Chicago Bears: Three players who surprised vs. Broncos

Cody Whitehair

While Cody Whitehair wasn’t perfect in Saturday’s game, he made some progress with the snapping issues that have plagued him all preseason. Both Patrick Sheldon and I highlighted how bad Whitehair looked snapping the ball from shotgun in practices on Wednesday and Thursday. Whitehair’s job may have been on the line on Saturday, and he was able to stay consistent.

Whitehair looked good on the first offensive drive, delivering each shotgun snap on target to Trubisky. On the second offensive drive, the Bears were backed up inside their own five-yard line. Whitehair delivered a good snap to Trubisky, but it slipped right through the quarterback’s hands. The team gave up a safety on the play and went down 2-0 early.

That bad snap probably wasn’t Whitehair’s fault, but some fans automatically assumed it was the snap that led to the safety. It may have been a little high, but if it hits the quarterback in the hands he has to catch the ball.

Whitehair played the entire first half, even after Trubisky exited the game. It wasn’t all great for him though. Whitehair nearly airmailed a snap to Trubisky on a play that ended up going for a touchdown. The quarterback made a nice adjustment and pulled the ball in, leading to a 7-yard TD to tight end Trey Burton.

Whitehair definitely went in the right direction with his play on Saturday. However, he will have to improve even more if he wants to keep his job as the starting center. He is naturally a guard, so there is a good chance he will slide over to make way for rookie James Daniels at some point this season.