The Chicago Bears are trying to figure out what they are going to be on offense with coordinator Shane Waldron and rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. So far, the results are not impressive.
Through four weeks, the Bears offense is 25th in EPA/play and 25th in success rate. It did have a better performance against a struggling Los Angeles Rams defense (before that, the Bears were 28th in EPA/play), but they need to find ways to be more efficient.
One stat is particularly troubling. The Bears are, by a significant margin, the offense with the least amount of explosive plays over the first month of the regular season.
According to The 33rd Team's writer Marcus Mosher, Chicago has only produced 12 big plays — the concept of big plays are rushes for 10 or more yards, or passing plays for 20 or more yards. Nobody else has had fewer than 15.
The issue is more significant because the rest of the NFC North has been extremely productive in terms of big plays. The Green Bay Packers lead the NFL with 38, the Detroit Lions are fifth with 30, and the Minnesota Vikings are ninth with 27.
For Caleb Williams, it's possible to get better every week, and creating more explosives is an effective way of doing so.
"I think we're constantly getting better. I think there's a lot of new. Wide receivers, running backs, and quarterback, a few offensive linemen and all these different parts," the rookie quarterback said before the Rams game. "Us constantly having the encouragement mindset, but also the positivity that we see on the actual film. If you actually watch it and not get into all the emotions of the game. The positivity that we have, and the slow growth that we're having. We do need to get it going a little bit, more efficiently than we are. The growth and positivity that we have within the film that we've seen, and things like that over these past couple weeks."
Both areas
The biggest issue for the Bears is that the lack of explosives comes from both areas of the game. Of the 12 explosive plays, six are rushing and six are passing. Only two teams (Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams) have had fewer rushing explosives, and only one (the New England Patriots) have had fewer passing explosives.
"You have to adjust and move, you have to adjust and change. Meaning your offense has to adjust and change, but the concepts need to stay the same. In terms of dressing it up with formations and the way you move your protection, I think that needs to adjust every single week with how you are presenting to the defense," head coach Matt Eberflus said. "Our offensive coaches are doing that."
On Sunday, the Bears will have a good opportunity to try more huge gains. The Carolina Panthers are 26th in EPA/play and 28th in success rate — even if they run with coordinator Ejiro Evero a version of the two-high scheme developed by Vic Fangio and Brandon Staley.
