The Chicago Bears wanted to formulate a plan once they knew Caleb Williams would be their choice at the #1 overall spot in the NFL draft. One of the first things they had to do was start familiarizing him with the new offense under Shane Waldron. They used their designated Zoom meetings and top-30 visit to introduce the quarterback to the scheme, terminology, and concepts that would make up the system. It was a significant benefit for the Bears, giving them a head start on preparing the rookie for the upcoming season.
However, the Bears appear to be doing things a little less subtly. A common practice for teams when developing a young quarterback is spoon-feeding them the offense section by section. Give them a portion they like and can execute. Once that is absorbed, move on to the next stage. It appears Waldron and the rest of the coaching staff have no such plans. Matt Eberflus confirmed on Thursday that they are throwing Williams into the deep end, exposing him to the offense in its entirety.
“We’re not holding back. We’re giving him a lot of information. We’re giving him the offense and you want to be able to go through the whole offense before the off-season gets done, primarily most of it, and work it into the summer. We’ll have a plan for him there and work him into training camp and then go from there.”
Shane Waldron has a clear and understandable thought process.
The sooner he can learn and master the entire scheme, the better. They are willing to accept that there will be early moments of him looking overwhelmed by the vast amounts of information. He may not always make reads and checks quickly enough, but such hiccups are part of the process. Waldron believes Williams is smart enough to handle the load. He demonstrated such ability lots of times during his time at USC. Lincoln Riley didn’t run everything from the sideline as many college coaches do. He gave Williams plenty of freedom to make decisions. It is probably why quarterbacks who play for him usually end up finding NFL success.
Perhaps Eberflus learned a few lessons from how Justin Fields was handled in 2022. Luke Getsy may have tried to feed him the offense in stages, which led to struggles as a passer through much of that season. Shane Waldron had success in Seattle with Russell Wilson and Geno Smith. He was also with Sean McVay in Los Angeles when they developed Jared Goff. He wouldn’t take this approach with Williams if he didn’t think the young quarterback could handle it.
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@exsouthsider I’m sorry you have to rely on statistics to “prove” your points. Fortunately for ME, I have the ability to look past statistics and analyze all sorts of aspects of a situation. (I really could care less whatever area you want to attack me with or insults (your perception) you want to have at me. It had been said, many years ago, that a Black man could never be president (although there had been many Black men who were national leaders throughout history for many nations. Some of them were awful, some were good – people picked the awful… Read more »
S Waldron has tied his wagon to Caleb Williams from day 1, he knew Williams was going to replace J Fields before the draft, just as J Fields knew he was done in Chicago before the draft. The difference between Waldron and Getsy is simple, Waldron understands not every player is capable of executing the same generic game plan that previous players managed, and he knows how to make adjustments during the game that highlight the players strengths, something I am not sold on regarding Getsy.
@PoochPest Give it a rest – your JF man-crush is showing again. Everyone can see through your thinly veiled excuses. Again, you’re trying to make a (lame) point blaming Bears receivers and making excuses for a sorry QB. It’s been well documented numerous times JF looked right at an open receiver and still wouldn’t throw the ball. The 4th Q stats for JF proved how poor he was at QB. For QBs with 200 pass attempts since 2021, JF had the WORST passer rating in the NFL, the MOST interceptions in the NFL and the WORST completion % in the… Read more »
If you have a bunch of amateur receivers running around like chickens with their heads cut off, you hold onto the ball . . . a little longer.
It’s natural. Go to a playground and watch the kids. They look like they are running randomly. It takes some time to figure out what they are doing, and even then, it is difficult to anticipate what they’ll do.
However, it’s easier if you have a DJ Moore running routes you recognize.
That was the Bears under Getsy. Playground with kids
Erik Lambert highlights a section with: “Shane Waldron has a clear and understandable thought process.” Gee, ya think? Isn’t that what a coordinator is SUPPOSED to have? I went months excoriating Luke Getsy for a confusing, incoherent thought process while multiple people were criticizing Justin Fields for being “slow to process,” and “inability to throw on time.” EXACTLY!!!!! For anyone who has ever had a job, or worked with clients, it does not go well, if they don’t have a “clear and understandable thought process.” I’ve both worked and had clients. And I’m not the idiot just because they have… Read more »