Numbers Prove Kyle Long Key In Bears Rushing Offense......
May 22, 2018 17:22:59 GMT -6
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2018 17:22:59 GMT -6
Numbers prove Kyle Long is key part of Bears rushing offense
ByMatt Eurich 8 hours ago
Viewed as a reach selection in the 2013 NFL Draft at No. 20, Kyle Long forged his own identity early on in his Chicago Bears career. The son of Hall of Fame defensive end Howie Long and the younger brother of 2008 second overall pick Chris Long, the younger Long entered the NFL with heavy expectations. Despite some questions about his lack of experience entering the NFL, Long quickly took over as Chicago's starting right guard as a rookie. Over the course of his first three years in the league he put together back-to-back Pro Bowl appearances as a guard before moving to right tackle in 2015. Despite some ups and downs he once again found himself on the Pro Bowl roster.
A move back to right guard was in place in 2016 and he once again looked the part of a Pro Bowler before he suffered a devastating ankle injury against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that November. He appeared in a total of just eight games that season and was forced to undergo surgery on his ankle. He struggled to get back onto the practice fields last summer and missed the first two games of the year before making his debut in Week 3 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He went on to appear in 10 games with nine starts before he was shut down for the year with a variety of different injuries.
Long once again underwent surgeries this offseason but the hope is he will be back on the field soon for the organization.
"At some point we will get him out there," Bears head coach Matt Nagy said at his press conference on May 16. "For him, he's been doing really well. He's been honing in on the details of their job on the offensive line, then as soon as we all agree he will be up and going."
Many factors have played into Chicago's struggles in recent years, but the Bears offense has been different when Long is not on the field. In Chicago's first game of the year in 2017 without Long on the field against the Atlanta Falcons, the Bears rushed for 125 yards on the ground. A week later against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the team picked up just 20 yards on the ground. In Long's return in Week 3 the Bears rushed for 222 yards. Plenty of factors come into play over the course of those three games, but it was not a coincidence the Bears were effective on the ground when he was on the field last season.
In the nine games Long started last season, the Bears rushed for 1,186 yards for an average of 131.7 yards per game. In the seven games he did not start, Chicago racked up just 602 rushing yards for an average of 86 yards per game. Plenty of factors play into the differences between the numbers, namely the opponent and the game situations, but that is a stark contrast in rushing productivity when Long was on the field compared to when he was not on the field in 2017.
There are clearly concerns about how effective he can be after missing large portions of the last two seasons, but if Long is healthy there is very little to suggest he cannot be the standout offensive lineman on this team like he was during the first three years of his career in Chicago.
