Fox Finally Likes His Roster, Whitehair Stands Out, Loggains Succeeds, and Other Bullets

Dec 27, 2017

16 weeks into the 2017 season, and Chicago Bears Head Coach John Fox finally believes his team is on a level playing field: “You don’t really know until you dig in. We’ve definitely made a lot of changes,” Fox said regarding coaching the rebuilding Bears, via Chris Emma of CBS Chicago/WSCR-AM 670. “I think we got a good, young, talented roster. I think we still have holes. But at least we’re kind of at a level playing field now.”

Fox admitted that the rebuild hasn’t been easy, but at least the Bears are starting to see the fruits of their labor. It may not have been enough to turn the tides in 2017, but there’s hope for next season.

Indeed, if the Bears are truly at a level playing field, Mitch Trubisky’s play has helped get them there. Sunday’s efforts might have been Trubisky’s most impressive, because as JJ Stankevitz of NBC Sports Chicago points out, Trubisky took major strides despite a lackluster performance from the running game. We recently discussed Trubisky’s struggles when Chicago’s rushing attack has been stifled, so to see the rookie quarterback engineer three touchdown drives in the red zone was encouraging.

Trubisky wasn’t the only Week 16 standout, though. Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times dives into the film and comes away impressed with Cody Whitehair and the re-shuffled interior of the Bears’ offensive line. Jahns points out Whitehair’s strong play on both of Jordan Howard’s touchdown runs and Trubisky’s four-yard score. Whitehair seemed to hit a bit of a second-year wall in 2017, but has rounded into form as the season’s progressed. If the Bears can stick Whitehair at one position, his future remains bright. As it stands, Whitehair is Pro Football Focus’ ninth-highest-graded center with a 74.7 grade.

Here’s a sentence I never thought I’d read, and I’m certain Dan Pompei was surprised to type it: “Dowell Loggains got the better of Gregg Williams.” Williams is a long-time defensive coordinator who is highly regarded and believed to be one of the best in the league. But Loggains put together one of his best game plans and went blow-for-blow with Williams on Sunday. That the Bears offense did what it did despite a patchwork offensive line and a muted rushing attack says a lot about how well Trubisky and the rest of the unit executed on Sunday.

Then again, it helps when your quarterback can provide help to the running game. “He’s got that ability,” Fox said of his quarterback, via Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “He’s done it before. It’s not his first time. But I thought those were some big conversions at some big moments. It gives you a dimension at the quarterback position that not everybody has.”

Trubisky ran for 44 yards on seven attempts as he created offense with his legs when there wasn’t anywhere to throw. This is a sure sign of Trubisky’s development, seeing that it would have been easy for a lesser-prepared quarterback to force a throw into a window and hope for the best on a snowy day when it could have been easy to pack it in.

Of course, all these positive vibes we’re feeling a few days after the Bears’ Christmas Eve win might not be a thing had it not been for an untimely offsides penalty that negated Myles Garrett’s interception return touchdown. Rich Campbell writes the Bears used the second chance as a rallying point, one they turned into a lengthy touchdown drive. There’s an alternate universe where that pick-six happens because defensive lineman Carl Nassib lined up properly, but I’d rather not live there … even if the temperatures there are a bit warmer than they are currently.

You’ll have to wait until the 2:44 mark to see the Bears’ best play from Week 16, but it’s definitely worth the wait.

NFL catch rules even have officials like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯:

Sean McDermott: “How is that not a catch?!”

Ref: “I don’t know.” pic.twitter.com/ovUmXQ1B1h

— John Barchard (@JohnBarchard) December 27, 2017

I still have some minor qualms regarding how the Bears handled the Senior Bowl, but that’s for a different day. As for the upcoming Senior Bowl, whoever is coaching could get an interesting boost of firepower from the quarterback position. Eric Edholm of Pro Football Weekly reports Wyoming’s Josh Allen will soon make a decision whether or not he’ll attend the college football showcase event. Late last week, Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl. The Oklahoma Sooners signal caller is the first Heisman winner to head to Mobile, Ala. since Tim Tebow in 2010. Other quarterbacks who have committed to the game are Mason Rudolph (Oklahoma State), Luke Falk (Washington State), Kurt Benkert (Virginia), Mike White (Western Kentucky), Kyle Lauletta (Richmond), and Brandon Silvers (Troy).

The 2017 Senior Bowl class featured a pair of quarterbacks who started NFL games for their respective teams this season. Both Nate Peterman (Bills) and C.J. Beathard (Iowa) were coached by John Fox and the Bears’ staff. John Fox’s North Team also featured players like running back Kareem Hunt, wide receiver Cooper Kupp, cornerback Desmond King, place kicker Zane Gonzalez, among others. Naturally, the only player the Bears plucked from the 2017 Senior Bowl is offensive lineman Jordan Morgan, who’s spent the entire season on injured reserve.

As someone who was a long-time fan of Doug Buffone on the radio, this was a bit tough to read. Rick Telander of the Chicago Sun-Times writes that Dana Buffone believes her husband was suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (a.k.a. CTE) when he died in his sleep in 2015. Telander reports Dana had Doug’s body exhumed and his brain removed and sent to Boston University for further research. Boston University has experience with these cases, so we will soon know whether Buffone, who played 14 years for the Bears from 1966 to 1979, suffered from CTE.

written by

Luis C. Medina

Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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