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Bears Must Look to Their Own History and Prioritize the Center Position

| March 1st, 2024


Here’s what I don’t want to hear/read as the Bears prepare for training camp this summer: “Player X is a natural guard but the Bears are planning to use him at center.” No. No more. Enough.

The Chicago Bears have had two periods of play at or near the top of the sport in the Super Bowl era: one under Mike Ditka and one under Lovie Smith. What did those two periods have in common? From 1985 to 1991, the Bears had a Pro Bowl center in Jay Hilgenberg. In 2006, the last time the Chicago Bears made the Super Bowl, their center, Olin Kreutz, was voted first-team All-Pro. These are not coincidental facts. Centers are the anchor of the offensive line, and the offensive line is the most important “unit” within a professional football operation. Offensive lines don’t need to be collections of top talent. It helps, but it’s not necessary. Offensive linemen need to be resilient and versatile. Offensive lines need to play with cohesion. That resiliency emanates from the center position. Cohesion derives from the leadership in the middle.

The Bears are building something impressive up front, despite what the Justin Fields devotees want you to believe. They will more than likely enter the 2024 season with Braxton Jones (25 this season) at left tackle, Teven Jenkins (26) at left guard, Nate Davis (28) at right guard and Darnell Wright (23) at right tackle. Those are four solid options up front, especially if Davis rebounds from a complicated 2023. (Folks who think Davis suddenly can’t play ignore the myriad of personal complications that drowned his campaign.) Can they perhaps upgrade at a spot or two? Potentially, but none of those four players need to be actively replaced this off-season. None of that matters, however, when the center position is consistently occupied by veteran turnstiles on their last legs in the league, all of whom seem to be incapable of executing a shotgun snap.

It seems to have been an organization mandate to de-prioritize the center position. And there are options available to buck the trend.

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Some Fun Tweets to Lighten the Mood

| September 28th, 2021

Nick Foles: “Offense isn’t working.”


Ben Roethlisberger, Volume I.


Ben Roethlisberger, Volume II.

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Friday Thought Dump: Bears Approach in Minneapolis, Year-End Awards & More

| December 28th, 2018

This is such a weird week. Traffic is down because nobody is around. The game will have little-to-no juice unless the Niners make a game of it in Los Angeles. And we’re on the precipice of getting to big boy football. January football. Playoff football. So this is a Friday thought dump.

  • I’ve gone back and forth on how Nagy should handle Sunday a million times but I’ve settled on The Olin Kreutz Approach. The Bears legend believes (a) the Niners are not beating the Rams under any circumstances and (b) subsequently the Bears should sit Mack, Hicks, Cohen and Robinson while playing everybody else for the first half. This takes the game seriously while protecting the club’s most important assets going into the postseason.
  • A logical question: what about the quarterback? I’d argue Trubisky would benefit from facing that defense on the road, even if it’s only for two quarters. If the Bears are going to be playing in February they will more than likely need to win a tough game (or two) on the road. Experiences like Sunday could benefit the young QB.
  • “But Jeff, why not wait and see how the Rams/Niners game plays out?” Again, fair question. And I don’t have an answer. The value of the two-seed can not be overstated. The two-seed means win one game at Soldier Field, where the Bears have been dominant, and you’re in the NFC title game.

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Grasu Pick Not Sexy, But Substantial

| May 5th, 2015

Hroniss-Grasu

“His makeup is outstanding. When you talk about work ethic, team captain, leadership all those traits that we stress around here, he brings those to the table.”

-Ryan Pace

The Bears expect Kevin White to be a star but third-round pick Hroniss Grasu could be the most important piece of establishing their new identity. Taking Grasu in the third round wasn’t sexy and wasn’t expected, but it’s not unlike 1998 when the Bears spent the 64th pick on Olin Kreutz. One major difference: Grasu’s impact should be felt more immediately.

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