthers failed to crack 300 total yards in any of the three games he called and never once cracked 200 passing. It wasn’t a totally fair situation to get dropped into, but it remains the only recent evidence to go on.
Brown is known for being a little more fiery in temperament and being demanding of his players. Perhaps that is the kind of jolt the Bears offense needs. It certainly can’t hurt. What they’ve been doing with Waldron isn’t working. Matt Eberflus has no choice. Another week of the same setup might finally convince Bears ownership to do something they never have, which is fire a head coach midseason. Somebody has to become the scapegoat. Waldron is the obvious choice.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
Well Skee you see, Caleb is a rookie. He’s played half a season as a professional QB. He’s already accomplished many things Fields could never do, in Fields 3 seasons as a pro. That dude cannot consistently pass the ball. So if by the 3rd season Caleb still plays like this, we’ll I’m sure there will be plenty of articles saying he was a mistake. But until then let’s atleast give him a full season before we call him a bust.
@Tred Thank you for stating the obvious, the wrong guy is building this team, Ryan Pole is a rookie GM, I think it starting showing last year.
I don’t understand this bling loyalty to Ryan Poles when the product on the field is soo very bad, someone please try to make this make sense…?
It’s funny how Mr. Lambert points out that Caleb Williams is doing the EXACT same thing Justin Fields did but there is no hatred of Caleb Williams by Mr. Lambert.
The hatred of Justin Fields by Erik Lambert will not be ignored by this lifelong fan, the writer has shown us all his personal feelings have a times polluted and infected his journalistic integrity, I say fire all the coaches and Erik Lambert…!
What happens this year doesn’t matter. It’s already a wasted year. Sure fire someone to look like you are holding someone accountable and to shake things up, but in reality it doesn’t matter. What matters is what they do in the off season. If Flus isn’t fired, and the Bears actually spend money to get a top candidate, and Poles doesn’t draft OL and Edge/DT in the 2025 draft then Poles needs to go to. Poles better build a freaking wall this offseason That is the only answer. No Ron Rivera or some re-tread HC. Get Ben Johnson, Robert Saleh,… Read more »
To those commenting that Poles building his team the wrong way, listing first SBs then LBs. Please tell me the name of 1 LB that Poles has drafted? Sure he likes his Defensive picks but LB is not one of them, or at least the position he’s been flooding. The LBs aren’t the problem either.