The Chicago Bears offensive line was a weakness on the team before the 2020 season even began. It surrendered 45 sacks last season and didn’t do much in the ground game. Yet they still ended up returning four of the original five starters. Like it or not, this year was going to be a struggle. It’s just that nobody could’ve expected it would get this bad.
Health hazards struck the Bears hard in the past month. It started with left guard James Daniels, their best player, tearing his pec against Tampa Bay. A few weeks later Cody Whitehair suffered a calf strain in L.A. Bobby Massie then followed the next week against the Saints with a knee injury. If that weren’t bad enough?
COVID-19 soon came to collect.
Jason Spriggs tested positive for the virus and took Germain Ifedi with him due to close contact. Not long after that, Whitehair too came back positive. Thankfully Ifedi was quickly cleared but the damage was already done. Three of the Bears’ opening day starters are out for the foreseeable future along with their primary backup center (Sam Mustipher) and offensive tackle.
As of now, their starting five looks as follows:
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- LT – Charles Leno
- LG – Arlington Hambright (rookie)
- C – Alex Bars
- RG – Germain Ifedi
- RT – Rashaad Coward
Remember that Coward was playing left guard the past few weeks. The issues with Massie and Spriggs have forced the Bears to move him to tackle. Hambright was drafted in the 7th round back in April. Bars was an undrafted free agent in 2019. Not exactly a group that is rich in either talent or experience. It’s little wonder Bears fans are pessimistic about Sunday.
That being said, they may not have it too bad in Tennessee based on recent updates.
#Titans practice updates:
-A.J. Brown, Jeffery Simmons, Dennis Kelly all returned to practice.
-Simmons left before individual period.
-No sign of Adoree Jackson, Jadeveon Clowney, Tye Smith, Brett Kern or Adam Humphries.— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) November 6, 2020
Chicago Bears aren’t facing an elite defense
The Titans defense isn’t one of the worst in the NFL. Yet to act like it’s one of the best is also a mistake. They rank 27th against the pass and have just seven sacks in seven games. They’ve had a hard time getting to the quarterback this season. Now with Jadeveon Clowney being iffy for the game? That is going to get even harder. To say nothing of interior man Jeffery Simmons nursing an ankle injury as well.
It’s a banged-up group that was already struggling. This is not to say the Bears will suddenly be dominant on Sunday. That isn’t happening. However, it does offer some hope that the group they’ve cobbled together won’t be rendered into roadkill. If Matt Nagy employs a game plan that eases the pressure on them, it’s possible the Chicago Bears offense can still function.
What does that mean? It means running the football consistently with David Montgomery and utilizing a lot of play action. This will keep the defense from pinning its ears back and attack Nick Foles. It’s not a fancy plan but it might be the only one that gives them a chance on Sunday.
Hopefully, the defense can’t keep it close.
