The Chicago Bears offense has tried to find their identity for almost a month now. Nothing seemed to work. They couldn’t run the ball or pass protect well. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron didn’t have any answers due in part to his unfamiliarity with his personnel and also his hesitance in disciplining his players. However, something shifted in the win over the Los Angeles Rams. Not only did Waldron become more vocal with players about their execution, but he also made a tweak to the team’s approach on the field.
It came after another sluggish first half in which they punted one each of their first three possessions. A defensive takeaway gifted them a short field for a touchdown, and they managed a field goal to end the half. After L.A. narrowed the gap to 10-9 early in the 3rd quarter, Chicago decided to institute a no-huddle offense. They went tempo for most of the second half, including their next two drives, where they scored touchdowns. Caleb Williams looked more confident when doing so, and the running game also found more lanes.
The Bears quarterback explained the thinking behind the shift.
“I think when you get in no-huddle, it doesn’t allow the defense to do what they want to do,” Williams said. “I think that’s the biggest thing with no-huddle. Whether it’s a personnel or certain front, like here today, this team that we played verse the Rams, they have so many different personnels with their fronts and things like that. When they get into different things, we want to make sure we can do our best to exploit it. They’ll have fronts sometimes where they bring in six bigs, six big D-linemen and things like that is what we call it. When they get into moments like that, being able to open the field up, go no-huddle, get them all tired, and then spread the ball around. Then when they take them out, run the ball.”
The Chicago Bears finally seized control on offense.
One of the biggest issues over the past three games was they too often let defenses dictate things. They couldn’t find any rhythm because opponents had time to craft elaborate pressure packages and constantly rotate fresh bodies in to keep up the pressure. Going no-huddle removes that advantage. Chicago didn’t allow Rams defenders time to adjust to change their personnel. That gave the Bears matchups to exploit. It also had the dual effect of wearing down the pass rush, giving Williams more time to deliver some big throws.
It was also a gutsy move. Going into that game, the rookie quarterback was just 14-of-29 for 139 yards and an interception on no-huddle plays. The Chicago Bears had enough confidence in him that he was ready for the shift. Williams delivered. This could be the identity the team was looking for. It is also something Waldron did well in Seattle. The Seahawks were 4th in the NFL in total plays run in no-huddle, gaining 847 yards on 173 plays. He seems to be back in his element now.
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