The Chicago Bears have stayed the course with their current roster configuration for the past four weeks. While they did reach 2-2 with the said lineup, there are worrying signs of some severe weaknesses on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Fixing it with outside help would be nice, but GM Ryan Poles doesn’t have that luxury. He’ll have to wait until spring of next year before he can do something about it.
Until then, it falls to head coach Matt Eberflus and his staff to make do with what they have. There are minor adjustments that can be made to shore certain things up. It may not solve the overall problem, but even small improvements can go a long way. Here are a few easy decisions that should be made before the team takes on the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
Chicago Bears need to start shaking things up.
Put Lucas Patrick at center.
The Bears gave Sam Mustipher more time at center than they probably should’ve. As a former undrafted free agent, he has overachieved. Nobody questions his toughness or work ethic. It is a simple case of him not having the talent for the NFL level. Getting tossed around by hosses like Kenny Clark and Dexter Lawrence continues to prove it. Lucas Patrick was signed in free agency to fix that problem. His hand is healthy now. Enough with dancing around the subject. Plug him into the middle and find somebody to play left guard. Veteran Michael Schofield can handle that.
Sam Mustipher, my goodness. He gets beat like he's not even there.#Bears can't even run Mesh and hold the pocket through Fields' drop. Make sure you watch the end-zone angle here — 97's in the backfield in ~2 seconds pic.twitter.com/003HIfICvG
— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) October 4, 2022
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Bench Dante Pettis.
His preseason performance and that sweet 51-yard touchdown in the opener gave people some hope the former 2nd round pick might bring something worthwhile to the Chicago Bears passing attack. Three weeks later, Pettis is exactly what he’s always been: a backup. He is eating up snaps that should go to other receivers that might be able to make an impact. Velus Jones is back healthy now. Waiver wire pickup Ihmir Smith-Marsette has also had enough time to absorb the nuances of the offense. Either one of them would be worth looking to rather than continuing this pointless charade with Pettis.
Dante Pettis drops a 3rd down pass and it’s punt time pic.twitter.com/DfxjoGX5Xx
— Barroom Network (@BarroomNetwork) October 2, 2022
Replace Angelo Blackson with Mike Pennel.
The Bears’ run defense is the worst in the NFL. That starts up front. Their defensive line has struggled to control the line of scrimmage. Blackson is a primary culprit as the starting nose tackle. He’s been bad at that job. Pennel isn’t a massive upgrade, but he’s been better with his opportunities. His run defense grade is higher, and he has the same number of stops for no gain or a loss (5) as Blackson despite playing fewer snaps. His big 330-lbs frame might also help clog up some of those lanes.
Elevate Jack Sanborn.
Another component of the Bears’ run defense is their linebackers. Roquan Smith and Nicholas Morrow have been OK, but their third guy hasn’t done much to help. Matthew Adams is injured, and his replacement Joe Thomas looks like the backup he’s been his entire career. Despite his excellent preseason, the coaches haven’t been willing to give Sanborn a shot. He was a standout run defender at Wisconsin with the size and instincts necessary for the strong-side spot. Rookie or not, it’s not like anybody else is doing a good job. Might as well give him a look.
Watch some tape of Lucas Patrick (also a former UDFA) from his Green Bay years and you’ll see him get ass-planted almost as often as Sam Mustipher.
There has to be a reason the Bears’ coaches haven’t made “the move,” yet.
Maybe they just know that Patrick is not “the answer.”
Good to see I’m not the only one who believes these things! I mean dare to be different, stop wasting snaps by not putting our best guys out there. I still believe Gipson should be starting over Muhammad too because we need to pressure these QBs.
I think those are all excellent suggestions. Especially starting with Patrick at center. If he doesn’t work out, add center to our draft needs for next year. I am hopeful with his experience that the line will improve. With one of the veterans or rookies at left guard.
Mustipher must be a hard worker because otherwise I don’t know why they’ve stuck with him this long.
I keep re-reading this article. It just does not seem possible that I agree with all the main points in a Lambert article.
Lambert finally make sense. Yes I guarantee right now Sanborn is the Bears best tackler and they need one up the middle