We all knew this season was about tracking progress for a big offseason when we finally can see what Ryan Poles does with real assets. Still, while the Chicago Bears are building toward the future, they do need to see progress from some players along the way. We have seen that in some, but others are trending in the other direction.
Which players from the Chicago Bears are not hitting their stride right now?
3. Trevis Gipson has slowed down since Chicago Bears traded Robert Quinn
When the Chicago Bears traded Robert Quinn, it appeared to open a lot of playing time for Trevis Gipson. Gipson was having the most productive season of any Bears rusher, so it was a great chance to see what he was made of.
Last year, it appeared as though Khalil Mack getting the attention made life easier for Robert Quinn. This year, it appears that once the attention shifted to Quinn, Gipson took advantage. Now, without Quinn, and eyes on Gipson, he is not producing.
Gipson has not recorded a sack since the Quinn trade and has just one quarterback hit in that span.
His pass rush productivity rating was 14 during the first seven weeks, per PFF. that is down to three. Beyond that, his pass rush win rate has dropped from 25.6% to 9.5%.
He is not getting sacks, mainly because he is not winning anymore. Beyond that, he somehow is the worst run defender in a group of bad run defenders. A significant note Sunday was the Chicago Bears using Al-Quadin Muhammad to rotate with Trevis Gipson, while Dominique Robinson led the team in snaps.
Did they give Gipson his shot as a starter, and now they have moved on to giving their pick the chance? Could Muhammad start to eat into the snaps of Gipson more than Robinson? That appears to be the case so far.
2. Angelo Blackson was benched by Chicago Bears
Just last week we wrote about the change that the Chicago Bears made on the defensive line. They went from starting Angelo Blackson to putting Armon Watts in that role. Watts is a much better run defender and is the best run defender on an awful defensive line.
On the flip side, Angelo Blackson was the worst of the interior linemen against the run. The change started to come slowly but surely, but last week was the biggest split yet.
Heck, it was not a split, Watts was the main starter, and Angelo Blackson was hardly on the field. In fact, Blackson played just nine snaps. That pushed him below Mike Pennel to the number four man on the interior line.
He started the season getting around 40 snaps per game. He was down around 20 snaps the past couple of games and now is down at nine. There is no reason to expect him to play more, either. He is the only of the four that Ryan Poles did not bring in. He is going to be on a new team next year, while the team can at least see more from Watts and Justin Jones, two players that Poles signed.
1. The Chicago Bears rookie Kyler Gordon needs to show growth this month
There have been some ups and downs from Kyler Gordon this season. It started with some drastic lows, but he started to find himself. Still, he has not played as well in recent weeks. Some of this could be that his best games were against Washington and New England.
When you think of them, you are not thinking of their fierce slot receivers. Then, the team played CeeDee Lamb, and things did not go as well. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jaylen Waddle, Kyle Pitts, and Drake London all have proceeded to get the better of Gordon for at least one big pass.
One area that Gordon has played well in has been his ability to tackle. He forced a punt with two strong open-field tackles against Atlanta. Still, he allowed a touchdown to London and a 20-yard gain to Pitts.
At the end of the day, you need to see your cornerback play better in coverage. He is losing to big names, but there are big names on every team in the NFL, and he cannot just rely on the bad passing attacks to perform well. This will be a huge, because going into the offseason with momentum is much different than questioning if you still have a hole in the slot.