Bears Overreact: Will OL Waste Caleb Williams’ Rookie Year? Early Charges Against Shane Waldron?

Bears Overreactions: Will OL Caleb Williams Waste His Rookie Year? Early Charges of Shane Waldron? originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

The start of the Caleb Williams era in Chicago looked eerily similar to some Bears eras of the past.

The quarterback and offense struggled to get out of neutral, while a dominant defense led them to a wild 24-17 comeback victory over the Tennessee Titans.

The Bears trailed 17-0 in the second quarter, but a blocked punt touchdown and a pick-six from cornerback Tyrique Stevenson allowed the Bears to become the first team in NFL history to win a game while trailing by 17 points and failing to muster 150 yards of offense.

That day, Williams went 14-for-29 for 93 yards. He didn’t lose the ball, but the rookie quarterback missed throws he normally makes, had several passes batted at the line and struggled to line up with receivers other than DJ Moore. The Titans’ front seven pushed the Bears’ offensive line around all day, contributing to Williams’ hurried play.

After the win, the No. 1 draft pick promised to make improvements, but he realized that a rookie quarterback faces growing pains.

The Bears were the big winners of the NFL offseason. “Hard Knocks” arrived at Halas Hall to chronicle the dawn of a new day for the NFL charter franchise. With Williams at the helm and a host of new weapons on the roster, this should be a different Bears team.

In week 1, it was much the same. Defense and special teams ruled the roost, while the offense dragged them down.

There are 16 weeks to change that (which will probably happen), but that’s not what the overreaction mailbag is for. So let’s take a deep dive into a 1-0 mailbag full of thoughts of fear and some early doubt.

OVERREACTION? Maybe.

There’s no doubt the interior offensive line played poorly. Center Coleman Shelton really struggled and left guard Teven Jenkins had one of his worst games on the interior.

Ryan Bates and Nate Davis both had some lapses in the run game but played well in pass protection, according to ProFootballFocus. According to PFF, the Bears had three offensive linemen — Davis, Darnell Wright and Bates — who allowed no pressures. Left tackle Braxton Jones and Jenkins each allowed one, while Shelton allowed two. Jenkins, however, had a pass-blocking grade of 48.7, including a 12.5 grade in true pass sets.

The PFF numbers aren’t infallible, and I would argue that both Davis and Bates struggled more than their numbers suggest.

Either way, if Sunday was a one-off for Jenkins and the Bears can figure out the center position, Williams’ development won’t be hampered by this O-line. I still have questions about the depth of the unit, Davis’ reliability and center. But if Wright and Jones can play at the level they did Sunday and Jenkins can rebound, we’ll be fine and Williams will survive the expected bumps in his rookie year.

But if the interior remains like this or worse for most of the season, it’s going to be a tough one for QB1.

OVERREACTION? Absolutely.

I want to thank Mike for commenting a second time and noting that he is a fan of Odunze.

Poles could have flipped the No. 9 pick for some more assets and used them to bolster the line for Williams. But Odunze has star potential and adding an elite receiver who is on the same timeline as Williams and has the same mental wiring was a win.

If tackle Joe Alt had been available at No. 9, the Bears could have faced a Ja’Marr Chase-Penei Sewell dilemma that the Bengals faced in 2020. But once Alt came off the board, Odunze was the clear choice at No. 9.

The Bears need to bolster their offensive line, but I think the selection of Odunze will be a homerun.

OVERREACTION? Yes and no.

I don’t think Poland “neglected” the offensive line. I think there’s always truth to the idea that you can’t fix everything at once, and the Bears chose to prioritize shoring up the weapons around Williams.

Now, I agree that the Bears should have done more to find a long-term solution at center. It’s clear that neither Shelton (who was an average center last season according to PFF) nor Bates is.

I thought Connor Williams, who signed with the Seattle Seahawks during training camp, was their best option in free agency. Williams is coming off an injury, but he performed well in Week 1 against the Broncos, allowing just one pressure and posting a 72.1 pass-block grade in true pass sets.

Shelton’s poor play Sunday was alarming. The Bears may opt to make Bates the first-team center and move Shelton to the bench. That was the original plan this offseason before concerns about Davis’ availability surfaced in the offseason, causing the Bears to change course.

Could Poland have done more to improve the line? You could argue that, but short of signing Williams and maybe taking a swing at tackle-turned-guard Mekhi Becton, I fail to see what Poland hasn’t done that was legitimately available.

Not finding a long-term center is a problem. But beyond that, the Bears’ best option would be to address the offensive line, hoping for better play from the $30 million guard in Davis, improved health from Jenkins and a Year 2 jump from Wright.

OVERREACTION? You can convince me of the first part.

We’ve grown accustomed to tight end Cole Kmet playing nearly every snap when he’s fit. It appears that won’t be the case this year under new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.

At least it wasn’t Sunday.

Kmet played just 48 percent of the Bears’ offensive snaps, while new tight end Gerald Everett played 61 percent.

Head coach Matt Eberflus said the Bears based their decision on the matchups they wanted to create in an 11-player team to take on the Titans’ defense.

Maybe that’s true. Maybe Everett, a pure pass-catching tight end, made more sense as the Bears went no-huddle in the second half and tried to play to something Williams is comfortable with.

But Everett also has a history with Waldron. There’s a familiarity and trust there that maybe doesn’t exist with Kmet.

I like Everett, but I don’t think the Bears offense will reach the heights many are hoping for with Kmet playing 50 percent of the time.

It’s no indictment of Waldron, but it was odd to see the Bears’ best all-around tight end completely wiped out in the second half of a game where the offense was in a stalemate.

Waldron has a reputation for creating an offense that works for the personnel at his disposal. I expect him to do that with Kmet. I think Sunday’s tight end usage was Waldron trying to figure something out on the fly, and his trust in Everett won out.

It is something to keep a close eye on in the future.

OVERREACTION? Yes.

I remain firmly in Waldron’s corner. He is respected in NFL circles as a creative play-caller and teacher at a high level.

But he will be under the microscope on Sunday in Houston. Everyone understands that Williams will have ups and downs, but it is up to Waldron to come up with a plan that will help Williams feel comfortable and play his best.

Failing twice in a row would be a bad start to his tenure with the Bears.

Give Waldron time. He has drawn up a detailed development plan for Williams and the two have a good understanding.

As for targeting Odunze as a WR1, DJ Moore has the best chemistry with Williams of any Bears receiver and is an elite receiver. Moore is a WR1, but labels are meaningless. Both Odunze will need more than four targets once he recovers from the sprained MCL he suffered late in Sunday’s game.

Patience is a virtue, but if the Bears fail to break the 150 mark again in Houston, they will have to rethink their offensive plan.

OVERREACTION? Yes.

Man, one tough debut, and he’s not “generational”? Tough audience.

I’m not going to tell you whether or not he’s generational. I feel like we’ve had four “generational” quarterbacks in the last 10-15 years, which seems to defeat the purpose of the description.

But I do think Williams has the tools to be an elite quarterback. I believe the accuracy will come back. He may not admit it, but I bet the adrenaline of his first real NFL start led to some wayward passes, and then the game sped up a bit as the line struggled and the frustration mounted.

That’s all understandable and I expect things will get better for him in the future.

Will he be ‘generational’? Time will tell.

You have to be able to throw in the muddy areas in the NFL. Making anticipatory throws over the middle is where the money is made and the games are won. I believe Williams has the ability to do that and will show it more consistently as he gets more experience.

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