It has been a harrowing week for the Chicago Bears offensive line. It started on Sunday. Already down left guard James Daniels (pec) and center Cody Whitehair (calf), the team lost right tackle Bobby Massie to a knee injury. One that has since landed him on IR. That was bad enough. Nobody could’ve known the nightmare was just beginning.
A couple of days later, a report surfaced that Jason Spriggs had contracted COVID-19. Spriggs is the backup tackle for the Bears and expected to fill in for Massie moving forward. He was also close proximity to Germain Ifedi at the time. So both of them had to go on the Reserve/COVID list until further tests were done.
It wasn’t over yet.
Barely 24 hours later, reports surfaced that Whitehair also contracted the virus. That meant his time recovering from his calf injury could go even longer than expected. If you’re keeping track, that made four original starters on the shelf for the Bears. Not to mention a primary backup. Thankfully Ifedi was cleared not long after so he should still be able to suit up against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
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So where does this leave the line in general? According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, it’s going to look pretty makeshift. Charles Leno and Ifedi will man their usual spots. After that? It gets a bit…creative.
“That leaves Leno at left tackle, Hambright expected to start at left guard, Alex Bars at center, Ifedi at right guard and Rashaad Coward moving from right guard to right tackle.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxfc_mnSv_s&t=&ab_channel=ChicagoBears
Bears offensive line will need help in Tennessee
Make no mistake. That is not a sight that is easy on the eyes. Arlington Hambright is a 7th round rookie out of Colorado where he played offensive tackle. Not guard. Alex Bars was a tackle in college and had practiced almost exclusively at guard since arriving last year as an undrafted free agent. Now he has to play center. Then there’s Rashaad Coward who struggled mightily at guard now being pushed outside to tackle, which is even tougher.
That is a major challenge for the Bears coaching staff. They were having trouble scoring points when the line was healthy. Now, what do they do with a group that is not just lacking talent but also experience? Well, their options seem pretty straightforward. Asking them to pass block 35-40 times in this game would be asking for trouble.
This should be a run-heavy game.
That means a consistent feeding of David Montgomery and lots of play action for Nick Foles. Anything and everything Matt Nagy can try to keep the Titans pass rushers from pinning their ears back? He must do it. While not a do-or-die game, this is one they can’t afford to lose. This Bears offensive line knows they’re a weak link. So the team must do everything possible to get them playing aggressive.
Nagy may not like it. It may go against his core beliefs. That doesn’t matter. This isn’t the sort of game where stubbornness will win the day. If he employs the type of system he has for the past two months? He’s going to get Nick Foles killed. Time to swallow pride and do what is sensible.