Bears have made a key play-calling adjustment
Everyone knows the confident person who says, “nah, I'm just going to wing it,” the night before a big presentation. Their aplomb is admirable, but it can sometimes be rendered completely invalid by the time the demonstration is done. The Chicago Bears' offensive coordinator learned this the hard way after a rough start to the 2024-25 season.
Shane Waldron was not scripting the team's first 15 plays of the game like many other OCs choose to do, which is particularly unconventional given that the Bears have a rookie quarterback. He is adapting nicely, however, changing his philosophy after some offensive players addressed their concerns.
Chicago is riding a three-game winning streak and scored a combined 71 points against the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars. Lighting up the two most hapless squads in the NFL should temper excitement to a degree, but those are the type of decisive victories the Bears need if they are going to truly take the next step this season.
Wide receiver DJ Moore believes that the decision to script the beginning plays is making a big difference in terms of offensive cohesion and preparedness, even though the team is still starting slow in games.
“You can go into the game knowing the set plays that we have to go in and just be on the details,” he told the Mully and Haugh Show, per Audacy.com. “(You don’t have to worry about) being shocked by a play call that we may have not run as much in the week, so having that first 15 is a big deal.”
To clarify, Waldron was not entirely working off the cuff on early drives. He was picking from a set of opening plays that Chicago rehearses at practice. The Bears obviously prefer some extra structure and balance, however.
Matt Eberflus weighs in on Bears' approach
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“We always have openers that we practice,” head coach Matt Eberflus said. “And that’s a big part of it. So, we have several plays listed as openers. Openers are plays that you’re going to use on first and second down, and obviously you go to your third-down script based on distances. “That was just more of a communicating with a leadership of the offense, with Shane and myself, to be able to put those in order – put those in order so the guys knew exactly what play 1 was, play 2, so forth and what the first third-down plays were, kind of working that way.”
Regardless of what the reason is, the offensive game plan has been far more successful as of late. Shane Waldron is effectively utilizing quarterback Caleb Williams and the team's impressive pass-catching group. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft is exhibiting supreme accuracy and poise in the pocket, completing more than 79 percent of his passes for 226 yards and four touchdowns in Sunday's 35-16 drubbing of the Jaguars.
A Week 8 matchup with the Washington Commanders may test the strength of Chicago's modified attack, considering how productive the Jayden Daniels-led offense has been over the last month, but the Bears are meshing well right now. Following a triumphant London adventure, they have the bye week to continue perfecting their blueprint.
