3 reasons Chicago Bears fans should trust Shane Waldron

About three weeks ago, Shane Waldron was seemingly already on the hot seat given the slow start the Bears' offense had to season. It looked like the Bears hired another bad offensive coordinator. Now, the team is coming off of one of the best offensive stretches in team history.

Why should fans trust that Waldron is not only getting it right, he can continue to do this?

3. Shane Waldron is getting smarter with his personnel 

It seemed that Waldron was his time adjusting to his personnel, as one of the early-season choices that seemed off was Cole Kmet and Gerald Everett splitting snaps with a slight lean towards Everett. 

He had an interesting running back rotation that included both Khalil Herbert and Travis Homer. They were also mixing in multiple receivers such as DeAndre Carter, Velus Jones,  and Tyler Scott. Granted, in that area, Keenan Allen was hurt, but it looked as if Waldron was throwing a lot of things against the wall to see what would stick. 

In the past three weeks, we have seen a lot less Everett and a lot more Kmet. Roschon Johnson has stepped up and has taken the role of both Herbert and Homer and with Keenan Allen healthy, the Bears play their top three wideouts almost exclusively. 

Beyond that, the play-calling has gone to the best players. There are no more designed screens for Everett when the other four players on the field are better with the ball in their hands. 

A lot of these decisions could have been made before the season, but Waldron being able to show that he is willing to try things, and then willing to change things is the big takeaway. 

2. The Chicago Bears have been smart about Caleb Williams’ progression 

The Bears did not see something like a Jayden Daniels explosion in a primetime moment with an elite quarterback playing great on the other side, but Caleb Williams has blown up in the past three weeks. More than that, the most encouraging thing is seeing the incremental growth, and knowing that he is becoming a well-rounded quarterback. Shane Waldron had part of a reason for that. 

They have put a lot on Williams’ plate from the jump, and they did not go easy on him. He was making line calls and full-field reads in Week 1. Daniels is excelling but is still not in full control of his offense in some ways, as Williams is. 

So, it should have made sense that Williams would take a little bit longer out of the gate. Still, Waldron did call a lot of screens early on as well to help slow things down. Over the past few weeks, we have seen Williams not only take more shots down the field but complete more shots down the field. 

Williams was likely to have figured it out regardless, but it is good to see the incremental progression 

1. Shane Waldron has been receptive to his players 

The interview that Jaxon Smith-Njigba gave about Shane Waldron was not a great look. It did not appear as though Waldron was able to relate to the young rookie and get him involved in the offense. When the offense sputtered out of the gate, players such as Marcedes Lewis pulled Waldron aside and told him to change his coaching style. We saw the results. 

This speaks very well of Waldron. Too often a coach will come in and want to run his scheme regardless of the players. In this case, the players told him what they liked and did not like and he was able to listen and respond. 

Having the players on his side and being ready to battle for him is a huge positive. The players knowing that they can come to him with concerns and he will address them if they are valid is another major advantage in his favor.

It is easy to come out after one or two games and be worried that what you are seeing is what you will see forever. However, giving patience allows for growth and the Bears are seeing that it did not take much patience to see Waldron make better decisions. This should give plenty of reason for optimism.