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Brad Biggs | Chicago
Tribune
Part 3 of an
11-part review of the 2018 Bears season.
Of all the moves Matt Nagy made after being
hired as Bears coach, persuading Vic Fangio to stick around as defensive
coordinator received the most attention, and deservedly so.
Building on the continuity of the previous three
seasons with some key personnel additions, the Bears jumped to No. 1 in the
league in scoring defense, paving the way for Fangio to be hired as Broncos
head coach, fulfilling a career-long goal.
Not to be
overlooked is the hire Nagy made for the offensive line, luring Harry Hiestand
from Notre Dame for his second stint as Bears offensive line coach. Hiestand
is a grinder, happy as can be to lead offensive linemen with no known
aspirations of doing anything beyond that.
If
Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia is the best in the business,
Hiestand is on a short list behind him, according to Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz,
who was a line coach himself in the NFL.
“If you
look (at) what Dante has done in New England and the fact that Notre Dame had
two guys taken in the first nine picks, that stuff doesn’t happen by accident,”
Ferentz said last spring. “Harry is a tremendous coach.”
Players
past and present have enormous affection for Hiestand. Former Bears lineman
Roberto Garza, normally concise and to the point, was effusive in his praise of
Hiestand last January.
“From the moment you walked into his meetings,
you knew he was serious,” Garza said. “He had a plan that you were going to buy
into it, and a lot of guys, we weren’t ready for that. But once you go on the field with
Harry and see what he has to offer, it’s hard not to fight for this guy every
single play. He is a guy you can trust. He is going to fight for his offensive
linemen and you will go to bat for him every day because he is going to have
your back and you are going to have his.”
The return of Hiestand and improved health on
the line put the Bears in a position where they needed only five starting
lineups. That’s two fewer than they had in 2017, thanks in large part to left
tackle Charles Leno, right tackle Bobby Massie and center Cody Whitehair
starting all 16 games. Left guard was practically locked down as rookie
second-round pick James Daniels rotated there with Eric Kush for three games
before taking over as the starter for the final 10 games.
Roll call: Charles
Leno (signed through 2021), James Daniels (signed through 2021), Cody Whitehair
(signed through 2019), Kyle Long (signed through 2021), Bobby Massie
(unrestricted free agent), Bradley Sowell (signed through 2019), Bryan Witzmann
(unrestricted free agent), Eric Kush (unrestricted free agent), Rashaad Coward
(exclusive-rights free agent).
2019 salary-cap figures: Leno
$8.9 million, Daniels $1,579,581, Whitehair $1,344,180, Long $8.5 million,
Sowell $1.8 million.
2018 season review: The
Bears allowed 33 sacks, tied for eighth-fewest in the NFL. The four teams that
played in the conference championship games ranked in the top eight, and seven
of the top nine teams in terms of fewest sacks allowed were playoff teams.
Protecting the quarterback is the No. 1 order of business for any offense, and
the Bears were much improved because of better line play combined with greater
awareness by second-year quarterback Mitch Trubisky.
The Bears
line led the NFL with only three enforced holding penalties, a product of
improved play and something players credited to Hiestand. Leno
continues to look like a bargain another year removed from the four-year, $37
million extension with $22 million guaranteed that he signed before the 2017
season. He allowed 32 quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus,
which tied for 29th-most among tackles, and he was added as an alternate to the
NFC Pro Bowl roster Tuesday morning. That makes him the first left tackle since
Jim Covert in 1987 to represent the Bears in the all-star game.
Leno has been a model of durability with 61
consecutive starts since taking over for Jermon Bushrod in the fourth game of
the 2015 season. His streak of 3,957 consecutive snaps ended in the waning
moments of the regular-season finale when Nagy pulled him with the playoffs
looming. Leno went to the bench for the final eight offensive plays and wasn’t
happy. Leno’s run was a very long way from Joe Thomas’ incredible streak of
10,363 consecutive snaps with the Browns, but it’s something Leno took a great
deal of pride in and still does. He should. Consider that since 2000, the only
other primary starter the Bears have had at left tackle for three consecutive
seasons is John Tait from 2005 through 2007. After Leno’s streak of 61
consecutive starts, the longest streak the Bears have had at left tackle since
2000 is 32 by J’Marcus Webb from 2011 to 2012. Leno has taken the job and run
with it, and he should continue to improve under Hiestand.
The Bears wanted to make sure Daniels, who was
20 when the season started, was ready for a starting role before they plugged
him in. They wanted him to earn the promotion on the practice field, not
because of his status as the 39th pick. He did that and was able to push Kush,
who was dealing with lingering effects from a stinger, to a reserve role. The
job wasn’t too big for Daniels, who has good size for the interior and easily
made the transition to guard after spending most of his college career at
center. He didn’t allow a sack, according to STATS.
Whitehair improved after an up-and-down 2017
season, thanks in large part to having a set position, and that work did not go
unnoticed as he was also added to the Pro Bowl as a replacement. The Bears
moved him back and forth in 2017, starting him at all three interior spots as
injuries created havoc for the previous coaching staff. He struggled over the
summer and in the preseason with shotgun snaps. Instead of being stubborn, he
embraced a new technique, using what is called a “dead snap” instead of the
more traditional spiral. It wasn’t perfect, but he quickly smoothed out his
snapping issues.
Although Long was slowed during the spring and
brought along slowly during training camp after three offseason surgeries, he
was in place for the start of the season and added brawn and power to the right
side of the line. He suffered a tendon injury in his right foot in Week 8
against the Jets, forcing him to injured reserve, but he set a goal to be back
before the season ended and achieved that, a testament to the hard work he puts
in after injuries. Long probably was on the ground too much at times, but he
was clearly better than fill-in Witzmann.
Massie just
finished the final season of his three-year, $18 million deal, which is quietly
one of the best free-agent contracts general manager Ryan Pace has issued.
After a bumpy first two months with the Bears, he has been solid at right
tackle, and the 29-year-old enjoyed his best season as a pro. Massie was
charged with only two sacks allowed by STATS and 25 pass pressures, per Pro
Football Focus, tied for 47th-most among tackles.
Witzmann was signed in October, and his
knowledge of the offense from his time in Kansas City made his insertion into
the lineup an easy adjustment. He’s a capable backup, which could make him a
smart re-signing. Sowell wasn’t needed much as the swing tackle, but the Bears
are comfortable with him in the scheme.
Free agency/draft priority: There
is work to do here, and Pace knows the best teams are proactive when it comes
to the offensive line. It’s too easy to get stuck in a bad position if you’re
not regularly adding young players with upside. The Bears had a major decision
to make involving an $8 million option for guard Josh Sitton a year ago, and
they elected to decline it. They have to decide if they want to pursue Massie
in free agency or seek another experienced option because the chance of finding
a starter with a third-round draft pick, at least a plug-and-play Day 1
starter, seems remote. Massie’s potential return will be a money-driven
decision. Are they comfortable investing in him for a couple of more years?
Coward is a developmental player who shifted from the defensive line to the
offensive line a year ago, and it might be a year too soon to think about him
as a possibility at right tackle. The only real action he has had came in the
preseason as he was inactive for all 16 regular-season games. The Bears will
need to re-sign Witzmann or another depth-type player.
Bottom line: The
Bears improved on the offensive line and there’s reason to believe they’ll be
even better in 2019. One looming question is whether the team will consider
flip-flopping Daniels and Whitehair. Nagy believes continuity is necessary for
the center-quarterback exchange, which is one reason the team wouldn’t make
that switch during the season. Would they consider a move at the start of the
offseason, especially with Whitehair coming off a season in which he was added
to the Pro Bowl? Whitehair is eligible for a new contract and he switched
representation during the season, surely with the idea of working toward a new
deal. Leno and Whitehair have emerged as leaders on the line since Sitton left,
so extending Whitehair figures to be on the to-do list, maybe come training
camp. Long’s durability has been an issue, but he has shown his toughness in
battling back. Given the shortage of draft picks and less cap space to work
with, it seems unlikely the Bears will create another need by letting him go.
The best thing Long has going for him right now is that he enters the offseason
not needing surgery, so he can focus on getting stronger. The right ankle
injury suffered in 2016 remains the biggest issue for him, but figure on the
Bears counting on him again in 2019.
Coming Thursday: Wide
receivers.
Twitter @BradBiggs
