Bear Digest

Albert Breer: Thomas Brown Literally Brings Bears Offense Together

Analysis: SI.com's Albert Breer reports the Bears offense has changed how they meet under Thomas Brown in an effort to bring the whole group together and avoid the blame game.
Gene Chamberlain|
Caleb Williams goes through stretching before Sunday's loss to New England.
Caleb Williams goes through stretching before Sunday's loss to New England. | Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Thomas Brown's solution to fixing the broken Bears offense includes meetings.

According to SI.com's Albert Breer, Brown switched the way the Bears meet this week in order to bring the entire offense together.

"One of the first things that Thomas Brown did over the course of the last few days was emphasize having full unit meetings rather than breaking into position groups," Breer said prior to Thursday's Eagles-Commanders game. "The hope is that he can bring the group together to try to find solutions."

It's an act that can prevent backstabbing and splitting of the entire unit because it's easier to build up anamosity when everyone is in their little cliques instead of seeing the other players they work with on the field all of the time. It builds communication lines.

Breer also said Caleb Williams was begin viewed as not advanced enough as a quarterback to be a starter when the season began.


Breer painted a picture where many began doubting Williams, from players to coaches, and they needed to bring everyone back together working in the same direction. Hence, the meeting change.

The problem with all of this, of course, is they won three straight games and did it starting four weeks into their season.

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So if Williams wasn't ready to be QB initally, how did he suddenly become ready in Week 4, when they began running off successive wins over the Rams, Panthers and Jaguars? Those three teams might not be playoff-bound but they haven't gone winless, either.

The Bears didn't beat those three teams playing defense alone. Williams had a passer rating of 106 from Weeks 3-6, but it's really been more a case of regression, or not taking the next step, than it has been a player who was hopelessly overmatched at the outset. Because a player so badly unprepared in the beginning never could have suddenly been ready by Week 4.



They were meeting in position groups when they were 4-2 rather than all together.
So how much that helps remains to be seen, as well.


A reset is never bad when things start falling apart but if the move was made to unify the team, then it probably is already too late.

When something bad happens again they'll simply refer back to earlier discontent.

Once the spiral begins, it can sometimes be stopped or slowed but reversing the direction entirely is never a simple task.

And if feelings Williams simply isn't and wasn't ready are pervasive, then it's going to be almost impossible to have veteran players get back on board no matter who the offensive coordinator is.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.