Turns Out The Biggest Criticism Of Shane Waldron Wasn’t His Fault

Shane Waldron was viewed around the NFL as one of the best offensive coordinators available when the off-season began. It is a coup for the Chicago Bears, who desperately needed a proven playcaller as they approach a monumental decision at quarterback. However, as always seems to be the case, there are critics of the decision. Some think Waldron is overrated and also one-dimensional. While he did great things for Russell Wilson and Geno Smith at quarterback during his three seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, he never managed to balance the offense with a steady rushing attack.

His ground games ranked 11th, 18th, and 28th on the ground under his direction. Many feel this means the offensive coordinator is only good at one thing, which makes it hard to have sustained success. As always, the truth tells a different story. Pro Football Focus released a fascinating graphic detailing the rate at which a team’s running backs ran into an intended gap during a play vs. how much success they had. The details are startling when you find where Seattle sits.

Put simply, the results were excellent when their running backs ran where they were supposed to. The problem was they rarely did so.

Shane Waldron was hamstrung by his personnel.

While Seahawks GM John Schneider is one of the best in the business, even he isn’t perfect. One persistent theme during his tenure is a consistent inability to draft running backs. His two most recent acquisitions, Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet, both have a nice blend of power and speed. Unfortunately, both also held the stigma of having questionable vision as runners. That is a big problem in a wide-zone offense where you’re required to read where the holes will be. You’re supposed to take the handoff, read the block, stick your foot in the ground, and go. Seattle’s backs didn’t do that enough.

This is where Bears fans should be excited. Both of their current running backs, Khalil Herbert and Roshcon Johnson, have good vision. They read where the holes will be and lack the hesitation to get through them. If Shane Waldron continues his success of giving his backs premium opportunities to hit for big plays, this could be a fun development to watch. If the Bears also work to keep D’Onta Foreman, that will be even better. He, too, has above-average vision. It is a clear sign GM Ryan Poles understands how to marry personnel to the scheme. Waldron is just better equipped than Luke Getsy take to advantage.