Hopefully he can come back as a guard, but I seem him as a backup center.
There's also the possibility of Grasu playing OC again, Whitehair moving to RG, and Long to RT. But if they do that it needs to be done in OTAs and camp not a week before the season starts.
The nice thing is now we have two OL who may be able to play any position on that OL.
Hopefully he can come back as a guard, but I seem him as a backup center.
There's also the possibility of Grasu playing OC again, Whitehair moving to RG, and Long to RT. But if they do that it needs to be done in OTAs and camp not a week before the season starts.
The nice thing is now we have two OL who may be able to play any position on that OL.
Whitehair, in particular, is supposed to be very versatile. He had never played center, ever, at any level. We throw him there at the last minute this season and he played rock-solid after that first week. He's been a LT in college. He could probably play any of the 5 OL positions if needed. That is a rare talent to have at the NFL level.
Grasu could still end up being a stud as an interior lineman - guard or center. He could end up being a very special player for us too. Next season we will see where he is at. But I think the guy will be another rock-solid piece on the OL.
Both of these guys are youngsters who will (hopefully) anchor our OL for years to come. I just hope Kyle Long is allowed to get 100% healthy again, because he is a priceless piece of the OL as we move forward next year. Leno is not a bad player at LT. He's better than some of the bums we've had at LT in the past. But average. I'll take that. The RT position is the problem. That needs to be fixed this off-season.
Sitton is a good player if he can stay healthy.
The OL could be pretty solid next season. I feel good about it.
There's also the possibility of Grasu playing OC again, Whitehair moving to RG, and Long to RT. But if they do that it needs to be done in OTAs and camp not a week before the season starts.
The nice thing is now we have two OL who may be able to play any position on that OL.
Whitehair, in particular, is supposed to be very versatile. He had never played center, ever, at any level. We throw him there at the last minute this season and he played rock-solid after that first week. He's been a LT in college. He could probably play any of the 5 OL positions if needed. That is a rare talent to have at the NFL level.
Grasu could still end up being a stud as an interior lineman - guard or center. He could end up being a very special player for us too. Next season we will see where he is at. But I think the guy will be another rock-solid piece on the OL.
Both of these guys are youngsters who will (hopefully) anchor our OL for years to come. I just hope Kyle Long is allowed to get 100% healthy again, because he is a priceless piece of the OL as we move forward next year. Leno is not a bad player at LT. He's better than some of the bums we've had at LT in the past. But average. I'll take that. The RT position is the problem. That needs to be fixed this off-season.
Sitton is a good player if he can stay healthy.
The OL could be pretty solid next season. I feel good about it.
I think for the first time in a long time the Bears will have depth on the OL.
There's also the possibility of Grasu playing OC again, Whitehair moving to RG, and Long to RT. But if they do that it needs to be done in OTAs and camp not a week before the season starts.
The nice thing is now we have two OL who may be able to play any position on that OL.
I don't know if Long wants to move back to OT..
The great thing about Kyle Long is that he's one of the very best "team guys" we have. If we need him more at RT than at RG he'll be willing to move they just need to plan that move in OTAs and camp not right before the season begins.
I think every team wants it's 5 best OL on the field so what it comes down to is who are they and what positions can they play? Even though Whitehair has played OT in college and probably could in the pros as well physically he may struggle even more than Long due to his arm length and it's the same with Grasu.
Of course Grasu would need to return and prove he's at least the equal of Cody at OC before any move will be made but having OL with versatility is a good thing. We need that.
There's also the possibility of Grasu playing OC again, Whitehair moving to RG, and Long to RT. But if they do that it needs to be done in OTAs and camp not a week before the season starts.
The nice thing is now we have two OL who may be able to play any position on that OL.
Whitehair, in particular, is supposed to be very versatile. He had never played center, ever, at any level. We throw him there at the last minute this season and he played rock-solid after that first week. He's been a LT in college. He could probably play any of the 5 OL positions if needed. That is a rare talent to have at the NFL level.
Grasu could still end up being a stud as an interior lineman - guard or center. He could end up being a very special player for us too. Next season we will see where he is at. But I think the guy will be another rock-solid piece on the OL.
Both of these guys are youngsters who will (hopefully) anchor our OL for years to come. I just hope Kyle Long is allowed to get 100% healthy again, because he is a priceless piece of the OL as we move forward next year. Leno is not a bad player at LT. He's better than some of the bums we've had at LT in the past. But average. I'll take that. The RT position is the problem. That needs to be fixed this off-season.
Sitton is a good player if he can stay healthy.
The OL could be pretty solid next season. I feel good about it.
That's how I see it. By a blend of vets and younger players we seem to finally be getting that OL rebuilt around some talent again. We don't know what to expect from Grasu until he returns but the reports from camp before he was injured were glowing. His size of lack or strength was no longer and issue and Fox was truly bummed when he went down.
Whitehair has stepped in and done a phenomenal job at a position he's never played before and while OC may be his best position it's not his only position as lets's say LT is with Leno. We also know that Long can play more than just RG. So it will be Sitton and Grasu who may be the the other two more limited guys but then we don't know if Grasu can handle OG and maybe he can.
But having two OL with as much versatility as Cody and Kyle have isn't a bad thing. RT is still the principal weak spot although I will admit that Massie has improved a bit. Leno is an average run blocker but I'd call him above average as a pass blocker. The nice thing going into 2017 is that Pace now has better options as far as how to add talent and depth to the OL. If he can find a bargain OT in FA that's one option and the other is to bargain shop the draft for another guy like Whitehair who plays OT.
The more important thing is we can't stop here. We have to keep adding younger talent on the OL so that we have the depth and the versatility needed to last out an entire season. We talked a lot about who got the game balls for the Viking game but we kind of ignored the fact that without the blocking the OL provided Howard doesn't run for 150 yards and Cutler doesn't pass for 250. They were a big part of why our offense finally dominated a game.
