Chicago Bears: Why offensive line has struggled early on

The Chicago Bears offensive line has struggled through five games, which in turn has caused problems with the offense. Here’s why it’s struggled.

From penalties to injuries, the Chicago Bears’ o-line has underperformed. That’s made it difficult for the offense to get on track. It’s affected the running game (28th in the NFL, according to Football Outsiders) and the passing game, and it didn’t make life easier for backup quarterback Chase Daniel when he stepped in for an injured Mitchell Trubisky.

Indeed, if the o-line play had been better up until this point, perhaps the Bears would be 4-1 or 5-0, as opposed to 3-2. The struggles have been glaring in just about every game, save for perhaps the win over a hapless Redskins team. Perhaps the Bears manage to score more than 3 points against Green Bay in the opener and win it? Perhaps the Bears manage to run out the clock after taking the lead against Oakland, instead of giving the Raiders the chance to score?

Let’s start with left tackle Charles Leno Junior. He’s got the fifth-worst grade on Chicago’s offense, according to Pro Football Focus, and along with Kyle Long (more on him in a minute), he’s been the worst lineman in the run game. Not to mention he’s been flagged for penalties eight times – a team high. He’s protested some of these flags, and offensive linemen across the NFL are struggling with holding and use of hands penalties as the league has changed its points of emphasis. And to be fair, he’s allowed just one sack and was a Pro Bowler a year ago.

Still, the timing of the penalties has been costly – the Packers game is a good example – and if he doesn’t adjust to the league’s new way of calling penalties soon, that could remain problematic for the Bears.

Kyle Long, who was just placed on injured reserve, was also a problem for the offensive line. He’s long been a quality player, but it’s clear that he’s been playing hurt. It’s hard to swallow when talking about a fan favorite who’s been plagued by injuries in the past, but perhaps the move to the injured reserve list will help the team overall. Ted Larsen and Rashaad Coward may be relative unknowns, but it’s possible that either one could be better than an injured Long, even if they couldn’t outplay him if he were healthy.

The last concern on the o-line has been the position switch between Cody Whitehair and James Daniels. Whitehair was the center last year, and Daniels the left guard. There’s been a bit of talk that both players aren’t quite adjusted to their new roles, and that’s hampering line play.

Former Notre Dame standout Alex Bars is now on the active roster, and he could be part of the solution moving forward, as well.

That’s the future, though. Looking back at the recent past, it’s clear that the struggles have been a mixture of Leno’s penalties, Long’s injuries, and the inability of Daniels and Whitehair to acclimate to new spots on the line. Bobby Massie, the right tackle, has also played below expectations.

That’s why the line has struggled – one key player keeps getting flagged, one has been playing hurt, two have underperformed due to new roles, and one is just simply not playing well for reasons unknown.

The good news is this is fixable – new blood should be an improvement over an injured player (even one as good as Long), Daniels and Whitehair are veterans who likely will eventually get comfortable in their new roles, Leno should be able to adjust to the officiating, and Massie should be able to improve his play.

If not, it’s going to be a long year.