Bears Position Review 2019: The OL takes a giant step back

(Photo: Jeff Hanisch, USA TODAY Sports)

Heading into 2019, expectations were for the Chicago Bears offensive line to improve upon the foundation they established in 2018.

At offensive tackle, the Bears were relying on Charles Leno and Bobbie Massie to carry over their solid play from a year before, signified by a contract extension given to Massie and a restructured contract for Leno. In the interior of the line, the feeling during training camp was that the Bears possessed one of the better trios in the NFL at the center position and both guard spots. With Cody Whitehair moving back to left guard, James Daniels switched to his natural center position. At right guard, the hope was for Kyle Long to get back to his pro-bowl form as he finally had an offseason without having to worry about rehabbing a significant injury.

As was the case with the Bears offense across the board, the offensive line didn't live up to expectations and regressed in pretty much every aspect during 2019.

On the edges, Leno struggled all season while Massie was limited to 10 games due to injuries. The interior of the line had similar problems regarding declining play and health. Despite staying healthy throughout the offseason, Long was a shell of his former self during the first three games of the year before ending his season on the injured reserve list. Additionally, the transition at center from Whitehair to Daniels was far from smooth, leading to constant communication errors throughout the first half of the season before the decision was made to switch them back to their 2018 positions.

With injuries on the right side of the line, Rashaad Coward and Cornelius Lucas got extended playing time at right guard and right tackle respectively. While Lucas proved to be solid in relief of Massie, Coward was nothing short of a disaster at guard which eventually led to him being benched for Ted Larsen in the final two games of the season.

Overall, the multitude of issues upfront was a large reason why the Bears offense was amongst the worst units in the NFL during 2019. As an offense, the Bears ranked 29th in total yards, 27th in rushing and 29th in points scored. While those rankings can also be attributed to lousy play at quarterback and some questionable playcalling at times, the offensive line made things much more difficult on those key areas by failing to open up holes in the running game and by messing up basic blitz pickups in the passing game.

The struggles of the offensive line ended up costing offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich and offensive line coach Harry Heistand their jobs. Both were fired at season's end as they were heavily involved in the run game design.

As the calendar turns to 2020, there is a lot of work that needs to be done during the upcoming offseason in regards to addressing the issues along the offensive line. If the Bears can upgrade at specific positions and maintain relatively good health, the unit has the potential to get back to their level of play that was seen during 2018.

High Point

Even though there weren't too many things to write home about for the offensive line in 2019, the Bears got consistent play from Whitehair and Daniels throughout the year. This was especially apparent after the two players switched to their 2018 positions in Week 10 against the Detroit Lions. Following the change, the Bears offensive line had far fewer mental errors in pass protection and the offense was able to run the ball with more consistency.

In the eight games before making the switch, the Bears averaged 80.5 yards rushing per game. After the switch, that average went up to 101.75 rushing yards per game. At some point, the Bears coaching staff has to make a decision on where to play Whitehair and Daniels long-term but the franchise should be encouraged to have both of them as a part of their core on offense heading into the future.

Another positive for the Bears offensive line in 2019 was the play of Lucas as the team's swing tackle. With Bobbie Massie injured down the stretch of the season, Lucas held his own in the six games he started at right tackle and did his part to keep Mitch Trubisky clean at quarterback while opening up holes for David Montgomery in the running game. While his play didn't necessarily guarantee him a spot on the Bears roster going into 2020, it's nice to know that Lucas can be called upon to play at a replacement level if needed.

Low Point

While most advanced metrics point to the Bears offensive line as an average to an above-average unit in terms of pass protection, the run blocking was abysmal for the majority of the year. From a numbers perspective, the Bears ranked in the bottom five of the NFL in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and yards-per-carry with 1,458, 8 and 3.7 respectively. From an advanced metrics standpoint, the Bears finished 29th in Football Outsiders rushing offense DVOA metric with a -16.2 percent score. These numbers are an even bigger indictment on the offensive line when considered that Montgomery was among the best running backs in the NFL at breaking tackles during 2019.

Looking past the statistics, the Bears offensive line struggled in the running game for many reasons. One of the main issues that the unit faced was a massive hole at right guard. The combination of Long and Coward at that position was a huge negative throughout the season that dragged down the offensive line's overall productivity in the running game. Beyond that problem, the offensive line as a whole didn't do a good enough job of establishing any sort of a power element as they were pushed around on a consistent basis. Whether that is a result of personnel, scheme or coaching, adding more physicality to the run game is something that needs to be done in 2020.

Grade

D+. While the duo of Whitehair and Daniels was solid for the most part during the second half of the season, the offensive line as a whole was a liability for the Bears offense. On a macro level, this unit was one of the worst run-blocking offensive lines in the NFL which put too much pressure on Trubisky to have to make plays in the passing game. Pass protection was also inconsistent throughout the year, which factored into Trubisky's struggles in 2019.

On an individual basis, there were just too many players that struggled. At left tackle, Leno was a major problem early who didn't really get much better as the season progressed. After a year in which he was named to his first career pro bowl, it's fair to wonder whether his future with the team should be questioned as a result of his performance in 2019. Leno was a consistent turnstile in pass protection and even when he did manage to stay in front of his man, it was usually because of holding penalties that negated big plays and set the offense back into tough situations.

Daniels will also have a lot of questions to answer in 2020. While he played very well to end the season at left guard, it was clear early on that he was overwhelmed at center with what is required from a blocking assignment standpoint. With Daniels at center, there were way too many plays where the offensive line let pass rushers run free on blitzes and stunts. If Daniels is to be the Bears center in the future, those miscommunication issues will have to be straightened out.

At right guard, Long started off the year as the starter and the results weren't pretty. It became evident that injuries took their toll on his body, as he just wasn't able to move the same way Bears fans have been accustomed to in the past. With Coward in the lineup, however, things didn't get much better as he looked every bit the project he was thought to be as a defensive lineman transitioning to the offensive side of the ball.

On a positive note, the Bears did get solid production from Whitehair, who was the team's best lineman all year. Even with injuries at right tackle, the emergence of Lucas kept that position from being too much of a problem as well.

Outlook of the position

Heading into 2020, it's clear that tough decisions and changes must be made along the offensive line. Bears general manager Ryan Pace alluded to this in his postseason press conference, saying, "Those are off-season things we're going to look at. One thing that's always been in my mind, we can never lose track of adding talent to our offensive line. It's critical. We'll look at that. Whether it's offensive tackle or interior lineman, it's all something we need to analyze. We want to be better on the offensive line. Again, there's probably a multitude of reasons why. That's going to be a part of our analysis. Again, personnel, scheme, whatever it is we're going to look at."

The Bears have already made one move to hopefully fix the offensive line going forward by firing offensive line coach Harry Heistand and hiring Juan Castillo to the same position. While Heistand is a respected offensive line coach across the NFL, his style coming from a power-gap scheme at Notre Dame seemed to conflict with Nagy's more spread-out variation of the west-coast offense. With Castillo having over a decade of experience working under Andy Reid in a similar system as the offensive line coach during their tenure with the Philadelphia Eagles, the hope is that Castillo's familiarity with the offense will lead to better results in 2020.

In terms of player personnel changes in the offseason, there are a few key points of emphasis. The first of these is finding a legitimate starter at right guard. While Long is technically under contract next season with a team option, it is expected that the Bears will waive that option and move on from the three-time pro bowler in order to clear up more than $8 million in cap space. With players such as Washington Redskins right guard Brandon Scherff entering free agency, the Bears could either go all-in to spend heavily on a top guard or look to find a veteran stopgap in free agency. There will also be many options to address the position in the 2020 NFL Draft. Either way, the Bears should look at any avenue to upgrade the position as Coward and Alex Bars are both unproven at this point in their careers.

Other positions to improve at are both offensive tackle spots, as neither Leno nor Massie can be relied upon to be long-term answers with their recent play. With that said, both Leno and Massie will be on the roster in 2020 due to the guaranteed money left on their contracts. The best place to upgrade the position going into the future would be early in the draft since quality offensive tackles in the NFL are hard to find and rarely make it to free agency.

Lastly, the Bears need to make a decision on who to play at center between Daniels and Whitehair. While Daniels is more of a natural fit at center due to his experience in college at Iowa, the results over the past two seasons show that the offense is much more productive with Whitehair as the pivot-man along the offensive line. Regardless, the Bears need to stick with one or the other early in offseason workouts so that chemistry along the offensive line isn't sacrificed in any way.

Overall, the offensive line was a major disappointment for the Bears in 2019. The upcoming offseason offers many question marks for this position group going into the future but not many easy solutions. The expectation is that the Bears will be aggressive in looking to improve this unit as much as possible in the next few months in order to ensure a significant turnaround in the 2020 season.

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