Shane Waldron Catches Major Heat From Former Player

Last week, former offensive lineman Brian Baldinger raised red flags about how Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron did a poor job of giving Caleb Williams easy ways to beat pressure. Too often, the rookie quarterback was hung out to dry because he had nowhere to go with the football against the blitz. Anybody who watched Sunday night in Houston had to cover their eyes. Williams took a beating all night, absorbing seven sacks and 11 additional hits. Much of it came from the Texans' aggressive blitz package.

Baldinger went to the tape to see what happened. What he found was the exact same problems from a week ago. There were no built-in easy completions for Williams to get the football out. This led to the inevitable. For all the talk about the offensive line, Waldron is the one who should be getting heat.

It is hard to argue with his assessment. Baldinger understands protection responsibilities. One way a smart offensive coordinator makes life easier on the offensive line is by giving the quarterback quick, high-percentage throws. By most accounts, Waldron hasn't done that enough.

Shane Waldron has to change his approach.

Whatever he's doing isn't working. The Bears are suffering way too many mental breakdowns along the line of scrimmage, making it easy for defenses to exploit. Everything is magnified by the inability to get the running game going, putting even more pressure on Williams to carry the load. The offensive coordinator likely had a plan on how he wanted to develop his young quarterback. That plan has to be shelved. It isn't working. His responsibility is to do everything humanly possible to protect Williams.

If that means scaling things back and making a more committed effort to the running game? So be it. If that means more moving pockets and bootlegs? So be it. Shane Waldron must get everybody on the same page before he can start trying to implement his grander visions for the Bears offense. It is clear the confidence is low across the board despite a promising 1-1 start for the team. The good news is Waldron has gone through early-season struggles before. He's shown he can make adjustments.

It will be interesting to see what he has planned for next Sunday.