Shane Waldron Reportedly Showing Caleb Williams No Mercy In New Offense
The Chicago Bears wanted to formulate a plan once they knew Caleb Williams would be their choice at the #1 overall spot in the NFL draft. One of the first things they had to do was start familiarizing him with the new offense under Shane Waldron. They used their designated Zoom meetings and top-30 visit to introduce the quarterback to the scheme, terminology, and concepts that would make up the system. It was a significant benefit for the Bears, giving them a head start on preparing the rookie for the upcoming season.
However, the Bears appear to be doing things a little less subtly. A common practice for teams when developing a young quarterback is spoon-feeding them the offense section by section. Give them a portion they like and can execute. Once that is absorbed, move on to the next stage. It appears Waldron and the rest of the coaching staff have no such plans. Matt Eberflus confirmed on Thursday that they are throwing Williams into the deep end, exposing him to the offense in its entirety.
“We’re not holding back. We’re giving him a lot of information. We’re giving him the offense and you want to be able to go through the whole offense before the off-season gets done, primarily most of it, and work it into the summer. We’ll have a plan for him there and work him into training camp and then go from there.”
Shane Waldron has a clear and understandable thought process.
The sooner he can learn and master the entire scheme, the better. They are willing to accept that there will be early moments of him looking overwhelmed by the vast amounts of information. He may not always make reads and checks quickly enough, but such hiccups are part of the process. Waldron believes Williams is smart enough to handle the load. He demonstrated such ability lots of times during his time at USC. Lincoln Riley didn’t run everything from the sideline as many college coaches do. He gave Williams plenty of freedom to make decisions. It is probably why quarterbacks who play for him usually end up finding NFL success.
Perhaps Eberflus learned a few lessons from how Justin Fields was handled in 2022. Luke Getsy may have tried to feed him the offense in stages, which led to struggles as a passer through much of that season. Shane Waldron had success in Seattle with Russell Wilson and Geno Smith. He was also with Sean McVay in Los Angeles when they developed Jared Goff. He wouldn’t take this approach with Williams if he didn’t think the young quarterback could handle it.