In two weeks, the Chicago Bears have allowed nine sacks. Two sacks came in Week 1 against the Titans and seven more against the Texans in Week 2. Two sacks in a game are acceptable. Seven is not. The Texans started blitzing Caleb Williams heavily and the offensive line could not stop them. Even when the Texans only sent five or six guys, the line could not identify and pickup stunts or blitzes. It was a rough day for the unit that allowed 36 pressures on 37 passing attempts. It was also a tough day for Caleb Williams who was bruised and battered.
The Bears' offensive line was easily the biggest area of concern heading into the offseason and we are seeing it become a problem. It's possible they just need to get used to a new scheme brought in by Shane Waldron, but if not for Justin Fields padding their rushing stats the last two years, the offensive line would have looked worse on paper heading into 2024. Continuity keeps coming up too, but outside of the new center Coleman Shelton, the other four were here in 2023. I'm getting tired of that excuse, to be honest.
Two moves the Chicago Bears should make to fix the offensive line
There seems to be some frustration brewing from the players who are now just saying they are doing what they are taught to do. Does this mean that Chris Morgan needs to go? If I could predict Matt Eberflus firing one of his buddies that would be the only move the Chicago Bears would need to make to fix the offensive line this year. The problem is, I don't think that happens even if warranted.
Many say Morgan deserves credit for helping develop Braxton Jones, but Jones has regressed this year. Darnell Wright has not looked like a top-10 pick too often either. The interior has been a hot mess. I expect more out of this group that has struggled the first two weeks and if they look bad against one of the worst defenses to start 2024 (the Colts), then it is time to start panicking.
It might be too soon to shake things up, but if I am Matt Eberflus I am looking to send a message. Here is how I would do it.
Move No. 1: Bench Nate Davis and move Teven Jenkins back to RG
Have you seen enough of Nate Davis? Davis had a history of being known as a lazy player despite showing up on game day. He never wanted to practice and we saw that again this year -- constantly being "hurt" during training camp. Well, that is a major loaf and Matt Eberflus needs to stick to his guns. I have to wonder if Ryan Bates wouldn't be pushing Nate Davis out of the starting lineup if he was healthy -- another guy who is becoming a disappointment due to never being healthy.
Shelton has been bad the first two games, but you can't make a switch at center right now. At least there has not been any snapping issues like we have seen in the past. What the Chicago Bears should do, though, is bench Davis and send a message not only to the offensive line unit, not only to Chris Morgan because it points out his failures, but also to the entire locker room. No one is safe if you don't perform.
Moving Teven Jenkins over to right guard would pair him up with Darnell Wright. These two are easily the best run-blocking linemen on the roster. Having them together could make for a nice blocking front for the struggling running backs through the first two games.
Some might think that making this move is too much. Why make two moves when you can just keep Jenkins at left guard and replace Nate Davis at right guard? Well, you might not remember this, but Jenkins was also better at right guard than he was at left guard. Moving him over now will give the rest of the line time to develop and form that continuity everyone is so obsessed about over the next few weeks against lesser defenses.
Move No. 2: Add Matt Pryor into the starting lineup at LG
Matt Eberflus already said they will not be making any changes to the offensive line's starting lineup. That said, Teven Jenkins is already missing practice due to a thigh bruise. Guess who replaced him in practice? Yep, you guessed it -- Matt Pryor. See, they are already making these two moves without knowing it.
In this case, we already moved Teven Jenkins to right guard assuming he will be healthy enough to play on Sunday. Based on Eberflus' comment about not making changes to the starters, I am sure he will be fine. Now, putting Pryor in at left guard makes sense. Pryor is a bit of a journeyman who has played both tackle and guard. However, if we look back at his 2020 season, Pryor started 10 games at left guard for the Eagles. According to Pro Football Focus, it wasn't his greatest season, however, he played a few snaps at LG for the 49ers last year and he graded out fairly well.
Pryor cannot look any worse than what we have seen from the interior offensive line at this point. He is a proven veteran and looked solid at times in the preseason -- even if against backups. I'm tired of seeing Nate Davis not blocking someone or being fooled on stunts. Let's see if Pryor can do a better job seeing he has been on multiple offensive lines and played multiple positions along both the interior and the exterior of the line.
What do you think? Do you want to see the Chicago Bears make some changes on the offensive line or is it too soon? Is the offensive line the biggest problem, or something else?