Football Verbiage, Ground Excellence, Where is the Blocking? And Other Bears Bullets

Mar 22, 2023

Of course, it came down to Shohei Ohtani against Mike Trout — the two best players in MLB — to decide the winner of the World Baseball Classic. Now imagine if both of those guys were on the same team…

Call me a homer if you’d like, but I feel as if the Khalil Herbert-D’Onta Foreman tandem deserves consideration here:

https://twitter.com/PFF_Fantasy/status/1638182422738251776?s=20

Herbert’s 5.7 yards/carry was the most among running backs who qualified for the rushing crown. This put him ahead of Franchise Tagged running backs Tony Pollard (5.2), Josh Jacobs (4.9), and Saquon Barkley (4.4). Heck, Foreman’s 4.5 yards/carry had him on par with Austin Ekeler (4.5) and Jonathan Taylor (4.5) and ahead of the human embodiment of a runaway freight train (Derrick Henry – 4.4) and free agent signings such as Jamaal Williams (4.1), David Montgomery (4.0), and James Robinson (3.9). Throw quarterback Justin Fields into the discussion and you won’t find a better ground game trio than what Chicago boasts.

There is no doubt the Bears’ run-blocking levels up the running game, too. Using Pro Football Focus’ grading as our guide, this offensive line features the 11th best run-blocking tackle (Braxton Jones), the 3rd (Teven Jenkins) and 13th (Nate Davis) best guards. That is a strong foundation for the ground game. If the pass blocking can hit another gear, then Chicago’s offense would be cooking with fire.

They still have holes on the offensive line, but I don’t think Jonah Williams is the answer. Nevertheless, I find it interesting that NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reports there has been interest from around the league in the Bengals tackle who recently requested a trade:

The #Bengals have had trade conversations centered around LT Jonah Williams, sources say, as the interest heats up in the player who has 47 career starts. Williams requested a trade following the signing of Orlando Brown, and Cincy has heard from several possible suitors.— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 22, 2023

RapSheet doesn’t name names, but it would be surprising if the Bears made serious inquiries. Again, that right tackle hole is a gaping one. And if Williams was willing to make the switch, then maybe I’d re-consider my stance. However, if Williams was willing to flip from left to right, then why would he request a trade out of Cincy? Perhaps there is some buy low potential here on a player who underperformed and will have a full offseason to recover from injuries that slowed him down in 2022. But there isn’t much interest on my end in terms of cutting a deal right now.

Schematically, I’m not even sure Williams is a fit. This quote from Bears Offensive Coordinator Luke Getsy from mid-November crossed my mind: “We’re not the Cincinnati Bengals just spreading out 2 by 2 and spitting it out, one-on-one routes. That’s not been who were are.” That was in reference to trying to get Chase Claypool going after his trade to Chicago, but those words seem telling.

In theory, GM Ryan Poles could trade precious draft capital to acquire Williams on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal. Or Poles could leverage some of that remaining cap space on players who might be a better fit. Tackles such as Isaiah Wynn, Cameron Fleming, George Fant, and Billy Turner make sense as stop-gap options who can hold down the fort while draft-picks-to-be-named-later develop.

OK, so this group needs some work:

The Bears official roster lists the following offensive linemen:

Larry Borom
Ja'Tyre Carter
Nate Davis
Kellen Diesch
Dieter Eiselen
Teven Jenkins
Braxton Jones
Doug Kramer
Alex Leatherwood
Lucas Patrick
Cody Whitehair

I'm intrigued by depth battles, but this group needs work. pic.twitter.com/RVM1DAMp8G— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) March 21, 2023

You never know where your next great offensive lineman is coming from. After all, starting left tackle Braxton Jones was a fifth-round pick from Southern Utah. With that in mind, Cody Mauch (North Dakota State) and McClendon Curtis (Chattanooga) are offensive linemen on Trevor Sikkema’s list of small-school prospects who are considered to be sleepers in the upcoming NFL Draft. (PFF)

A good catch by Shayne Marsaw’s listening ear:

According to @josephperson on with @AdamHoge & @adamjahns the 3 “booster” players Poles had on his list were DJ Moore Brian Burns & Derrick Brown. #Bears Listen to the entire pod https://t.co/JMG3yCuXBB— Shayne L. Marsaw (@wasram) March 21, 2023

Hypotheticals are fun, but the reality of what the Bears received for the first overall pick is more fun. A tip of the cap to Ryan Poles for knowing what he was looking for and getting it.

Even though the Bears addressed their receiver needs at the top of the depth chart with the D.J. Moore trade, I wouldn’t be opposed to drafting Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Especially if he turns out to be the highest-ranking player on the Bears’ board when they go on the clock:

https://twitter.com/JoshNorris/status/1638270582306361351?s=20

Sure, that might go down as a luxury pick. But it could also be an insurance pick by the Poles regime. Keep in mind that Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool are going to be free agents after this season. Perhaps the Bears will see value in giving JSN a shot at developing behind the Moore-Mooney-Claypool (they sound like a law firm!) before elevating him as a second-year player in 2024. Or maybe I just like the idea of the Bears being able to spread opposing defenses with four capable wide receivers.

Jeff Hughes (Da Bears Blog) offers up an interesting conversation about how we talk about football. As in the words and language we use in discussing a variety of things. Words matter. And after reading Hughes’ piece, I feel as if we (present company included) should be more cognizant of what we use.

The Houston Texans have been BUSY. (BN NFL)

This is a pleasant surprise:

Don’t Look Now, but the Bulls Playoff Odds Have Skyrocketedhttps://t.co/oqeMyJsLay pic.twitter.com/gEZfjll6fl
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) March 21, 2023

Are the Bulls back?

After losing Willson Contreras to the Cardinals in free agency, the math ain’t mathin’ at catcher for the Cubs:

The Cubs Catcher Spot Projects Quite Poorly in a Statistical Set of Power Rankings

Keeping eyes on Blackhawks prospects as teams skate onward to the Frozen Four:

Two of the #Blackhawks prospects drafted in 2022 are still alive in the NCAA #FrozenFour tournament. We took a look at how the entire Class of '22 has been doing this seasonhttps://t.co/nRk49VvmJS pic.twitter.com/bSPyVyAt0l— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 21, 2023

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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