CHICAGO (WGN) — The dysfunction of the Chicago Bears coaching staff is plain for all to see, and it will only continue to hamper the development of the most talented and famous football player ever drafted by the franchise if left to continue as-is.
Nearly a month ago, I wrote that Caleb Williams had arrived and the Bears were a playoff-bound football team. While I will not walk back the stance that Williams is here and ready to be the man under center this city has long dreamed of, I will take my lumps on calling this team playoff caliber.
A combination of youthful talent and veteran experience litters the roster, but Chicago’s coaching staff is incapable of creating a game plan for success that will lead this team to the playoffs, with the lion’s share of the blame belonging to the offensive side of the ball.
Some things never change.
After three straight weeks where the Bears offense averaged over 31 points per game against the likes of the Los Angeles Rams, Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was gifted a bye to prepare for the Washington Commanders in prime time.
We all know how that one ended.
A week later, a team shell-shocked from Jayden Daniels to Noah Brown, was beaten down by the Arizona Cardinals in their most lopsided loss of the season where the offense looked listless and the defense was exposed how Chicago teams of old exposed opposing defenses — by running the ball straight down their throats.
Then came yesterday.
Standing squarely at 4-4 heading into a home game against a more than beatable opponent with a daunting schedule looming just over the horizon, a sense of urgency and enthusiasm should have permeated the Bears locker room.
Instead, a team that should have come out ready to play with their hair on fire against an inferior opponent, looked about as flat as a three-day old Pepsi left out to soak up the sun in Grant Park.
Against a team that’s struggled to get pressure on the opposing quarterback and stop teams from racking up yards and third down conversions, Chicago made the New England Patriots look like Vince Wilfork, Jerod Mayo and Rob Ninkovich hopped in a time machine and took us back to 2012.
The Patriots notched nine sacks against an offense that managed just three points and 142 total yards, the most a Bears QB had been sacked since Myles Garrett and the Cleveland Browns pounded Justin Fields into the mud back on a rain-soaked Sunday afternoon in September 2021.
If post-snap operations weren’t enough of a problem, there’s also the pre-snap operations. The Bears walked away from Sunday with a league-high 19 false start penalties, even though they already had their bye week (per The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain).
Amid the collapse of an offense that had palpable concerns heading into the season, head coach Matt Eberflus waited until Monday to admit there needs to be change in order to help fix the product that’s been put on display in recent weeks and “everything is on the table,” but he’s in no rush to make that change happen.
“There will be changes, adjustments being made [and] I’m not going to disclose those right now. I’m not at that point in the process,” Eberflus said.
Given the offense hasn’t scored a touchdown in 23 straight possessions and their next opponent is the Green Bay Packers, one might think quick decisions on play calling duties are needed, but the bigger problem at stake is how all of this affects the development of Williams.
In those three games against the Rams, Panthers and Jaguars, he threw for 650 yards with seven TD passes and one INT, looking every bit the part of a generational quarterback taken with the No. 1 overall pick.
But in recent weeks his decision making and confidence have shown cracks at times. Take this observation from SB Nation’s J.P. Acosta as one example where Williams hesitated to throw, despite him making the read with his primary option open at the top of their route.
If Eberflus and Waldron can’t simplify the offense’s operation to the point everyone is on the same page, and the offensive line can’t protect Williams from taking a beating every week, Bears fans are just going to be subjected to the same old song and dance routine of wasting premium talent at the quarterback position as the coaching wheel of ineptitude continues to spin.