Film Room; Whitehair Mistakes Mostly Mental..............
Sept 14, 2016 11:42:06 GMT -6
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2016 11:42:06 GMT -6
Link to view GIFs; bearswire.usatoday.com/2016/09/14/film-room-cody-whitehair-made-mostly-mental-mistakes-in-first-game-at-center/#respond
Film Room: Cody Whitehair made mostly mental mistakes in first game at center
Sep 11, 2016; Houston, TX, USA;
By: Lorin Cox | 6 hours ago
A little over a week ago, everything was set for Chicago Bears rookie offensive lineman Cody Whitehair to start at left guard, the position he worked at all summer and most of training camp.
Then Ryan Pace had the opportunity to sign a Pro Bowler at the position, and the second-round pick quickly found himself making his first career start at a brand new position.
All things considered, Whitehair did a decent job for a 24-year-old who was not only thrown into the fire of live NFL playing time but also trotted out at a position he had such little experience playing.
It was one thing when the Bears moved Kyle Long at the last minute last year, but it’s even harder on a rookie, and Whitehair could have been much worse against a strong Houston Texans front seven.
There were plenty of things to like from his performance, as we saw many of the movement and technical skills that he displayed from the preseason. Going up against a savvy veteran nose tackle in Vince Wilfork, Whitehair more-or-less held his own.
Rookie center Cody Whitehair did a decent job against Vince Wilfork, getting good rotation on his blocks on zone runs (GIF via NFL Game Pass).
However, the mental errors he made were the plays that really stuck out, most often coming in critical situations. The most notable play was the obvious one — the fourth-down fumbled snap on the quarterback sneak.
As you can see below, Whitehair seemed to be too focused on making the block in front of him, and he starts to move forward before he finished snapping the ball. That caused the snap to hit his own rear end, never allowing Jay Cutler to get his hands on it.
Whitehair moved forward before finishing the snap, causing the fumble that killed the Bears' momentum (GIF via NFL Game Pass).
“I’m nervous for every game, but a different position than I’m used to playing, the nerves were a little bit higher,” Whitehair told the media after the game. “We needed to be a little better and it all starts with me. We’ll get better every week.”
Those nerves didn’t seem to dissipate even as the game went on. After the Bears lost the lead and the deficit started growing, the pressure increased and so did the mental mistakes.
Whitehair was only beaten for one sack, but it came on a crucial third down late in the fourth quarter, killing any last hope of a comeback attempt.
Mental mistakes on stunts like this are a serious but fixable error that Whitehair should improve with more experience (GIF via NFL Game Pass).
The Texans ran a stunt with Whitney Mercilus and Benardrick McKinney lined up on the interior. Mercilus stepped left and then worked across Whitehair’s face, forcing the young center to have to turn his body while McKinney loops around behind.
Whitehair is late reacting to it, and with no help on his right side, the inside linebacker goes almost untouched to the quarterback. Part of the problem for the Bears’ offensive line was that they weren’t always able to leave Long inside to help Whitehair.
As you can see on the sack play, and many others, Bobby Massie had a lot of trouble pass blocking, so Long frequently had to help him out on the outside rather than doubling a rusher with his rookie center.
Fortunately for the Bears, the mistakes Whitehair made in his first game were easily correctable mental lapses that should only improve as he gains more experience and gets more comfortable at the position.
It wasn’t any big flaw in his technique. He was just an inexperienced center thrown into the fire against a great front seven, and he showed plenty to be encouraged about.
Film Room: Cody Whitehair made mostly mental mistakes in first game at center
Sep 11, 2016; Houston, TX, USA;
By: Lorin Cox | 6 hours ago
A little over a week ago, everything was set for Chicago Bears rookie offensive lineman Cody Whitehair to start at left guard, the position he worked at all summer and most of training camp.
Then Ryan Pace had the opportunity to sign a Pro Bowler at the position, and the second-round pick quickly found himself making his first career start at a brand new position.
All things considered, Whitehair did a decent job for a 24-year-old who was not only thrown into the fire of live NFL playing time but also trotted out at a position he had such little experience playing.
It was one thing when the Bears moved Kyle Long at the last minute last year, but it’s even harder on a rookie, and Whitehair could have been much worse against a strong Houston Texans front seven.
There were plenty of things to like from his performance, as we saw many of the movement and technical skills that he displayed from the preseason. Going up against a savvy veteran nose tackle in Vince Wilfork, Whitehair more-or-less held his own.
Rookie center Cody Whitehair did a decent job against Vince Wilfork, getting good rotation on his blocks on zone runs (GIF via NFL Game Pass).
However, the mental errors he made were the plays that really stuck out, most often coming in critical situations. The most notable play was the obvious one — the fourth-down fumbled snap on the quarterback sneak.
As you can see below, Whitehair seemed to be too focused on making the block in front of him, and he starts to move forward before he finished snapping the ball. That caused the snap to hit his own rear end, never allowing Jay Cutler to get his hands on it.
Whitehair moved forward before finishing the snap, causing the fumble that killed the Bears' momentum (GIF via NFL Game Pass).
“I’m nervous for every game, but a different position than I’m used to playing, the nerves were a little bit higher,” Whitehair told the media after the game. “We needed to be a little better and it all starts with me. We’ll get better every week.”
Those nerves didn’t seem to dissipate even as the game went on. After the Bears lost the lead and the deficit started growing, the pressure increased and so did the mental mistakes.
Whitehair was only beaten for one sack, but it came on a crucial third down late in the fourth quarter, killing any last hope of a comeback attempt.
Mental mistakes on stunts like this are a serious but fixable error that Whitehair should improve with more experience (GIF via NFL Game Pass).
The Texans ran a stunt with Whitney Mercilus and Benardrick McKinney lined up on the interior. Mercilus stepped left and then worked across Whitehair’s face, forcing the young center to have to turn his body while McKinney loops around behind.
Whitehair is late reacting to it, and with no help on his right side, the inside linebacker goes almost untouched to the quarterback. Part of the problem for the Bears’ offensive line was that they weren’t always able to leave Long inside to help Whitehair.
As you can see on the sack play, and many others, Bobby Massie had a lot of trouble pass blocking, so Long frequently had to help him out on the outside rather than doubling a rusher with his rookie center.
Fortunately for the Bears, the mistakes Whitehair made in his first game were easily correctable mental lapses that should only improve as he gains more experience and gets more comfortable at the position.
It wasn’t any big flaw in his technique. He was just an inexperienced center thrown into the fire against a great front seven, and he showed plenty to be encouraged about.
