Matt Eberflus is taking most of the heat for Sunday’s loss to the Washington Commanders. Shane Waldron should be grateful for that because otherwise, it would be him. People haven’t forgotten the fact his offense stunk up the stadium for three quarters, barely eclipsing 30 yards passing. Of course, that pales in comparison to the all-time blunder moment when trailing 12-7 at Washington’s 1-yard line, Waldron opted to call a fullback dive to backup offensive lineman Doug Kramer instead of either running back.
Predictably, the untried Kramer fumbled the exchange with Caleb Williams, giving it back to Washington. Everybody in attendance and watching at home was baffled by the call. Some former players called it the dumbest they’d ever seen. Waldron was finally asked about it during his presser on Thursday. When given an opportunity to accept responsibility that it was a bad call, he doubled down instead.
Shane Waldron won’t get much respect that way.
Not just from the fans but from his own players. Remember D.J. Moore even admitted after the game that he didn’t know what the coaches were thinking with that call. If he thought it, you can bet others did, too. For Waldron to dig his heels in and insist it was a sound decision at that stage of the game is hard to understand. People will reference how it worked for the Bears with William Perry in 1985. True, but the circumstances were different.
- The Bears were at home.
- It was the 2nd quarter, not the 4th.
- It was a tie game, not one they trailed.
Shane Waldron got cute at the worst possible time, and it helped cost his team the game. If the Bears score there, get the ball back as they did on the next drive and score again? There wouldn’t have been any Hail Mary. It has become clear that Waldron might be a little in over his head. In Seattle, he had the benefit of veteran quarterbacks and a Hall of Fame head coach shielding him. Now, in Chicago, where the fanbase and media profile are much larger, he isn’t handling the pressure well.
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The guy in the picture is thinking, “where did I park”?
@David Please go to Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan where innocent civilians are getting killed by the thousands. Your job is to go there and report on how good things really are going for them. I know you will do it quite well.
@Tred As skeptical as I remain about Caleb’s “generational” potential, even I won’t put the blame for that particular failure on him. Waldron called it and Caleb did what he was supposed to do: Turn around and give the ball to a ball carrier who’s playing out of position. It’s a dumb play that’s going to result in a disaster much more than the average. The purpose of those gadget plays is to demoralize and humiliate an opponent by making them the subject of ridicule on SportsCenter and in every fantasy football forum. They DO have a purpose. Their purpose… Read more »
@Veece Blame for the players is fine . . . . AFTER you blame management and look at how the coaches are doing. According to that logic, some teams have all the luck finding quality players at every level who can step up in instances of injury, free agency or trades. How did the Ravens do last year when Marc Andrews went down? Isaiah Likely? Likely never heard of him before. What happens with the Niners when Christian McCaffery can’t play? Or the Rams uncovering Puka Nucao or the Bills coming up with Keon Coleman. Keon Coleman? His name doesn’t… Read more »
Someone here will blame Caleb Williams for this, I’d bet on it. After all, we can’t have accountability from our OC, right?
And our HC can’t take accountability for allowing it…
And our GM can’t be asked to step in and ask these jokers, “WTF are you clowns doing?!”
No, that would actually be too close to asking for accountability from EVERYONE. Can’t have that, right? I mean accountability? That’s only for Tyrique Stevenson, and players who question the coaching, right?