(670 The Score) When key leaders on the Bears met with offensive coordinator Shane Waldron amid a slow start to the season, they sought an important change from their play-caller.
The Bears wanted Waldron to operate with a scripted set of plays for the start of each game rather than working with “openers,” as head coach Matt Eberflus explained Monday.
“We always have openers that we practice,” Eberflus said. “And that’s a big part of it. So, we have several plays listed as openers. Openers are plays that you’re going to use on first and second down, and obviously you go to your third-down script based on distances.
“That was just more of a communicating with a leadership of the offense, with Shane and myself, to be able to put those in order – put those in order so the guys knew exactly what play 1 was, play 2, so forth and what the first third-down plays were, kind of working that way.
“That’s an important part of that. Guys can practice that, they can rehearse it mentally in their mind, they can rehearse it obviously in the walk-throughs they did prior to the game. Basically, putting those in order, that’s all it was.”
The revelation that Waldron shifted to a scripted set of plays was first reported by NFL Network reporter Stacey Dales on the Mully & Haugh Show last Friday. Waldron hasn't met with reporters since then, as his weekly press conference usually takes place on Thursdays.
Waldron met with key leaders of the Bears offense in the aftermath of the team's 21-16 loss to the Colts on Sept. 22. He was open to new ideas for a then-scuffling offense.
Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, top receiver DJ Moore and veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis were among the instrumental voices in that meeting.
“You’ve got to give him credit, because he could have chosen not to listen,” Moore said on the Mully & Haugh Show on Monday morning. “But he heard us out and incorporated it, so you’ve got to give him credit there. And I think that something we’ll stick with, even if we probably go more in depth with maybe first five third downs and so forth.”
The Bears (4-2) racked up 373 yards of offense in a 35-16 win against the Jaguars on Sunday in London. Williams was 23-of-29 for 226 yards, four touchdowns and one interception, and Chicago also rushed for 152 yards.
Waldron, who was hired by the Bears in January, replaced former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy in that role. Eberflus was pleased with how Waldron led the team’s offense in the win Sunday.
“I liked the fact that we got some explosives in there,” Eberflus said. “We stayed committed to the run game. So, we stayed committed that way. That’s an important thing to have balance in this league. Because you can’t become one-dimensional one way or the other. I also think the explosive plays and some creativity, the creative plays.
“A lot of good things going there. We had a good flow going, the offensive staff is really doing a good job of helping a lot of those ideas and the execution piece with the positions. I thought he called a really good game.”
Injury report
The Bears are still awaiting further details on the injury statuses of safety Jaquan Brisker (concussion), cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (calf) and nickelback Kyler Gordon (hamstring), Eberflus said. Those players are each undergoing evaluations Monday.
Eberflus is "hopeful" about their health, pointing out that the bye week will allow additional time for their recovery. The Bears are also conducting imaging on long snapper Scott Daly's knee after he exited their win Sunday.
Veteran long snapper Patrick Scales (back) remains on injured reserve, though he's eligible to return at any point. The Bears could also explore free-agent long snappers as an interim option if Daly is required to miss significant time.
The Bears (4-2) are in their bye this week. They return to action by visiting the Washington Commanders (4-2) on Oct. 27.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.