LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Chicago Bears tight end Marcedes Lewis had a very direct and important message for offensive coordinator Shane Waldron when members of the team’s leadership council met with their play caller.
“From the oldest guy in the room — being me — to the youngest guy, don’t feel like you can’t coach us,” Lewis said. “I want to be coached. I want to be great. … This is not for play. This is our job. We understand that. It’s a high stressful, production-based business and we’ve all got to be doing the same things or everybody gets fired. Ego is supposed to be left at the door. That’s what it’s about. He’s very receptive to that.
“I think, obviously, coming in, we’ve got a bunch of dudes. Not just guys on the team or on this offense. We have dudes — dudes who have done it at a high level. Sometimes as the coach coming in, you might be walking on eggshells. I just kind of put that to bed. Nobody’s sensitive in here. We want to win games just as bad as you do. It’s a collaborative effort in everything. This is not Pop Warner. We work together, side by side to get things done. That’s really what my message was.”
That’s about as strong of a quote as you’ll get from an NFL locker room.
Lewis — a 19-year veteran who will set the NFL record for most games played by a tight end on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams — provided it at a time when the scrutiny of Waldron has intensified following the Bears’ 21-16 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
It’s been a tumultuous start for the Bears’ offense. After three weeks, the Bears rank 31st in rushing and 30th in total yards, while quarterback Caleb Williams has completed less than 60 percent of his passes for a passing rating of 65.3 and a QBR of 26.8.
Waldron opened his news conference by mentioning the energy and communication of his offense’s leaders: Lewis, Williams, tight end Cole Kmet and receiver DJ Moore. On Monday, coach Matt Eberflus discussed his meeting with Waldron at 6:30 a.m. that day to go through the tape of the loss to the Colts, where the third-and-goal play that included receiver DeAndre Carter blocking a significantly larger defensive end was specifically discussed.
“Again, that’s got to be a better call and a better matchup there,” Eberflus said.
It’s never a good sign when such interactions are brought up in news conferences. It’s always an indication that something isn’t working and that fixes are needed. But this is where the Bears offense is under Waldron’s guidance after three weeks.
There always seems to be something wrong with the Bears offense. After Week 1 against the Tennessee Titans, the playing time of Kmet became a topic. After Week 2 in Houston, it was the lack of a run game and problems in pass protection against the blitz. After Week 3 in Indianapolis, it was failing to score on the goal line, including using a speed option on fourth-and-goal from inside the Colts’ 1.
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“I got to be better in that situation — and I will moving forward,” Waldron said of that play call on fourth down.
The first part is taking responsibility for such calls. Waldron did that publicly on Thursday but he already took the right steps behind the scenes at Halas Hall.
“He stands up there and lists the plays that he could have called better,” Lewis said. “(Waldron) put its up on the board; we all see it. And I think that’s the best way to do it. I mean, we’re not kids, right? We respect that. Because everything is evaluated, especially from a player’s standpoint. Like we know we’re getting evaluated with whatever we’re doing out there. So when a coach throws himself in that pot of gumbo, then we’re all vested, we all have some skin in the game.”
It’s an endearing approach for the locker room. Quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph saw Waldron do the same when he was the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator.
“Accountability for all of us is good and he’s always been that person to stand in front of us as coaches and then we all stand there and say what we could have done better to better to help him,” said Joseph, who spent three seasons in Seattle with Waldron. “Because at the end of the day, it’s about us collectively coming together to make sure we’re going in the same direction but to help him throughout the course of a game in play calling. It’s hard. It’s not an easy task. But he’s always been that way, man.”
At some point, the Bears need all of these conversations about accountability, communication and self-evaluation to transform into chunk plays, highlights and touchdowns from the offense on game days. If not, the finger-pointing will spread and changes will happen.
The Bears hired Waldron after casting a wide net for offensive coordinators. Most of their candidates landed play-calling jobs elsewhere: Kliff Kingsbury with the Washington Commanders, Greg Roman with the Los Angeles Chargers, Zac Robinson with the Atlanta Falcons, Liam Coen with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Klint Kubiak with the New Orleans Saints. Kingsbury and Waldron, though, are the only two developing rookie quarterbacks.
After three weeks, Kingsbury has the edge over Waldron. The production matters. Jayden Daniels, the No. 2 pick, completed 21 of 23 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-33 victory for Washington over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3. Daniels has an 111.8 passer rating (fifth-best in the league) after his three starts; Williams is at 65.3.
Williams has plenty of time to change that.
He’ll need Waldron’s help, though.
The entire offense does. But Lewis has a message about that, too.
“At the end of the day, the coaches can’t be on the field with you,” Lewis said. “We’ve got that time in the film room where we can go over things, and we’ve got walk-throughs and all that. It’s about us as teammates being on the same page because that’s who is in between those lines. I think the coaches are doing a good job of having an open-door policy … and it’s on us to take that and take it to the field.”
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(Photo of Shane Waldron: Nick Cammett / Diamond Images via Getty Images)
