According to one respected football website, the Chicago Bears offensive line is one of the best in the league.
The Chicago Bears received plenty of criticism in 2016. Most of it was fair, but the one thing the Bears were also criticized for was the play of the offensive line. While the line play did struggle at times, that was largely due to a slow start by Bobby Massie and of course injuries to Kyle Long and Josh Sitton.
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However, the foundation is there for a very good offensive line and Pro Football Focus recognized that when they released their rankings for every offensive line unit in the NFL.
Sure, there are some questionable slots. They have the Dallas Cowboys ranked ninth. While they give their reasons why they might slip in 2017, it’s hard to imagine they still aren’t a top 5 unit when they are healthy.
They ranked the Philadelphia Eagles as the top unit in the league, followed by the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans.
Bears fans might be surprised to find out that their beloved franchise is ranked fifth. Here’s what PFF had to say about the Bears unit:
"Fifth might seem steep for Chicago, but at the moment there isn’t a better interior offensive line in the NFL. Left guard Josh Sitton, center Cody Whitehair, and right guard Kyle Long are all Pro Bowl-caliber players. The issues arise at tackle where Charles Leno and Bobby Massie have never proven themselves more than below average starters."
PFF states what we have been stating since midseason of last year, Long, Sitton and Cody Whitehair is such a strong interior unit it does wonders for the grade of the whole unit. Charles Leno isn’t an amazing tackle, but he’s solid and, while he isn’t flashy, he’s certainly better than most fans give him credit for.
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Massie was atrocious to start the season, but proved to be a capable run blocker for most of the season and improved on his spotty pass pro (although it still wasn’t great). The Bears offensive line certainly has holes and they do need help at tackle, but the unit is much stronger than they are given credit for. They will have no problem opening holes for Jordan Howard and overall, they should keep Mike Glennon and Mitch Trubisky on their feet, however, to be fair, this unit is a far better run blocking than pass blocking unit.
Whether you respect pro football focus or disagree with the ranking, the one thing that this does prove is that there are several offensive lines in the league far worse than the one in Chicago.