Chicago Bears Week 10: Rookie Report
Apologies for the brief hiatus of the Bears rookie report. With the short week between Packers & Lions games and some technical difficulties, it got lost in the shuffle. The Lions game was a mixed bag for the rookies, Jon Bostic played his best game as a Bear and Kyle Long was his usual consistent self, but Kaseem Greene and David Bass took steps back in their development. Here are the details:
Kyle Long RG: Long vs Suh, the rematch. In case you don’t remember week 4’s loss to the Lions, Suh dominated Long in their first matchup. It was Long’s worst game of his young career (-2.8) and he gave up his first sack. It was a different story Sunday as Long was clearly the most effective Bears lineman and the only one who carried a positive grade on the day (+.5). On second review of the game tape, Long held up well in pass pro, but didn’t have his usual push in the run game which is understandable against a beast like Suh. It was a decent game for Suh (1 sack, 2 hits, 3 hurries) but almost all of his damage was done against RG Matt Slauson. Overall, I’d call the rematch a draw, which is pretty impressive considering where both men are in their careers. Long continues to impress.
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Jordan Mills RT: This is going to sound familiar, but Mills struggled in pass protection. Mills allowed 1 sack, 2 hits, and a team high 5 hurries. This the 8th consecutive week that Mills has graded out negatively and his aggregate grade from Pro Football Focus is the lowest in the NFL for tackles. It doesn’t get talked about in the media much because he was a 5th round pick and the Bears have limited the number of sacks allowed, but on average Mills is giving up 5.5 hurries per game.
Rankings courtesy of Pro Football Focus
I feel a little better that #1 overall pick Eric Fisher is struggling too, but that doens’t change the fact that according to PFF Mills is the worst tackle in football.
Jon Bostic MLB: That’s two weeks in a row with a positive grade for Jon Bostic. He is improving every week and showing that he can be the MLB of the future for the Bears. I watched the game tape again and the NFL isn’t giving Bostic the statistical credit he deserves. I counted 5 solo tackles and 3 assists, with 4 of those tackles classified as stops by PFF. It looked like Bostic made a mistake in coverage on the Lions first touchdown, but that was the only negative play I noticed on the tape. It seems like Bears fans are getting more bad news every week this season, but Bostic’s development is something to get excited about.
Kaseem Greene OLB: Greene only played 16 snaps Sunday as the Bears were in nickel coverage most of the game. Unfortunately he didn’t do much with his time on the field. He only recorded one tackle and while he didn’t record any missed tackles, I spotted two plays that Greene took a poor closing angle and missed the ball carrier completely. Greene played much better in week 9 when he was on the field for considerably more snaps, so maybe he’s just a slow starter (a reach, i know). Greene is going to get at least 1 more start with Briggs still out, so let’s hope he makes an impact this week and keeps himself in the mix for a starting spot next season.
David Bass DE: Bass got his first NFL start and shit the bed. He earned the worst individual grade on defense from PFF, which is usually reserved for one of the Bears safeties. In 41 snaps, he had 1 QB hit, 0 tackles, and 1 missed tackle. It’s hard to play 65% of the defensive snaps and have less of an impact than Bass did on Sunday. I’d be surprised if we see him in the starting lineup again.
Marquess Wilson WR: Wilson continues to get a few snaps a game (8 Sunday), but only the occasional target in the passing game (0 Sunday). I’ve got a feeling he gets a ball or two thrown his way next week as Earl Bennett seems to be disappearing from the game plan.
Cornelious Washington DE: Active for the 1st time since week 4, Washington played 6 snaps on Sunday and had a nice tackle on Joique Bell near the line of scrimmage. With as bad as Bass played Sunday, we might see more of Washington next week if Shea McClellin is out again.
Twitter: @MikeFlannery_