Olin Kreutz is one of the best offensive linemen in Chicago Bears history. He’s seen what it’s like when this team plays dominant football up front. So one can imagine he’s not happy with what he’s seen through five games thus far. The Bears offensive line is the clear weak point of a unit that ranks near the bottom of the NFL in most categories. They’re on pace to allow 41 sacks and have managed just 3.4 yards per carry out of the run game. Several players have contributed to this, but Kreutz sees one glaring weak link.
That is right guard Kyle Long. It sounds amazing to say. There was a point in time that Long was virtually the only good thing about the entire Bears offense. To think that a former three-time Pro Bowler has become a liability like this is hard to imagine. Yet this is the state of things. The tape routinely shows Long unable to move or hold his ground like he used to. Players he once would’ve dominated are having a far easier time finding ways to beat him.
He struggles to move with any fluidity and he can’t drop anchor against power anymore. Kreutz is seeing this same reality. After the Bears’ loss to the Oakland Raiders, a game in which Long received a team-low 42.3 grade from Pro Football Focus, the six-time Pro Bowl center couldn’t keep his silence anymore on NBC Sports Chicago’s Football Aftershow.
“You could make an argument that they have to take a good, long look at Kyle Long, and where he’s at, and does he need weeks off… does he need to go on IR, is Rashaad Coward a better option. If you take a really good look at the film, and this is hard for me to say, because I am a big fan of Kyle long, and I’ve watched him for a long time play a high level of football, where he was a dominant right guard… What I’ve seen in the first 3 weeks, and in this week, I wonder about his body, I really do, and I wonder where he is in his career.”
Olin Kreutz paints a clear picture of Long’s likely future
Long has battled a hip injury for the past few weeks and missed the game against Minnesota. It’s unclear if that is the primary issue that’s sapping his effectiveness. Then again, the harsh reality is the veteran guard is basically wired together by various surgeries over the past several years due to rampant injury issues. Nobody disputes his heart or toughness, but at some point, the body can only take so much before it starts to break down. He is 31-years old and not the big kid he once was.
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Long was already a question mark for the Bears beyond 2019. His contract has become expensive and with looming extensions coming for Eddie Jackson and others, he looked like an obvious candidate for a cap casualty. As his play deteriorates, it could only harden GM Ryan Pace on this stance. They kept Long around on a reduced salary this year because of his experience and history of good play when healthy. If they can’t get the latter from him anymore though, then he’s no longer of use to them.
As always, it goes back to George Halas. The best players must play.
