Waldron stands by play-calling decision on OL handoff against Commanders |
CHICAGO—Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron has been criticized multiple times for his decision-making throughout his first seven games with the Chicago Bears. But perhaps his most questionable call was handing the ball off to offensive lineman Doug Kramer on third and goal late in the fourth quarter against the Washington Commanders; a touchdown would have given Chicago the lead.
There are numerous reasons people do not agree with this call. For starters, running back D’Andre Swift was doing well so the Bears could have just handed the ball off. A tush-push scenario would not have been unreasonable as they were on the one-yard line. Kramer does not have a run attempt in the NFL, and in such a pivotal moment in the game, it did not seem like the time to try to run a trick play like that. Regardless, Waldron continues to stand by his decision. “I think every play call that doesn’t work out, you go back and look at it and see was it the best call in that situation and I think I’ll always look inwardly first and every play call that doesn’t work out, obviously you’re going to have a sense of what could I have done better as a play caller, what situations could I put those guys in. But, going back to the play, I have all the confidence in the world in all of our players and I think something that we’re repped and worked on came up in the moment as a third and one call there,” Waldron said. “Didn’t work out, but what I was most proud about was seeing that our defense (got) a three and out, our offense comes over to the sideline. Everyone’s eyes are up, everyone’s communicating and they’re ready to attack the next drive and have a chance to score on that next drive as well.” Kramer will be available for Chicago to play in his normal position on the offensive line. However, the availability of numerous other offensive linemen remains up in the air as offensive linemen Kiran Amegadjie and Braxton Jones did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday. Teven Jenkins, who practiced in a limited fashion on Wednesday, did not practice on Thursday. Ryan Bates was limited on Wednesday and Thursday while Larry Borom, who is listed as having an ankle injury, was a full participant on both days. At least the Bears still have their center, Coleman Shelton, who Waldron said has communicated well with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams so far this season. “I think Coleman Shelton’s done a really good job of handling that communication at the center position, working with Caleb and to me, all the pressure looks that we get, all the different ones that we’ve gotten throughout training camp and we keep stacking those reps and keep getting better at those every single week so we can always play clean against the blitz, which is a goal every single week,” Waldron said. Going against the Arizona Cardinals this coming Sunday (3:05 p.m. / CBS), the offense cannot play how they did against the Commanders. Arizona has gotten into a groove lately as they are 3-1 over their last four games and first in their division. Chicago has yet to win on the road all season. But, Waldron believes Williams “forward-thinking mindset” will be key for the team going forward and his competitive mentality always keeps Chicago in the game. “I think Caleb’s just doing a good job of just building an inventory of seeing these throws, different ones that he knows he can make, especially early on in the games and does a good job of looking to self-correct, looking to see making sure feet, eyes, rhythm is all in a good spot right there and then it’s when it’s a chance to work off-schedule and hits that first throw and then clicks right in and I think the best part about Caleb though is if he misses a throw, he does. He has that forward-thinking mindset. So, he’s ready for that next play, ready for that next challenge. So, he never lets that play before, an incompletion before, I look back to the Jacksonville game, an interception. He doesn’t let that affect his next play. He’ll come right back out there ready to fire and ready to go through the process,” Waldron said. “You see a true competitor that’s never going to give in. That’s going to make everyone around him have that belief that no matter what the score is early in a game, at the end of the game, we’re going to have a chance to win it.”
