(3) Avoid negative plays on offense.
Last Sunday night in Houston, the Bears lost ground due to six penalties, seven sacks, three running plays and two completed passes.
When asked where he most wants to see improvement this week, Waldron said, “We want to avoid negative plays. We want to have an efficient offense and we want to be able to run the ball. A good place to start is getting in and out of the huddle, I take care of the plays and go to the line of scrimmage. No delay of game, no false starts before the snap, none of those plays.”
Many of the negative plays in the first two games were due to the Titans and Texans blitzing Williams, a strategy the Bears are expected to use against the Colts and other future opponents against the rookie quarterback.
“We just have to be on our guard,” receiver DJ Moore said. “We have to know our calls, know our protection, know when we’re ‘hot’ to help Caleb. I know we have to nip that in the bud because it’s a copycat league and other teams are going to try to catch him off guard.”
The Bears are working on better dealing with the stunts of the opposing defensive lines.
“When you get to a five-man rush like we had last week, it’s often about plays, turns and pick plays inside,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “We have to work on getting past those. That’s what they did last week.”
This week, the Bears focused on correcting the pass defense mistakes they made against the Texans.
“It’s not a plan,” Eberflus said. “It’s not this or that. It all comes down to fundamentals and basic principles, and that’s something we need to continue to work on over time.”
