Grading The Bears OL 2022 To Date

[soulman]

Grading Chicago Bears offensive line at bye week

by Parker Hurley 8 minutes ago Follow @parkerhurley

https://beargoggleson.com/2021/11/15/grading-chicago-bears-offensive-line/

 

One of the biggest topics of the 2021 season has been the Chicago Bears’ offensive line. However, during the heat of the season, it is hard to say what exactly the issues are until you put each player under the microscope. With the bye week, it is a good chance to go back through individual performances to decide which players are perfuming, and which are holding the unit back.

How would you grade each player?

Chicago Bears Offensive Tackles

Jason Peters

Matched up most against Justin Hollins, Trey Hendrickson, Myles Garrett, Charles Harris, Yannick Ngakoue, Jonathan Garvin, Shaq Barrett, Sampson Ebukam, Alex Highsmith 

Peters was called out of a near retirement just weeks before the season due to issues on the offensive line. With that in mind, he has to be graded on a bit of a curve. Still, many have looked at Peters as the best offensive lineman of the group.

According to PFF, he is responsible for four sacks allowed. They were given up by Garrett, Ngakoue, Hollins, and Ebukam. The names are not on the same tier of pass rusher, but they all have a very similar skill set. Ebukam and Hollins are essentially speed rushers, who cannot even hold up in the run game. Ngakoue consistently wins with an ability to bend the edge, and Garrett is obviously as fast as anyone. Peters has lost consistently against speed and players who can bend lower than he can as they burst around the corner. Smaller players and elite athletes who can get low with speed are going to beat him.

In the run game, he has been excellent, and he did have one of the better games against Hendrickson, who has been excellent this season. Still, there are obvious strengths and weaknesses to his game.

Jason Peters Overall Grade: B- 

Elijah Wilkinson 

Matched up most against Maxx Crosby and Rashan Gary

Wilkinson stepped in at left tackle for an injured Peters week one and then played one snap against Pittsburgh as well. However, his most prominent snaps were at right tackle against Las Vegas and Green Bay. Wilkinson has fans soured on him from back in the preseason, but he held his own against Crosby. Wilkinson did have ups and downs against Gary though. Beyond that, it is fair to say that Wilkinson has been better in the passing game than the run game, where he has struggled. Still, for a backup and a swing tackle, there are worse options.

Elijah Wilkinson Overall Grade: C

Larry Borom

Matched up most against: T.J. Watt and Nick Bosa

Borom made his debut in week one by logging 15 snaps to finish the game. However, the majority of his performances have been at right tackle, where he started the past two games. Borom took on Bosa and Watt which is as tough as you are going to get. It is hard to find many negatives in his games against those two. If the Bears can get this right tackle spot settled down, they could actually have a competent line to end the year.

Larry Borom Overall Grade: A

Germain Ifedi  

Matched up most against Leonard Floyd, Sam Hubbard, Jadeveon Clowney, and Austin Bryant

Germain Ifedi started the first fives games but left the Las Vegas game with an injury. He hit the COVID-19 list during his time on the Injured Reserved, but he is still out right now on the IR. Considering the Bears have Borom now there is not much need for Ifedi other than the depth at both guard and tackle.

He had a poor game against Clowney and was up and down against Floyd in week one. His biggest issue has not been pass protection as much as his impact in the run game. A lot of the issue with Ifedi is the process behind Ryan Pace bringing him back and not about his play. However, they are paying him $5M to start, and a day three rookie is better than him.

Germain Ifedi Overall Grade: D

Alex Bars 

Matched up most against Jason Pierre-Paul

Bars was thrown into the Bucs game to put out a fire that Lachavious Simmons started. Beyond that, he has been an extra tight end, where has been hard to knock him. His play has been fine, but the reality that the team went to Simmons, Ifedi, and Wilkinson over him speaks of how they view him.

Alex Bars Overall Grade: B-

Lachavious Simmons

Matched up most against Jason Pierre-Paul

This one is quick and easy. Once again, it probably is a coaching issue that they sent a player who was not ready to perform into an NFL game. Still, he was eaten alive by Pierre-Paul.

Lachavious Simmons Overall Grade: F

 

Chicago Bears interior lineman

Cody Whitehair

Matched up most against Aaron Donald, Larry Ogunjobi, Malik McDowell, Michael Brockers, John Hankins, Keke Kinglsey, Kenny Clark and Rakeem Nunez Roches, DJ Jones, Cam Heyward

Whitehair has been really up and down this season. It started off with an awful performance against Aaron Donald, which can be explained. He was up and down against Ogunjobi, and McDowell, though, which brought some questions.

Whitehair bounced back and had his best two games against Las Vegas and Detroit. It may be no surprise that his best two games are two of their three wins. His best two games were met with his worst two games. He struggled with everyone against Green Bay, and Tampa Bay was the same story.

Whitehair was solid overall against San Francisco, and the offense performed, but All-Pro candidate Cam Heyward has his way with Whitehair.

To be fair to Whitehair he saw a lot of Suh and Vea as well against Tampa. So, Donald, Suh, Vea, Hayward, and Clark are some of his worst games, and also some of the best players he has played against.

Still, Whitehair is the definition of average to below-average now. He is good to okay against weaker players and struggles against players better than him. Considering expectations on him from past performances, they need more.

Cody Whitehair Overall Grade: D+

Sam Mustipher

Matched up most against Sebastian Joseph-Day, BJ Hill, Jordan Elliott, Levi Ozurike, and Alim McNeil, Darius Philon, Vita Vea, Isaiah Buggs

When you compare this competition to the tackles, and Whitehair as well, it is not as daunting. This makes sense as the best pass rushers rarely line up right over the ball. So, pass rush is not necessarily the biggest indicator, but in that area, Mustipher has been about average.

His issues have come in other areas, though. He has been a below-average run blocker and lacks the power to hold his ground, and the speed to dig into the second level. Beyond that, snaps have rolled to Justin Fields too often.

Lastly, he has often been caught pointing out the wrong mike, or often needing help with communication. Between Mustipher and a rookie quarterback, it has been noticeable.

There are too many flaws to give Mustipher a pass.

Sam Mustipher Overall Grade: F

James Daniels

Matched up most against Greg Gaines, DJ Reader, Malik Jackson, Nick Williams, Quinton Jefferson, Dean Lowry and Kenny Clark, Ndamukong Suh, Chris Wormley Arik Armstead,

You could argue that aside from Mustipher, this is the next group that is least imposing. Still, James Daniels has also been the best lineman. As a pass protector, he is the best,

He not only has the stats of not giving up sacks, but he also has a good win rate and is not allowing much pressure. Beyond that, his movement in the run game helps get runs into the second level, and he can also pull which helps expand the run game outside of the tackles. Of course, he got called for a questionable penalty against the Steelers for it, but that is an example of the Bears finding success on a play where Daniels gets out on the move.

Daniels was trending up in a big way when he got hurt last season and picked up right where he left off. You can poke holes in the others, but Daniels has been a good player in 2021.

James Daniels Overall Grade: A

 

[soulman]

Based on this I have to wonder what games some of you have watched vs the games Parker Hurley has watched since his evaluation of James Daniels is miles away better than what I'm reading from some here.  I might have hesitated on a A grade but this jives a whole lot more with my views on Daniels than most others here.

Maybe the biggest surprise is how poorly Ifedi has graded out in the run game but then he's being graded here as an OT and not an OG where I thought he's performed pretty well in the past.  Now that Borom has returned and is starting at RT this would be a good time to move Ifedi back to RG for good where he can compete with Bars.

Whitehair's grade is a disappointment but not a surprise.  He has been very inconsistent which is a typical for him.  I'm still in favor of moving him back to OC because when your current OC is grading out as an F he should not be starting.  So either move Whitehair (smartest move) or given someone else a shot at OC.

The rest all seem to fall in line with what we've seen from each of them.

 

[dll2000]

Larry Borom started his career mid season against Nick Bosa and TJ Watt.

Think about that.

 

[Sugashane]

On 11/17/2021 at 3:34 PM, dll2000 said:

Larry Borom started his career mid season against Nick Bosa and TJ Watt.

Think about that.

 

While having the name 'Larry' his whole life.

The odds have been against him from birth.

 

 

On 11/15/2021 at 5:20 PM, soulman said:

Based on this I have to wonder what games some of you have watched vs the games Parker Hurley has watched since his evaluation of James Daniels is miles away better than what I'm reading from some here.  I might have hesitated on a A grade but this jives a whole lot more with my views on Daniels than most others here.

Maybe the biggest surprise is how poorly Ifedi has graded out in the run game but then he's being graded here as an OT and not an OG where I thought he's performed pretty well in the past.  Now that Borom has returned and is starting at RT this would be a good time to move Ifedi back to RG for good where he can compete with Bars.

Whitehair's grade is a disappointment but not a surprise.  He has been very inconsistent which is a typical for him.  I'm still in favor of moving him back to OC because when your current OC is grading out as an F he should not be starting.  So either move Whitehair (smartest move) or given someone else a shot at OC.

The rest all seem to fall in line with what we've seen from each of them.

 

Yeah, I don't have stats to back me and clearly haven't been watching him like a hawk but he seems average at best right now. Not sure how he got an A unless they are just looking at stats from PFF or something. It just seems fishy.

[soulman]

3 minutes ago, Sugashane said:

Yeah, I don't have stats to back me and clearly haven't been watching him like a hawk but he seems average at best right now. Not sure how he got an A unless they are just looking at stats from PFF or something. It just seems fishy.

For me it's judging 5 guys in a band where one can play his *** off but he's being held back by his bandmates.  How do I adequately judge that one player without also considering the rest of the band and what they sound like as a unit?  I'd need to compartmentalize it all somehow.

[abstract_thought]

41 minutes ago, soulman said:

For me it's judging 5 guys in a band where one can play his *** off but he's being held back by his bandmates.  How do I adequately judge that one player without also considering the rest of the band and what they sound like as a unit?  I'd need to compartmentalize it all somehow.

It’s pretty tough to grade OL individually.

But if I’m replacing guys in hopes of fixing this OL, Daniels is last on my list. Borom is still an unknown. The others can all go.

[soulman]

20 minutes ago, abstract_thought said:

It’s pretty tough to grade OL individually.

But if I’m replacing guys in hopes of fixing this OL, Daniels is last on my list. Borom is still an unknown. The others can all go.

Our issues are and have been at OT and OC.  With any luck at all Borom and Jenkins will resolve the issues at OT but that won't be in full force 'til 2022.  Mustipher shouldn't be starting.  He's not one of our five best OL.  But we do have two others who can play OC and have played OC.  Cody Whitehair is one and Daniels is the other.  Why not move Whitehair back to OC?  He's signed through 2024 and the very earliest we can release him without a major dead cap hit is 2023.  Then you have at least three OGs with starting experience to use at RG and LG.

The very best this OL has ever played has been when Daniels and Whitehair have been playing next to one another but currently we have them separated by a guy who should be benched at least for now.  IMHO this all comes down to an issue I've had with Nagy almost from day one.  He doesn't not play his best players or put his best players in their best position to succeed.  We gotta stop blaming players for that.

[JAF-N72EX]

On 11/15/2021 at 5:20 PM, soulman said:

Maybe the biggest surprise is how poorly Ifedi has graded out in the run game but then he's being graded here as an OT and not an OG where I thought he's performed pretty well in the past.  Now that Borom has returned and is starting at RT this would be a good time to move Ifedi back to RG for good where he can compete with Bars.

Borom has shown promise but theyr already effing up with him to. They started him at LT in week one after Peters left with an injury lol and are now moving him RT. This is only 10 games into his career!

I've said this several times before and I'll keep saying it. The staff needs to stop moving these guys around.

[Madmike90]

1 hour ago, JAF-N72EX said:

Borom has shown promise but theyr already effing up with him to. They started him at LT in week one after Peters left with an injury lol and are now moving him RT. This is only 10 games into his career!

I've said this several times before and I'll keep saying it. The staff needs to stop moving these guys around.

In fairness Borom went through all of camp at RT...that is where they view him...he only played LT due to being down to the bare bones due to injury.

[soulman]

4 hours ago, JAF-N72EX said:

Borom has shown promise but theyr already effing up with him to. They started him at LT in week one after Peters left with an injury lol and are now moving him RT. This is only 10 games into his career!

I've said this several times before and I'll keep saying it. The staff needs to stop moving these guys around.

In general I don't disagree but in this case I believe Borom was always ticketed to play RT.  Unless somehow Jenkins fails at LT my guess is Borom is where they intend to leave him.

[abstract_thought]

14 hours ago, JAF-N72EX said:

Borom has shown promise but theyr already effing up with him to. They started him at LT in week one after Peters left with an injury lol and are now moving him RT. This is only 10 games into his career!

I've said this several times before and I'll keep saying it. The staff needs to stop moving these guys around.

I agree with your premise, but what was the alternative? Move Ifedi to LT? Play one of Simmons/Bars/Wilkinson instead?

[Sugashane]

3 minutes ago, abstract_thought said:

I agree with your premise, but what was the alternative? Move Ifedi to LT? Play one of Simmons/Bars/Wilkinson instead?

Same. I say he has done enough you leave him alone and look at the other spots if anyone needs moved though. If Peters goes down then you leave Borom at RT and figure something else out. Either put Ifedi, Bars, or a FA to spot play. But leave Borom the hell alone and accept that he is damn good-looking RT prospect. If they suck then time to adjust by putting Kmet on the left side to chip regularly.

[JAF-N72EX]

13 hours ago, Madmike90 said:

In fairness Borom went through all of camp at RT

 

11 hours ago, soulman said:

In general I don't disagree but in this case I believe Borom was always ticketed to play RT.

Which is why it was dumb for him to even play LT at all. Develop him at RT and keep him there. Playing musical chairs is not helping anyone. It's crippling them.

1 hour ago, abstract_thought said:

I agree with your premise, but what was the alternative? Move Ifedi to LT? Play one of Simmons/Bars/Wilkinson instead?

Suge beat me to it. Yes. Anyone. Those guys are not the future, Borom is. Ruin them all they want.

[Sugashane]

49 minutes ago, JAF-N72EX said:

 

Suge beat me to it. Yes. Anyone. Those guys are not the future, Borom is. Ruin them all they want.

Yeah... yeah I did... I beat you. REAL GOOOD!

 

 

[soulman]

1 hour ago, JAF-N72EX said:

Which is why it was dumb for him to even play LT at all. Develop him at RT and keep him there. Playing musical chairs is not helping anyone. It's crippling them.

Wasn't the primary reason he played LT was because Peters was injured or was it in preseason before we even signed Peters and Wilkinson was hurt?  I'm sure playing some snaps at LT hasn't ruined his development as a RT.  Who knows, at some point in his career he may be called upon to play LT again.

Of the many things Nagy can be criticized for this one is like #98 or #99 on my list.