Normally, when the offense struggles, the offensive coordinator is the first person to come under fire. He is responsible for getting the most out of his players. When that doesn’t happen, fans won’t hesitate to call them out. Shane Waldron is already getting a taste of that from Chicago Bears fans after his unit stumbled through the first two games. Both were characterized by not being able to run the ball and allowing way too much pressure on quarterback Caleb Williams.
Waldron stated during his Thursday press conference that none of the problems have to do with talent deficiencies. It comes down to everybody not being on the same page. Communication and fundamentals haven’t been there. However, the coordinator also admitted something interesting. He seems to think a better job could be done by creating more variety in how the offense attacks. They might’ve been a little too static in what they’ve asked the players to do.
“For myself personally and us as a coaching staff, having good variety, a good mix of what we’re asking him to do. Having the run game come to life. Really being able to mix and match and play with some variety.”
Shane Waldron hasn’t been himself.
People forget that he built a reputation in Seattle for experimenting on offense. He wasn’t afraid to try different things to see if they worked. The sheer amount of straight drop-backs in the passing game and lack of misdirection in the ground game have made the Bears easier to stop. When you have a weaker offensive line, that is asking for trouble. It appears Waldron has acknowledged this. It will be interesting to see if he does something about it starting this Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.
The opportunity is there. Indy’s defense is banged up. Their best defensive lineman, DeForest Buckner, won’t play due to an ankle injury. Promising 1st round pick Laiatu Latu is dealing with a hip injury as well. If the offensive line can gather itself, Shane Waldron might be able to unleash some of that creativity he unveiled in Seattle. It would certainly get some people off his back.
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Not to defend Waldron, but maybe only getting 45 snaps with his starting QB, and having his veteran starters benched during most of the 4 preseason games didn’t help him figure things out?
Just a thought.
@Skee I think you are correct on both accounts. That’s why at #9, I had LTs Alt and Fashanu sandwiching WR Odunze as draft preferences. One of them could have taken Jones LT spot. Jones could play LG or be the swing T, Teven could return to RG. or Wright could go to RG and Borom takes over at RT, if Teven gets injured again. Quite simple, really.
Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed how Darnell Wright gets beat with speed, and Braxton Jones gets bulled rushed with ease, I know most of the talk has been regarding the interior of the O-Line, but the tackles have looked bad also, I’m really surprised how bad Darnell Wright has played so far, I thought he would be solid, he looks big and slow.
Anyone notice how the NYJ O-Line last night pushed the line forward at the snap, they got good push on the defense.
Our O-Line gets pushed backwards at the snap, it’s pathetic.
Shane Waldror calling pathetic plays is also a factor no matter how he attempts to spin that dumpster fire of an NFL offense, Luke Getsy had our offense in much better shape, I’m ready to move on from Shane Walderman.
In Waldron’s presser, he complimented himself for calling plays quickly as if that was the concern most of us have! Then he went off on his “mix it up” rant. He never addressed WHY the OL is struggling.
I agree with @Byron, the OL looks confused, and the OL coach is responsible! BTW, how many slants, QB rollouts or extra blockers did Waldron call?
ALL of us know that defenses will continue to BLITZ until the OL protects Caleb. So, Waldron must be held accountable for taking steps to deal with pressure.
Would you agree???