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Courtney Cronin, ESPN Staff Writer
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Three games into his tenure with the Chicago Bears, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron met with the team’s leadership council after a 21-16 loss to the Indianapolis Colts that raised concerns over the state of the offense.
After the meeting, Waldron praised quarterback Caleb Williams, tight end Cole Kmet, wide receiver DJ Moore and tight end Marcedes Lewis — all four of whom are captains — for their honesty, feedback and dedication to working out the issues within a unit that is averaging a league-worst 3.7 yards per play.
Lewis, a 19-year veteran who will set an NFL record for most games played by a tight end Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams (1 p.m. ET, Fox), delivered a powerful and direct message to the Bears’ playcaller.
“From the oldest guy in the room — being me — to the youngest guy [22-year-old Williams], don’t feel like you can’t coach us,” Lewis said. “I want to be coached. I want to be great. … This is not for play. This is our job. We understand that. It’s a high — stressful, production-based business and we’ve all got to be doing the same things, or everybody gets fired. Ego is supposed to be left at the door. He’s very receptive to that.
“Sometimes as the coach coming in, you might be walking on eggshells. I just kind of put that to bed. Nobody’s sensitive in here. We want to win games just as bad as you do. It’s a collaborative effort. This is not Pop Warner.”
Waldron took accountability over things specific to the loss to the Colts and throughout a 1-2 start that featured three offensive touchdowns, tied for the league worst with four teams.
Almost immediately, the offensive coordinator addressed Chicago’s ill-fated goal-line series against the Colts that included four straight runs inside the 4-yard line and ended with a turnover on downs.
“I got to be better in that situation, and I will moving forward,” Waldron said.
The team took too long to line up in the pistol on the speed option play on fourth-and-goal that resulted in a turnover on downs. Waldron said that starts with him.
The struggles of the Bears’ run game continue to be magnified. Chicago ranks 31st with 72.7 yards per game and 31st in yards per attempt at 3.03. Only the Las Vegas Raiders (51 YPG and 2.8 YPA) are worse in both categories.
Waldron revealed that Chicago’s plan going into the Colts game was for running back Khalil Herbert (5-foot-9, 212 pounds) to be the team’s short-yardage over Roschon Johnson (6-0, 225).
But the key to the running game was always going to be Pro Bowl player D’Andre Swift. Within minutes of the NFL’s negotiating window opening during free agency in March, the Bears made their biggest splash by landing Swift, who signed a three-year, $24 million contract.
“We wanted a home-run threat, a weapon back there who could do a lot of things, not only on first down in the running game where he could hit a home run, but also in the passing game,” coach Matt Eberflus said ahead of Week 1.
Chicago led the league in rushing in 2022 and finished second last season, due in no small part to quarterback Justin Fields, who gained 1,143 in ’22 and 657 last year. But the Bears traded Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers to make room for Williams, and the signing of Swift signaled a shift in philosophy for how the Bears would generate their rushing offense.
Chicago expected significant contributions from him in the pass game, where he was top five among running backs in catches (62) and receiving yards (452) only three years ago in Detroit.
Through three games, Swift has totaled 68 rushing yards on 37 attempts for 1.8 yards per carry. His 10 targets in the passing game have yielded six catches for 46 yards.
Swift was dropped for a 12-yard loss on the fourth-and-goal speed option play in Indianapolis. Afterward, he apologized to the defense on behalf of himself and the offense.
“He’s not totally happy that he’s not getting yards, but he’s not going to pout about it,” Bears running backs coach Chad Morton said. “He’s not going to be angry and let his mood affect everybody else.
“He’s a pro. He’s still going to continue to work and he’s still going to push the envelope on trying to get better. I’m not worried about him at all.”
Eberflus said Bears coaches met with Swift early in the week to discuss how he can improve. He also hinted at Chicago experimenting with different personnel in the run game.
“The scheme’s got to be right for that particular runner,” Eberflus said. “I just think it’s everybody. It’s not just him.”
One fix to the run game against the Rams could be more snaps for Johnson, who finished with a team-high 30 rushing yards in Indianapolis. Johnson made three third-down conversions against the Colts and a critical fourth-and-1 conversion that set up the goal-line series.
“I think I bring a physical style, but also a style that can make one or two miss in a subtle way,” Johnson said. “Nothing really too flashy, but something that’s real physical, downhill, someone that can make the right decisions.”
Against a Rams defense that ranks 32nd in yards allowed and 31st in scoring, the opportunity for Waldron and the Bears to find the right utilization of the team’s running backs could provide a breakthrough for the offense at a critical time.
“There’s been flashes,” Waldron said. “We’ve done a great job in our practice reps, we’ve done a great job in our preseason reps, but the reality is we haven’t performed up to our standards in game right now. For us that goes back to the fundamentals, our techniques. We’re reiterating them with those guys.
“The players have done a great job talking about full ownership of their role and responsibility on each play. As we go, each week, we got to keep getting better, keep improving, especially in the run game.”