Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron approached the lectern at Halas Hall on Thursday knowing he’d be getting a lot of questions. That happens when your offense gains 148 yards of offense and doesn’t score a touchdown.
Waldron spoke for nearly 17 minutes, and while he lauded the team for not turning the ball over and successfully running a four-minute drill, he did point the finger inward when asked about the topic of the week — the Bears’ personnel usage.
“Just in terms of the flow of the game, starting with me, stuff we can do a better job of is getting us into a better rhythm,” he said. “We get in some of those games where we get in a little bit of an up-and-down rhythm … some of those personnel pairings that we’re looking to get to really didn’t play out the way we were hoping to as far as the course of the game.”
As far as tight end and team captain Cole Kmet and his 27 snaps, Waldron said, “We know Cole is one of the top tight ends in the league. He does a great job for us. He has done nothing but the right thing ever since I’ve been around him. So, that’s more on us, starting with me, getting the reps a little bit more balance. But it also goes back to playing efficient football.”
The Bears’ top three wide receivers, Rome Odzune, Keenan Allen and DJ Moore were on the field together for only 24 snaps. Add in the rotation at right guard, and no group of 11 players was on the field together for more than six plays against the Tennessee Titans.
As Waldron alluded to, when you get only 11 first downs, it’s not easy to be efficient in any aspect of your offense, including player usage. The Bears were 2-for-13 on third down. A lot went wrong, but coming off a win, tough conversations had to be a little easier, which is important when making corrections because the Bears aren’t leaving Houston on Sunday night with a win if their offense puts together another dud.
“It’s way better because everybody’s in a good mood, everybody’s smiling correcting you instead of looking at you all mad and like ‘we should have done this’ and ‘should have done that,’” Moore said. “But coming off a win, it’s easier to really understand what happened.”
Now, on to your questions.
Caleb missed some throws that he usually (or at least should) hit, plus there were a few bad drops. Do we think that the problems with the passing game we saw are a quick fix or are there fundamental issues there? — Nathan B.
Williams said there were about six throws that, “If we would have hit those, everything would have seemed a lot different.” One specific part of his game he wants to improve is his dropbacks, which he felt were rushed.
“One specific route that I can think of is Rome when, I think it was a 10-yard route right over the ball, and I rushed my drop and tried to juice it in there a little bit and missed,” he said. “I didn’t need to. Just trying to hurry up and get the ball to him, getting it in his hands as fast as possible so he can make magic and do what he does. Just making sure I’m trusting the drop, trusting the reads … and getting through them. I would say that’s probably the biggest thing that I’m focused on.”
It seems, based on that and what we know about Williams, that these should be quick fixes. Rushing a dropback, which will affect footwork, is a pretty natural reaction to an NFL debut against a defensive line that was winning more often than not, especially up the gut. Now, that’ll be a test on Sunday night, this time mainly from the Texans’ edge rushers, Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson.
“For him, that starts with the trust of himself and everyone around him,” Waldron said. “Going in and having all the confidence in the world in Darnell and Braxton on the edge and knowing that’s a great starting point for us. Now you can play with those clean feet, playing a clean rhythm, because you do have that great trust in everybody around you.”
A lot went wrong for the Bears offense in Week 1, but Williams was seeing it well. He wasn’t making the wrong read, and he didn’t turn the ball over. We know how accurate Williams can be. I lean more toward a rapid improvement as opposed to a fundamental issue, but each week will present a new challenge.
What do the Bears need to do to go on the road and beat a good Texans team? What are the chances Caleb outperforms Stroud? — Tommy W.
They need to do a lot. Before even getting to Stroud, they have to stop the run. Joe Mixon had a league-high 159 yards rushing last week. The Bears did a better job with their run fits after halftime against the Titans but had some misses in the first half when Tony Pollard had nine carries for 64 yards. The strength-against-strength matchup in this game will be Stroud and his receivers versus the Bears’ secondary. Assuming they avoid cornerback Jaylon Johnson, it’s going to be mostly on Tyrique Stevenson and Kyler Gordon to avoid giving up the big play.
Stop me if you’ve heard (or read) this before, but until the Bears offense shows me something, this is a game they’d have to make ugly and low-scoring to win.
Now, we can probably chalk up Week 1 as a fluke. The offense won’t be that bad. But they should get running backs D’Andre Swift and Khalil Herbert going more and set up some easy throws for Williams against a good pass rush. For Williams to outperform Stroud, which is certainly possible (it is the NFL after all), getting in a rhythm will be key. He can gain some confidence on the road and make plays like he did at USC. The best thing going for the Bears in the Williams vs. Stroud matchup, though, is likely Eberflus’ defense, but that group hasn’t had a ton of success against the upper-echelon QBs.
🟠 Orange Mode Activated 🟠 pic.twitter.com/n3T30HEioF
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 11, 2024
Our offseason moves indicate a balance between fielding a competitive team now and ramping up to build a sustainable long-term contender. Recognizing these goals aren’t entirely zero-sum, has Week 1 shifted that balance at all? Has seeing the product live on the field and surveying some of the early conference landscape (including some unfortunate injuries to competitors) moved you or the front office in either direction? — Joseph M.
When the Bears signed safety Kevin Byard, it was GM Ryan Poles’ first addition of someone that late in his career to be a starter. Then he traded for Allen. Both those moves signified a team in Year 3 of a rebuild and ready to compete. I do think Poles has operated in a way of, as you said, trying to be competitive in the present and help for the future. Take the Montez Sweat trade or even Chase Claypool. Poles identified a need at a premium position and players who were available, so he paid a draft pick for, in Sweat’s case, the right to not have to negotiate against other teams.
I don’t think the result in the opener, or whatever happens on Sunday night, will change Poles’ philosophy. Those Claypool and Sweat trades happened on teams that weren’t competing for the playoffs. One would think that if this year’s Bears are in the mix come the trade deadline, Poles won’t be afraid to make a move. What might make this year different is if Poles targets an older player at the deadline, a clear one- or two-year rental, as opposed to someone like Sweat who will be here for a while.
What was the deal with Roschon Johnson being inactive? Lack of preseason reps? Something else? It seemed like the Bears could have used a short-yardage/between-the-tackles runner and I thought Roschon could be that guy. — Ryan G.
It wasn’t a great day for Poles’ 2023 Day 3 draft picks. Johnson, Tyler Scott and Noah Sewell were all inactive. Johnson battled injuries throughout camp and was limited during practice last week. My guess is he wasn’t fully healthy, so let’s see what happens this week, as he hasn’t been on the practice report.
Travis Homer does have more experience in Waldron’s offense from his time in Seattle, but Johnson was the two-minute back when he was healthy in camp. That was his role last season and I’d expect him to retain it, but we’ll see what happens Sunday night. I’m also wondering if Herbert gets more touches. He played only six snaps in the opener.
Is it possible the Bears address their interior offensive line by getting Kiran Amegadjie, when healthy, reps at guard? It seems like an easier position for a rookie to learn and the offensive tackles appear to be less of a question mark entering Week 2. — Robert K.
There were a couple of questions about the third-round rookie this week. Amegadjie can play guard. He did earlier in his career and that versatility was one of the things Poles liked about him. I imagine they’ll cross-train him a bit and see where he projects best in the NFL, but whether he’s a guard or a tackle, it’s probably going to take some time. We’re talking about a rookie who played at Yale who missed nearly all of training camp and didn’t take any preseason snaps. It wouldn’t surprise me if Amegadjie remains inactive at least through the bye week. Ryan Bates didn’t practice on Thursday, which doesn’t bode well for his chances to play Sunday night, or at least to play at a high level.
I have a non-football question. The stadium strategy. Can you explain why the Bears are entertaining playing at a stadium owned by someone else in Chicago — instead of owning their own stadium, with all those stadium revenue sources — plus that entire entertainment, hotel and possible sportsbook revenue stream in Arlington? What is the financial draw that Kevin Warren has expressed regarding Chicago over Arlington? — Barry B.
I cannot. No one has explained why a stadium downtown would be more financially beneficial than one in Arlington. It’s a great question. As far as I can tell, the draw to Chicago is, simply, Chicago. And there’s something to be said for being in the city, don’t get me wrong, but financially speaking, I have no idea what the benefit is. I’m happy for someone to enlighten me in the comments.
Bears-Texans fun facts
• The Bears are 2-4 all time against the Texans, having won back-to-back games in the series in 2020 and 2022.
• The Bears are 0-2 in Houston. The last time they played there was the 2016 season opener, a 24-13 loss. It was one of three losses to Brock Osweiler with three different teams.
• Eberflus went 7-2 against the Texans during his time as Colts defensive coordinator, including a win in the 2018 wild-card game.
• The Bears have lost seven “Sunday Night Football” games in a row dating to a December 2018 win over the Rams. They have lost nine road SNF games in a row. Their last win on Sunday night away from home came on Sept. 14, 2014, over the 49ers in Santa Clara.
• The Bears’ record on SNF is 18-30 and 11-20 on the road.
• The Texans haven’t been on “Sunday Night Football” since 2019. Stroud had played in one prime-time game in his career, the 2023 season finale and defacto AFC South championship, a 23-19 win over the Colts.
Game picks: Bears (+6.5) at Texans, 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC
Kevin Fishbain: Texans 29, Bears 19
(1-0 straight up, 0-1 against the spread)
I’m not expecting all the trends about the Bears on Sunday night, or as big underdogs (they’re 3-34 as 6.5-point-or-more dogs since 2016) to fit for this 2024 team, but this isn’t a great matchup. The Bears are on the road for their rookie QB’s second start against a team that’s impressive in all three phases. Barring a total Montez Sweat takeover, this will be too tough an upset to pull off.
Adam Jahns: Texans 23, Bears 20
(1-0, 1-0)
This game should be competitive. If the Bears defense forces more than one takeaway, it’s easy to see this score flipped. But C.J. Stroud is the better quarterback right now and he’s got good receivers to target. Caleb Williams and the offense will find the end zone. It’ll help to have more tape on DeMeco Ryans’ defense. But Texans pass rushers Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter will cause problems either way.
Dan Pompei: Texans 26, Bears 17
(1-0, 0-1)
The Bears are going to have to play so much better on offense than they did one week ago to keep pace with C.J. Stroud and friends and win this one. It won’t be easy against the Texans, who have more talent, more experience and a home crowd that should be really fired up.
Jon Greenberg: Texans 24, Bears 23
(1-0, 1-0)
A barnburner in Houston. Caleb Williams breaks into triple digits in passing yards but also throws his first interception. I also predict I’ll be very tired after spending Friday and Saturday in Las Vegas.
(Top photo of Cole Kmet: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
