Re-Visiting What Works, Endorsements for Castillo, Fun With Mocks, and Other Bears Bullets

Feb 18, 2020

This season of “The Bachelor” has the questionable decision-making of an underdeveloped quarterback. And yet, you better believe I’m tuning in next week to see how much crazier it can get.

I wish the Bears would have done this more often in 2019:

#Bears — Inside Zone is tough to defend when it hits downhill like this…

• LT wins at the POA

• QB Mitchell Trubisky reads the edge defender (hesitates through the mesh point)

• Open running lane for David Montgomery @NFLMatchup pic.twitter.com/C37B1VUFeC

— Matt Bowen (@MattBowen41) February 17, 2020

It is so evident to me that one of the goals for Mitch Trubisky in the 2019 season was to win from the pocket in order to diversify his game and make him a more well-rounded quarterback. Unfortunately, there was so much of an emphasis, other facets of his game went underutilized. A play like the one above should have been a staple of the Bears offense in 2019. Moving forward, it would be nice to re-visit what worked and make sure it is used more often in 2020.

More of this, too, please:

There’s something about running downhill that gets the best out of offensive linemen. Something about the aggressive nature of pushing forward that lathers up linemen early in a game that makes me think there is a correlation between early run-game success and pass-blocking positives that come afterward. Maybe it’s just a mental thing. Hopefully, new Offensive Line Coach Juan Castillo is up to the challenge.

Castillo’s Eagles teams had some menacing offensive linemen. Some even spoke with Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic to fill in Bears fans as to what their team’s new OL Coach is all about:

Tra Thomas, Jon Runyan and Jamaal Jackson combined to start 360+ games on Juan Castillo’s offensive line in an Andy Reid offense. They described what the Bears are getting in their new OL coach https://t.co/IpXCfAPZbT
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) February 18, 2020

This quote from Jon Runyan essentially sums up offensive line play: “When you get all five guys doing the same thing, whether it’s right or wrong, as long as you’re doing the same thing together, you’re gonna be successful.” Five guys working together for the betterment of everyone else on the offense is quite the visual. Talk about a thankless job.

I knew the offensive line coaching gig was one that has been hit with turnover in recent years. It’s just that I didn’t fully realize the scope of it until Fishbain spelled it out in his story. The Bears will have had six offensive line coaches work under three head coaches since the start of the 2013 season. I remember the likes of Aaron Kromer (2013), Dave Magazu (2015-16), Jeremiah Washburn (2017), and Harry Hiestand (2018-19), but the Pat Meyer (2014) era is totally lost on me. Now I’m curious to know if rotating through offensive line coaches is as damaging to that position group as shuffling through offensive coordinators is as damaging to quarterback development. I have to imagine the answer is yes.

A reminder that Castillo isn’t the only new coach on the offensive side of the ball. The Bears’ coaches can have limited contact with players at this time, which means their priority now should probably be to find their niche under Matt Nagy’s umbrella. ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson writes about the roles of the news guys.

There is a bunch of fun to be had with the Draft Network’s Mock Draft Simulator. Lorin Cos of PFF and Bears Wire unearthed this gem:

Playing around with @DraftNetworkLLC Mock Draft Simulator, if you trade all of the #Bears picks, the highest you can move up is to No. 9 with the Jaguars
Still able to land Justin Herbert, not bad pic.twitter.com/oldwrdAiQC

— Lorin Cox (@CoxSports1) February 17, 2020

In case you’re curious, the Bears announced some key 2020 offseason dates. Among the most important ones are the next two media availabilities for GM Ryan Pace and Head Coach Matt Nagy. The two will speak for the first time since undergoing a variety of coaching changes a week from today. There are so many questions they should be faced with about the firings and hirings, as well as their Combine plans, and future plans in free agency. So much ground to cover, so little time.

Throw it back to a star-studded Pro Bowl practice featuring Eddie Jackson and some friends:

Let the kids play everything:

Love these stats on multiple sport athletes, especially those who were track athletes from the Superbowl. @CoachP4Speed pic.twitter.com/idAJmf2mp8

— Coach Vlk (@BGHITMEN) February 18, 2020

Getting closer to legalized sports betting in Illinois:

https://twitter.com/JoeO670/status/1229474389307150336?s=20

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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