Bears overreactions: Will OL waste Caleb Williams’ rookie year? Early indictment of Shane Waldron?

Bears overreactions: Will OL waste Caleb Williams’ rookie year? Early indictment of Shane Waldron? originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

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

There was a quarterback and an offense struggling to get out of neutral, while a dominant defense carried them to a wild 24-17 comeback win over the Tennessee Titans.

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

On the day, Williams went 14-for-29 for 93 yards. He didn’t turn the ball over, but the rookie quarterback missed throws he normally makes, had several passes batted at the line, and struggled to get on the same page with receivers other than DJ Moore. The Titans’ front seven pushed the Bears’ offensive line around all day, which contributed to Williams’ rushed play.

After the win, the No. 1 overall pick promised that improvements would be made with the understanding that growing pains are expected for a rookie quarterback.

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’s charter franchise. With Williams at the helm and a host of new weapons in the fold, this was supposed to be a different Bears team.

In Week 1, it was much of the same. Defense and special teams ruled the day while the offense weighed them down.

There are 16 weeks for that to change (it probably will), but that’s not what the overreactions mailbag is for. So, let’s take a deep dive into a 1-0 mailbag filled with thoughts of dread and some early second-guessing.

OVERREACTION? Maybe.

There’s no question 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 each had some miscues in the run game but played well in pass protection, according to ProFootballFocus. Per PFF, the Bears had three offensive linemen — Davis, Darnell Wright, and Bates — not allow a pressure. Left tackle Braxton Jones and Jenkins each allowed one, while Shelton gave up two pressures. Jenkins, however, received a pass-blocking grade of 48.7, including a grade of 12.5 in true pass sets.

Now, the PFF metrics aren’t infallible, and I’d argue that both Davis and Bates struggled more than their numbers account for.

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

But if the interior plays like that or worse for the majority of the season, it will be tough sledding for QB1.

OVERREACTION? Absolutely.

I will credit Mike for chiming in a second time and noting that he’s a fan of Odunze.

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

Had tackle Joe Alt been available at No. 9, the Bears could have faced a Ja’Marr Chase-Penei Sewell-type dilemma that the Bengals dealt with in 2020. However, once Alt was off the board, Odunze was the clear choice at No. 9.

The Bears need to bolster the offensive line, but I think the Odunze pick will go down as a home run.

OVERREACTION? Yes and no.

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

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

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

Shelton’s poor play Sunday was alarming. The Bears could opt to make Bates the first-team center and move Shelton to the bench. That was the initial plan this offseason before concerns about Davis’ availability reared their head in the offseason program, causing the Bears to shift course.

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

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

OVERREACTION? You can sell me on the first part.

We’ve gotten used to tight end Cole Kmet playing almost every snap when healthy. It appears that might not 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 the decision on matchups they wanted to create in 11 personnel to get going against what the Titans’ defense was presenting.

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

But Everett also has a history with Waldron. There’s familiarity and trust there that might not yet exist with Kmet.

I like Everett, but I don’t think the Bears’ offense will reach the heights many envision with Kmet playing 50 percent of the snaps.

It’s not an indictment of Waldron, but it was weird to basically cobweb the Bears’ best all-around tight end during the second half of a game in which the offense was frozen in place.

Waldron has a reputation for creating an offense that works for the personnel he has at his disposal. I expect he will do so with Kmet. I’d guess that the tight end usage Sunday was Waldron trying to come up with something on the fly, and his trust in Everett won out.

It is something to monitor going forward, though.

OVERREACTION? Yes.

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

But he will be under the microscope Sunday in Houston. Everyone understands Williams will have ups and downs, but it’s up to Waldron to devise a plan that allows Williams to get comfortable and play his best.

Two straight duds would be a bad start to his Bears tenure.

Give Waldron time. He has crafted a detailed development plan for Williams, and the two have a good rapport.

As for targeting Odunze as WR1, DJ Moore has the best chemistry with Williams of any Bears receiver and is an elite receiver. Moore is WR1, but labels are meaningless. Both Odunze needs more than four targets once he gets healthy from the sprained MCL he suffered at the end of Sunday’s game.

Patience is a virtue, but if the Bears fail to crack the 150 mark again in Houston, they will need to re-examine their plan of attack.

OVERREACTION? Yes.

Man, one rough debut, and he’s not “generational?” Tough crowd.

I’m not going to tell you he is or isn’t generational. I feel like we’ve had four “generational” quarterbacks in the last 10-15 years, which would seem to defeat the purpose of the descriptor.

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

That’s all understandable, and I expect he will be better going forward.

Will he be “generational?” Time will tell.

You have to be able to throw into 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 showcase it more consistently as he gets more experience under his belt.

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