One thing this Chicago Bears regime talked about from the beginning was establishing a culture of accountability. GM Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus didn’t want a building filled with people who pointed fingers at others when things went wrong. Guys need to hold themselves to a higher standard. That meant having enough self-respect and awareness to admit when they make mistakes. It would be interesting to see if new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron fits that profile.
It didn’t take long to find an answer to that. Waldron didn’t have the best first game for the Bears. His offense appeared off-kilter throughout opening day against the Tennessee Titans. They couldn’t sustain drives or score points. The run game was stymied, and quarterback Caleb Williams was erratic. Yet perhaps the most puzzling development was Waldron’s personnel usage. Tight end Cole Kmet, one of the Bears’ best weapons, only played 28 snaps. Meanwhile, his backup, Gerald Everett, played 34. When asked to explain, Waldron admitted some of that was mismanagement on his part.
“We know Cole is one of the top tight ends in the league. He does a great job for us. He has done nothing but the right thing ever since I’ve been around him. So, that’s more on us, starting with me, getting the reps a little bit more balance. But it also goes back to playing efficient football. And when we’re doing that, not getting titled out of some of the plays we wanted going into that game.”
Shane Waldron is in somewhat uncharted territory.
People need to remember he’s installing a brand new offense with totally different personnel than what he had in Seattle. Also, don’t forget he spent his three years there working with nothing but veteran quarterbacks. He is now dealing with a rookie, and that comes with a new set of challenges. He probably expected a smoother operation than what the Bears achieved and had personnel packages in mind that Kmet would’ve been a part of. Unfortunately, the constant punts threw everything out the window.
Moving forward, getting Kmet more involved is a must. He is too talented of a player not to. Shane Waldron isn’t dumb. Making adjustments to do this shouldn’t be too difficult, especially with two of his wide receivers nursing injuries. It will probably take a few weeks before the Bears find that sweet spot in personnel deployment. Kmet should be a key part of the attack. He already has Williams’ trust. The key is finding creative ways to get him more involved.
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@Skee Add the QBs and WRs problems too. Thus, Bears had to go with good RBs and the rushing game, thereby settling for FGs rather than TDs.
Someone send Waldron the Memo that Erik thinks he has no character. Why else is it so “Surprising” that he took the blame??
I would love to see a poll of top QBs that were asked if you had to choose between a top OL and mid tier WRs or top WRs and mid tier OL which would they rather go with? I kinda feel I know the answer but curious to see what the pros say.
…continued: Waldron makes two massive systemic errors: (1) he had a poor offensive game plan that seemingly did not take into account the Bears obvious weaknesses versus the Titans main strengths, and (2) he failed to adjust the offensive game plan based on how poorly it played out in the first half. No excuses! This is NFL pro-football on a big day and large stage. Extremely fortunate that the D and STs played so well. I am just glad Ms. Virginia and Mongo were still alive and able to celebrate the ending victory.
It’s 2 things that have been driving fans crazy with this team for years and that is lack of compotent offensive Coordinators in addition to weak offensive lines.
The offense can’t function if the offensive line can’t protect, this is like a recurring bad dream for bears fans.