Things were going wrong in so many ways for D’Andre Swift and the Chicago Bears rushing attack. He was miserable through the first three games, averaging just 1.84 yards per carry. Already, people called Swift a horrendously overpriced acquisition. He must’ve been nothing more than a product of Philadelphia’s great offensive line for hitting 1,000 yards last season. Something had to change if the Bears were going to salvage their investment. It ended up coming from a tweak to their run scheme by offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.
Chicago leaned on a mixture of outside zone, I-formation, and zone-read through the first three games. It didn’t take long to realize the offensive line had trouble blocking this. Opponents showed aggressive looks to crowd the line of scrimmage and blow them up. As a result, Waldron shifted to something called a “split zone.” This is where the five linemen would focus on blocking three defensive linemen and the linebackers, while the tight end would come across the formation to pick off the free defensive end.
The idea is to split the blocking responsibility and create a cutback lane for the running back, allowing for possible big gains against defenses overplaying to one side of the line.
Obviously, the Bears can’t run it all the time, or defenses will game plan to stop it. Still, the implementation is showing signs of working. It popped a big run against the Rams in week four. Then, against Carolina last week, Doug Kramer played the role of the pulling tight end and helped get Roschon Johnson into the end zone. It might not be the perfect solution, but Waldron’s willingness to adjust his scheme to fit his personnel better is a welcome sign compared to more stubborn play callers they’ve had in the past.
Make no mistake. The Bears’ running game hasn’t suddenly transformed into a powerhouse. It still has way too many runs for three yards or less. Still, they’ve at least managed to make it a little more respectable. It is hoped more consistency will come as players get comfortable with the scheme. D’Andre Swift is capable of popping big plays at the drop of a hat. All he needs is a wide enough crease.
