Former Chicago Bears center and current television analyst Olin Kreutz offered his insight on what’s been plaguing the Bears’ running game in a recent conversation with The Athletic’s Adam Jahns, and it’s worth noting in advance of Chicago’s showdown with Aaron Donald and the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night.
“Part of the Bears’ problems is when you watch their film is that Cody’s not doing a very good job recognizing these run blitzes coming at them,” Kreutz said. “If you watch the Tampa Bay game, Alex Bars comes in and he slides away from Alex Bars immediately. To me, that’s a problem. We talk about Mitch Trubisky having awareness, same thing at the center position. You have to be aware of everything that’s going on around him.”
Whitehair isn’t having a terrible season. His 67.6 grade from Pro Football Focus ranks seventh-best on the Bears’ offense and his 77.8 run-blocking grade is tops among Chicago’s offensive linemen. It’s a classic case of the analytics not matching the eye-test, especially when that exam is conducted by one of the best offensive linemen in Bears franchise history.
“When you play a game wrecker, you just have to always account for where he is,” Kreutz said. “You’re going to change protections a little bit. A lot of that comes down the center. Like, OK, if I’m supposed to slide away from Aaron Donald here but the linebacker doesn’t look like he’s coming that I’m sliding to, I’m just going to change the protection and make maybe a middle call and sit right here in the middle so I can take my help to Aaron Donald, especially if he’s matched up on Rashaad Coward.”
Kreutz isn’t grading each rep, he isn’t applying any metric to his analysis. Instead, he’s relying on his experience playing the position and is able to see things that the casual fan or data analyst can’t. So if he’s telling you that Whitehair is struggling in this critical area of the running game? Believe him.
The Bears currently rank 31st in the NFL in rushing yards per game entering Monday night against the Rams.