By admin 
There’s no better indicator of where the Bears’ offense is than where their offensive line scores.
While The Athletic now ranks Caleb Williams behind Bo Nix among rookie QBs, and the Bears’ offense is struggling overall, the whole thing might be looking better barring the decline of their line.
Pro Football Focus has its offensive rankings in order and the Bears have dropped a full six spots as a result of their performance against Arizona.
When the season was about to start, so were they ranked 11th by PFF.
On the future of Lions OC Ben Johnson… pic.twitter.com/z1Z5xcF4LZ
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 7, 2024
Now, they rank 26th. This is real regression in an area that should be a strength for Bears GM Ryan Poles as he was an offensive lineman for a very short period in the NFL. It also doesn’t mean much for offensive line coach Chris Morgan.
So while Williams is constantly criticized, he also faces a consistent pass rush. Last week’s six sacks were typical.
The biggest issue facing the offensive line now is health, but depth is one area where they have not been lacking.
It looks like they’ll have to tackle Braxton Jones to at least try to play against New England. But Darnell Wright didn’t practice this week until Thursday.
They could have guarded Ryan Bates this week as he has been fully healthy and could return from IR. However, he may fill a backup role.
They certainly aren’t moving Coleman Shelton out.
Just read through @ChicagoBears The injury report is EXCELLENT@chrisbleck @AdamAAbdalla pic.twitter.com/Qyqxq84M13
— ESPN Chicago (@ESPN1000) November 7, 2024
“Right now, I think Ryan has done a great job working his way back into the mix after injury,” offensive coordinator Shane Waldron said Thursday. “I think Coleman has done a great job of controlling the inside of the line as far as communication and calls. Then every week we’ll have to deal with injuries or different things that happen where guys will be cross-training and getting ready to go on multiple spots within the game and we know we have all the confidence in the world in Ryan to play all three inside spots.
NOW CALEB WILLIAMS DOESN’T EVEN RATE AS SECOND BEST ROOKIE QB
NOT ALL BEARS OFFENSIVE PROBLEMS CAN BE TRACKED ON CALEB WILLIAMS
BEARS WEEK 10 THURSDAY INJURY REPORT: BIG BOOST FOR TACKLE SITUATION
What’s wrong with CALEB WILLIAMS’ deep throws?
“But like every week we will evaluate it towards the end of the week and as different circumstances arise, but in terms of that at the moment we are just looking for Ryan to continue to put good things on tape every day. ” practicing as he has continued to do as he works his way back from his rehabilitation.”
Could this be a potential HC and QB duo in Chicago next season? pic.twitter.com/7Tnszlr2Gb
— Chicago Bears Updates (@chbearsupdates) November 7, 2024
The Bears have currently allowed sacks on 8.55% of sack plays, worse than all but six other teams. Although they had some injuries, the line was healthier and the starters kept a higher percentage of games together than in the past two seasons.
Not all of the Bears’ offensive line rating news from PFF is bad.
Guard Matt Pryor had a high PFF grade of 86.6 for his pass blocking. Buday pointed out last week that it was third-best among all guards, and his 81.3 was 11th-best among all guards.
Buday also had positive things to say about Teven Jenkins. Last week, Jenkins was coming off an injury and was questionable for the game, but is labeled as their best player on the line.
“Jenkins has pressured 4.2% of pass plays this season, the best percentage of his career,” Buday wrote.
The bad news here, of course, is that Polen has not given Jenkins a new contract and he will be a free agent after this season.
It’s entirely possible that the Chicago Bears won’t start OT this Sunday. Besides coaching new players, Ryan Pole’s biggest failure was his inability to create even an above-average offensive line. #DaBeren
— Ben Devine (@Chicago_NFL) November 8, 2024
Twitter: BearsOnSI