LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) – An ill-fated speed option on a fourth-and-goal play call during the Bears’ 21-16 loss to the Colts on Sunday left offensive coordinator Shane Waldron searching for solutions.
With 1:46 remaining in the first half while trailing 7-0, the Bears elected to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the Colts’ 1-yard line. Waldron’s play design had quarterback Caleb Williams in shotgun and running back D’Andre Swift lined to his left.
Waldron and the Bears expected that the Colts’ six-man defensive front would crash to the interior and leave a lane to the outside for the option play. Instead, Indianapolis’ defense was ready and Swift had nowhere to go once he received the pitch, as he was dropped for a 12-yard loss on a disastrous play.
Afterward, Williams lamented that he couldn’t check out of the play because the play clock had already ticked below 10 seconds as the Bears lined up.
In meetings with the Bears’ offense recently, Waldron took the blame for the failed play. On Thursday, he met with the media for the first time since Sunday and shed further light on the sequence.
“For us, just being able to communicate, get to the line of scrimmage a little bit faster there so we can get what we want out of the play, all those things start with me," Waldron said. "I got to be better in that situation, and I will be moving forward.
“Just knowing the bottom line there, I got to put us in a better position.”
The goal-to-go sequence began at the 4-yard line and featured four plays, including three carries for running back Khalil Herbert out of the shotgun formation that moved the ball a total of three yards. Waldron defended those play calls, explaining that they’re designed to later create a look of deception for a potential pass or a quarterback run.
“It’s not an easy role, being a play-caller,” said Bears quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph, who came from Seattle to Chicago with Waldron. “It’s not an easy role. But that’s who he is. It’s all about accountability. And he doesn't stand up there by himself. We all take accountability together. That’s what you have to do to be successful. That’s how you stay united.
“That’s the man that he is, the coach that he is.”