There is no shortage of critics ready and willing to blast the Chicago Bears at every opportunity. Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis doesn’t get talked about often. While the man does excellent work with statistics, giving him the guise of somebody impartial. The truth is he’s a fan like everybody else. Watch his Twitter timeline long enough, and it’ll be easy to spot his distaste for the Bears. Last Thursday was the latest example.
Sharp posted a video after the team’s first offensive series. He lambasted the Bears for allowing quarterback Justin Fields to be under pressure constantly. A clear sign of their blatant mismanagement of the offensive line. It didn’t take long for him to realize he might’ve made a tactical error. People who watched the video saw things quite differently.
- 1st clip: It is a screen call, not a regular pass play.
- 2nd clip: Seattle brings a blitz, and Khalil Herbert (a RB) whiffs on his block.
- 3rd clip: Another blitz. The O-line actually forms a workable pocket, but Fields tucks to run too early.
- 4th clip: Larry Borom fails to give Teven Jenkins help. That is a missed block.
- 5th clip: Fields has all day to throw off a play action bootleg.
look at this series, Justin Fields under heat nonstop pic.twitter.com/Awaexcqyfz
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) August 19, 2022
One out of those five plays could be blamed on the offensive line. The rest had nothing to do with them. Considering how often the Seahawks were blitzing, the line held up pretty well. The best part came on the Hoge & Jahns podcast, where beat writers Adam Hoge and Adam Jahns spent over two minutes talking about how ridiculous the video was.
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Sharp needs to be careful about his future Chicago Bears critiques.
Clearly, he doesn’t garner much respect from people who watch the game for a living. Yes, the Bears’ offensive line isn’t the greatest. Yet presuming every single pressure on Fields is their fault is incorrect. Considering they don’t have their starting center, a rookie is their left tackle, and both starters on the right side have been replaced? They’ve held up relatively well.
Sharp can post all the cherry-picked stats he wants. A few more videos like that and people will catch on to his ignorance. Not that the Chicago Bears care. Their focus remains on getting the five best blockers they have on the field. It looks like that is coming into focus. Details should surface following their preseason finale against Cleveland on Saturday.
