Will the Bears’ coordinator change the impact of rivalry games vs. Packers?

On November 13, 2024By Littum

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Chicago Bears, who were smart Super Bowl contenders at the start of the season, fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on Tuesday.

Thomas Brown, who had been the team’s passing game coordinator, has been promoted to offensive coordinator, which means he will design the game plan and call the players for Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers.

More than that, he will try to save rookie quarterback Caleb Williams’ season.

Brown was a first-time offensive coordinator last year for the Carolina Panthers.

Carolina’s offense was terrible—last in the league in scoring, yards and passing yards—with one exception.

Against the Packers.

On Christmas Eve, the Packers survived what would have been a season-killing upset by winning at Carolina 33-30.

The Panthers rallied from a 30-16 deficit in the fourth quarter with back-to-back touchdown drives capped by Bryce Young scoring passes to DJ Chark against Eric Stokes. Green Bay won on Anders Carlson’s 32-yard field goal with 19 seconds left.

In the two games before that matchup, the Panthers scored 15 points and zero touchdowns.

In the two games following that matchup, the Panthers did not score at all.

Against Green Bay, Carolina delivered its best offensive performance with …

Points (30; they lacked 20 points in 13 games).

Yards (394; they had only three other games of 300-plus yards).

Yards per game (6.3; their best by a full yard).

It should be noted that Williams was the no. 1 in this year’s draft, and Bryce Young was the no. 1 in last year’s draft.

Against Green Bay, Young threw for a season-high 312 yards. It was his only 250-plus yard game. His 110.0 passer rating was also his best of the season and one of only four games with a 90-plus rating. His 8.67 yards per attempt was his best of the year by nearly 1.1 yards.

Young threw two touchdown passes against Green Bay, his only scores in his last seven games.

Of course, Green Bay’s defense has a different coordinator and some different personnel, especially in the secondary. However, Brown devised a plan that was effective against Jaire Alexander and Keisean Nixon; according to PFF, Young was 9-of-9 passing for 146 yards against the starting defensive backs.

It will be up to Brown to get Williams — and the Bears — back on track, starting against the rival Packers.

“After evaluating our entire operation, I have decided that it is in the best interest of our team to move in a different direction with the leadership of our offense,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said in a statement. “This decision was thoughtful, one that was made consciously and respectfully. I would like to thank Shane for his efforts and wish him the best for the future.

“Thomas is a bright offensive mind who has experience calling plays with a collaborative mindset. I look forward to his leadership of our offensive coaching staff and his plan for our players.”

Chicago has lost three in a row. It scored 15 points in the loss at Washington, nine points in the loss at Arizona and three points in the home loss to New England.

The Bears have gone 23 consecutive possessions without scoring a touchdown.

Williams, one of the most hyped quarterback prospects in years, was supposed to be the franchise’s savior. Chicago surrounded him with a potentially elite group of skill position players. Already with receiver DJ Moore and tight end Cole Kmet, the Bears signed receiver Keenan Allen and running back D’Andre Swift in free agency and used their first-round pick on receiver Rome Odunze.

However, the Bears rank 30th in total offense, 31st in yards per game. game, 28th in rushing per game and 30th place in passes per game. They are 31st on third down.

Critically, Chicago has allowed the highest sack rate in the NFL.

The Bears were 4-0 at home before losing to the Patriots. After a shaky NFL debut in Chicago’s win over Tennessee, Williams had passer ratings of 106.6, 126.2 and 124.4 in his next three home starts.

Against New England, however, he was 16-of-30 passing (53.3 percent) for 120 yards and a 63.2 rating. He didn’t turn the ball over, but was sacked nine times.

Williams enters Sunday’s game against the Packers ranked 28th in passer rating, 32nd in completion percentage and 31st in yards per carry. attempt.

Williams has been sacked a league-high 38 times. He will face a Packers defense that had eight sacks against Tennessee in Week 3 but has just one sack in each of the last two games.

“We can all hope for one of those games, a repeat of Tennessee. Fingers crossed,” defensive end Kingsley Enagbare said.

Brown is a former running backs coach at Wisconsin. With the Badgers, he helped Melvin Gordon become the Heisman Trophy runner-up in 2014. That season, Gordon and Corey Clement combined for 3,536 rushing yards – the most in FBS history for teammates.

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Here you will find #Packers after their goodbyes.https://t.co/hf3Tl9wmCn

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) 12 November 2024