Why Bears won’t change struggling O-line despite pressure on Caleb Williams originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Bears‘ offensive line entered the season as the team’s biggest unknown. In a season with high expectations, the Bears hoped that a unit with four of five returning starters and an upgrade at center would level up in front of rookie quarterback Caleb Williams.
Through two games, that has not been the case.
So far, the Bears’ offensive line has been the weak link. They rank 30th in ESPN’s pass-block win rate stat through two weeks (43 percent) and are the 24th-ranked offensive line in pass-block grade in true pass sets, per Pro Football Focus.
The Bears have only one offensive lineman who ranks in the top 20 in pass-block win rate. That’s center Coleman Shelton, who is tied for 20th among all interior offensive linemen. Neither left tackle Braxton Jones nor right tackle Darnell Wright cracked the top 20 among tackles.
The Bears have also struggled to run the ball early this season. They are averaging just 3.5 yards per carry. That number drops to 2.48 if you remove quarterback Caleb Williams’ team-leading 59 rushing yards on scrambles.
The Bears don’t have any players in the top 20 in run-block win rate.
There’s not a good number to be found.
But despite eight straight quarters of struggles, the Bears don’t plan to change up their offensive line.
There’s nowhere for them to turn.
The easiest fix would be to insert Ryan Bates in for center Coleman Shelton or right guard Nate Davis. But the Bears placed Bates on injured reserve last week with a shoulder/elbow issue. He won’t be able to return until Week 6.
Third-string center Doug Kramer isn’t a viable option. Neither is playing third-round rookie Kiran Amegadjie. Amegadjie hasn’t played football since November and missed most of camp while rehabbing from quad surgery. He’s not an option.
Matt Pryor is a valuable depth piece but not the type of player who can be a cure-all.
The Bears’ only answer, at least until Bates gets back, is for the current unit to take a poor opening stretch personally and play better.
“We’re looking for continuity and consistency and communication and getting better,” head coach Matt Eberflus said about his offensive line Wednesday at Halas Hall. “That’s what we’re focused on. I go back to my original comment — it’s fundamentals and basics. It’s important that we get that down as a group. So we’re going back to that. That’s what wins football games.”
In their Week 2 loss to the Houston Texans, the Bears’ offensive line allowed Williams to be pressured on 23 of 48 dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats. Williams was sacked seven times, hit 11, and pressured a total of 36 times. The Bears’ offensive line struggled with pre-snap penalties and communication against the blitz.
After a hard film session, the Bears’ offensive line believes it can quickly fix the issues that have plagued them through two weeks.
“It’s all within ourselves, technically, or if that’s the cadence, just talking about myself, just being better with the cadence,” left tackle Braxton Jones said Wednesday. “On the same page with the cadence and just being better technically, doing whatever I can to finish in the pocket.
“As the starting left tackle for the Bears, you’ve gotta be that way. You gotta be better, especially dealing with a rookie quarterback. You’ve got to finish long in the pocket and yeah, a lot of that shows looking back at the tape. But just being better. Everything is fixable. Nothing’s something that’s out of this world that I can’t fix or that I haven’t even done.”
The Bears weren’t expected to hit the ground running. Implementing a new offense with a rookie quarterback, a new offensive coordinator in Shane Waldron, and some new skill pieces would take time.
But no one expected the offense to struggle like this.
The Bears failed to crack the 150-yard barrier in Week 1 and were plagued by mistakes and missed assignments in Week 2.
All of it boils down to this new-look Bears’ offense failing to have an identity.
“I don’t think we’ve gone out there and done what we wanted to do,” Jones said. “Just as a unit we got to be better at showing our identity early. I think that just starts with rhythm, and obviously, we are all fairly young with the OL and the QB and stuff like that. We just got to be better. Simple as that.”
The pass protection issues are understandable. That’s typical for a rookie quarterback and offensive line trying to get on the same page.
But this is a Bears offensive line that was one of the best run-blocking units in the NFL over the past two seasons. Former quarterback Justin Fields‘ rushing ability helped open things up for them on the ground, but the Bears’ offensive line excelled at firing off the ball and road grading in front of Chicago‘s bevy of backs.
So, where has the run game gone?
“What I notice is it just kind of looks like one guy or two guys are shooting ourselves in the foot and then we’re just kind of taking turns,” Jones said about the lack of a ground game. “So I know as an O-line, we talk about being all in the same rhythm, and that just starts with getting to the ball fast, being able to get our calls out and then ripping the runs and just being better technically.”
A good run game can unlock a lot of things for an offense. If the Bears can get the ground game humming, it will stop defenses from being able to pin their ears back to rush Williams.
The good news for the Bears is their Week 3 opponent has been gashed on the ground to start the season. The Indianapolis Colts have given up 473 rushing yards through two games at 5.1 yards per carry. After a Sunday date with the Colts, the Bears will face the No. 30 and 31 ranked run defenses in the NFL in the Los Angeles Rams and Carolina Panthers.
There’s no excuse for the Bears’ offensive line not to work their next three opponents like a speed bag in the run game.
“I think one of the things we’ll be able to do really well soon is be able to run the ball,” Williams said. “I’m trying to figure out which runs exactly fit well with our personnel, the people we have. I think that’s a thing that’s going to emerge here really soon, and having confidence and keeping steadfast with that, you know, with running backs, receivers, tight ends, everybody having confidence that we are going to break through and figure out exactly what our personality is of the run.”
The Bears’ offense has no identity through two games. Finding a ground game is the first step to discovering who these Bears are going to be offensively.
That work has to start Sunday in Indianapolis, behind the expected five starters. No changes will save this unit. Either they play better, or the season starts to spiral.
Click here to follow the Under Center Podcast.
This embedded content is not available in your region.
