3 trends that continued with Bill Lazor calling Chicago Bears plays

Protect the Offensive Line

The Bears did a horrible job of protecting their tackles through three weeks. They sent all eligible receivers out for routes, and there were never extra blockers to chip or provide double teams.

Those numbers were consistent against the Raiders as well. In Justin Fields’ first start, Cole Kmet blocked on 6% of all passes while Jimmy Graham did not block. Against the Lions, those numbers shot up to 25% for Kmet and 10% for Graham. Kmet was up to 26% blocking on pass plays, but Graham sat at 10% again.

Beyond that, the team added Alex Bars as an extra lineman who was an extra blocker on four pass plays. Khalil Herbert also ran just seven routes while staying into block six times.

The Bears are now dead set on protecting their line. They have more tight ends on the field, and they are blocking, and even backs, as well as an extra lineman, are buying Justin Fields more time.