Brad Biggs on the offensive line Sunday (and Long)
Sept 25, 2017 9:18:49 GMT -6
AlexM, weneedmorelinemen, and 1 more like this
Post by JABF on Sept 25, 2017 9:18:49 GMT -6
I did think Long looked good Sunday. That was great to see.
LINK
"One of the key words coach John Fox has used since the offseason began when discussing the offensive line has been “versatility.” Fox surely wishes his line didn’t need to be quite as versatile as it’s been through three weeks with a lot of moving parts for offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains and offensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn. But the performance by the line today and particularly Kyle Long, who was making his season debut at right guard, leads me to wonder if they will consider shelving the plan to flip-flop the guards. The club made the decision early in the offseason to switch Long to left guard and move Josh Sitton to right guard but the Bears really haven’t seen that at work yet because Long missed so much time in training camp and all of preseason. Sitton was out this week with a rib injury. Without having re-watched the game yet, I can say Long looked pretty darn good in real time playing right guard and there were holes for Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen all over the place. Is it possible the team chooses to stick with Long at right guard and have Sitton stay on the left side? The major impetus in making the move in the first place, as I understand, was to have the savvy Sitton playing next to right tackle Bobby Massie. I think the question the Bears have to ask themselves here is what position is Long best at? Whatever side that is, maybe it makes most sense to leave him there and have Sitton, who has ample NFL experience playing on both sides of the line, go to the other side. Fox isn’t going to get into any specifics on this but once Sitton is healthy, we’ll get a good idea of what the Bears are doing. More on Long, his return and the long layoff a little later on."
"One of the key words coach John Fox has used since the offseason began when discussing the offensive line has been “versatility.” Fox surely wishes his line didn’t need to be quite as versatile as it’s been through three weeks with a lot of moving parts for offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains and offensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn. But the performance by the line today and particularly Kyle Long, who was making his season debut at right guard, leads me to wonder if they will consider shelving the plan to flip-flop the guards. The club made the decision early in the offseason to switch Long to left guard and move Josh Sitton to right guard but the Bears really haven’t seen that at work yet because Long missed so much time in training camp and all of preseason. Sitton was out this week with a rib injury. Without having re-watched the game yet, I can say Long looked pretty darn good in real time playing right guard and there were holes for Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen all over the place. Is it possible the team chooses to stick with Long at right guard and have Sitton stay on the left side? The major impetus in making the move in the first place, as I understand, was to have the savvy Sitton playing next to right tackle Bobby Massie. I think the question the Bears have to ask themselves here is what position is Long best at? Whatever side that is, maybe it makes most sense to leave him there and have Sitton, who has ample NFL experience playing on both sides of the line, go to the other side. Fox isn’t going to get into any specifics on this but once Sitton is healthy, we’ll get a good idea of what the Bears are doing. More on Long, his return and the long layoff a little later on."
"Tough break – or maybe not – for center Hroniss Grasu, who left the game with a right hand injury. Grasu wasn’t certain exactly when his hand was injured but he tried playing about two series before he determined it was getting too difficult to handle the football with his grip hand.
“Honestly, I don’t know when it happened,” Grasu said. “I tried to get going but I couldn’t grip the ball and I didn’t want to risk anything with the snap.”
Guard Kyle Long marveled somewhat at his teammate.
“You don’t even make noise when you get hurt,” Long said to Grasu.
Grasu didn’t offer any specifics on what is wrong with the hand and it’s expected more tests will be conducted Monday to determine the specific nature of the injury. It could lead to Grasu, who was starting because Josh Sitton was sidelined with a rib injury, missing time.
“Whatever happens, we’re O-linemen,” he said. “Club it up and keep playing. I will figure something out. Snap (left-handed) or play guard. I don’t think I have bad luck. It just happens. It’s part of the game. It’s part of this position getting banged up. I was feeling really good out there and I still have no idea what this is or how long it will take.”
The Bears plugged veteran Bradley Sowell, considered a swing tackle, in at left guard and moved Cody Whitehair back to center. Sowell held up well and the production running the football is ample evidence.
“I thought it was a great job by Bradley to step in there and play three quarters, and last week was the first time he played guard in his life and now he’s thrown in here against a really good defense,” quarterback Mike Glennon said. “I think it’s awesome he stepped in. He has a great attitude and a great mentality, and he brings toughness to our offensive line. He has a great next man up mentality, and did a great job today.”
6. The return of Kyle Long to the lineup brought an energy to the offense, there’s no question about that. After being sidelined for 10 months following the gruesome right ankle injury he suffered last year at Tampa Bay,
Here’s a quick Q & A that tells us a little about his situation and sheds light on his brother Chris Long, one of the good guys doing good things in the NFL.
Most difficult thing you had to deal with as a football player before this injury?
KL: Prior to me getting injured? (long pause) Learning the offense my rookie year. Probably learning the offense my rookie year. That put a lot of pressure on me and then obviously switching positions has done that but it’s nothing you can’t handle. Physically when you can’t do something … like physically I could always play tackle. When they switched me I had some rough goes at it. Physically when you’re injured it doesn’t get any better.
You practiced on the final day of camp at Bourbonnais and then you were out for roughly three weeks. Was there a setback?
KL: Well, I had gone out there and I had tried to practice. I had told myself I was ready and I wasn’t. I said, ‘I am going to do this and if it feels good, I am going to do that.’ And it got a little bit worse and they put me through a progression from that point forward where I had to check a bunch of boxes before I went to the next step.
Your brother Chris of the Eagles is donating his first six games checks this season to fund two scholarships in Charlottesville, Va. When did you find about about that cool decision on his part?
KL: I read it on Twitter. I wasn’t surprised. Very proud of him. He continues to try to make a change in the world we live in for his kid’s generation and down the road. He’s a great dude."
“Honestly, I don’t know when it happened,” Grasu said. “I tried to get going but I couldn’t grip the ball and I didn’t want to risk anything with the snap.”
Guard Kyle Long marveled somewhat at his teammate.
“You don’t even make noise when you get hurt,” Long said to Grasu.
Grasu didn’t offer any specifics on what is wrong with the hand and it’s expected more tests will be conducted Monday to determine the specific nature of the injury. It could lead to Grasu, who was starting because Josh Sitton was sidelined with a rib injury, missing time.
“Whatever happens, we’re O-linemen,” he said. “Club it up and keep playing. I will figure something out. Snap (left-handed) or play guard. I don’t think I have bad luck. It just happens. It’s part of the game. It’s part of this position getting banged up. I was feeling really good out there and I still have no idea what this is or how long it will take.”
The Bears plugged veteran Bradley Sowell, considered a swing tackle, in at left guard and moved Cody Whitehair back to center. Sowell held up well and the production running the football is ample evidence.
“I thought it was a great job by Bradley to step in there and play three quarters, and last week was the first time he played guard in his life and now he’s thrown in here against a really good defense,” quarterback Mike Glennon said. “I think it’s awesome he stepped in. He has a great attitude and a great mentality, and he brings toughness to our offensive line. He has a great next man up mentality, and did a great job today.”
6. The return of Kyle Long to the lineup brought an energy to the offense, there’s no question about that. After being sidelined for 10 months following the gruesome right ankle injury he suffered last year at Tampa Bay,
Here’s a quick Q & A that tells us a little about his situation and sheds light on his brother Chris Long, one of the good guys doing good things in the NFL.
Most difficult thing you had to deal with as a football player before this injury?
KL: Prior to me getting injured? (long pause) Learning the offense my rookie year. Probably learning the offense my rookie year. That put a lot of pressure on me and then obviously switching positions has done that but it’s nothing you can’t handle. Physically when you can’t do something … like physically I could always play tackle. When they switched me I had some rough goes at it. Physically when you’re injured it doesn’t get any better.
You practiced on the final day of camp at Bourbonnais and then you were out for roughly three weeks. Was there a setback?
KL: Well, I had gone out there and I had tried to practice. I had told myself I was ready and I wasn’t. I said, ‘I am going to do this and if it feels good, I am going to do that.’ And it got a little bit worse and they put me through a progression from that point forward where I had to check a bunch of boxes before I went to the next step.
Your brother Chris of the Eagles is donating his first six games checks this season to fund two scholarships in Charlottesville, Va. When did you find about about that cool decision on his part?
KL: I read it on Twitter. I wasn’t surprised. Very proud of him. He continues to try to make a change in the world we live in for his kid’s generation and down the road. He’s a great dude."
