Anybody with common sense didn’t expect the Chicago Bears offense to bust out of the gate. They knew the team had a rookie quarterback to break in and were installing a new system under Shane Waldron. Things might look a bit clunky at first. However, nobody expected it to look this bad through two weeks. The Bears are 32nd in passing and 28th in rushing. Williams has been sacked nine times behind an offensive line plagued by mental errors. Running back D’Andre Swift has not helped despite his healthy contract in free agency. Injuries have already struck their revamped receiving corps. Nothing is going right.
Much of the blame is falling on Waldron. Former players and film experts have pointed out his inability to get everybody on the same page to help Williams. New data released by analytics expert Steve Patton alluded to a key problem. One thing good offensive coordinators do is spam what is called the “easy button.” This is where they incorporate a large portion of run-pass options, play action, motion, and screens in order to avoid having their quarterbacks do straight drops.
Waldron has been among the league’s worst at doing this through the first two weeks.
Shane Waldron isn’t living up to his reputation.
Throughout his time in Seattle, he was known for experimenting with different ways to attack defenses. He wasn’t afraid to get creative. In 2023, the Seahawks had the fifth-most passing attempts off of play action and 14th in run-pass option plays. Even more baffling is that Seattle also ranked 7th in motion percentage before the snap. Where has all of that stuff been the past two weeks? He has instead asked his rookie quarterback to take several straight drops behind an offensive line that clearly can’t block effectively that way.
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The good news is the season is young. Chicago is 1-1 despite such an ugly start for the offense. Shane Waldron has time to make adjustments and figure out what his players do best. The schedule also appears to soften, with four straight winless opponents over the next month. If ever there was a time to make adjustments and figure out the kinks, it is now. If Waldron can’t do that, the Bears may have to re-evaluate what exactly he brings to the table.
How do you get Caleb up to speed immediately? Simple, hire the guy whose offense was not better than Getsy/Fields except that his offense committed more penalties last year.
Look at the bottom of this list: Mr. Screen himself, Luke Getsy.
I would definitely like to see more play-action or quick slants to hold the defense at bay a little bit. Roschon has to get some playing time after this week; he has exactly ZERO offensive snaps this season! That’s ridiculous! Even Velus has more offensive snaps than him, and Roschon is the best blocking back we have by far!
Has Waldron ever worked with a rookie quarterback? It’s different when you help resurrect a veterans career but it seems like he is just spit balling trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t right now. Should have a plan week 1, or it’s an issue that he doesn’t have the offensive line he had in Seattle so he’s trying to see what works. I haven’t seen nearly enough 2 tight end sets to chip, roll outs, slants or even an attempt at running right up the middle.
It’s painfully obvious the hiring of Shane Waldron was a mistake.
Luke Getsy was more effective last year, you’d think Shane Waldron just entered the NFL, I don’t care about what he did last year.
This year he has us looking like cream puffs on offense, we need to find a new O.C., maybe a new GM on down…?
Well, there IS some positive news. Guess who is in the top 5 in passer rating? Justin Fields. Looks like we just might have a shot at that 4th round pick. Speaking of 4th round picks, why in the name of Walter Payton is Roschon Johnson riding the bench? He has 81 career carries and a 4.3 yard average. Since Swift can’t get any yardage behind this line, why not use the bigger, stronger guy? And then there’s Tyler Scott. He ran a 4.4 in college and was comped to TY Hilton before the draft. But he rides the bench… Read more »