The Chicago Bears were hoping to avoid major injuries this season. Sadly it’s the NFL and these things happen all the time. The problem is they took a big one in an area they could least afford it. Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, left guard James Daniels suffered a torn pectoral. Expectations are he is done for the year. Former undrafted free agent Alex Bars stepped in to replace him during the game, but many have doubts about his long-term viability.
Don’t count Kyle Long among them. When it became clear that Daniels was out for the game on Thursday night, he made his opinion on Bars known right away.
James Daniels sprinted to the locker room? Like full sprint? By the way I really like Alex Bars
— Kyle (@Ky1eLong) October 9, 2020
Long isn’t alone in that sentiment. Offensive line coach Juan Castillo expressed plenty of confidence in the second-year blocker.
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"We have two capable guys." – Juan Castillo on Alex Bars and Rashaad Coward as replacements for James Daniels. Bars replaced Daniels during the Week 5 win.
— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) October 13, 2020
Much of the fear with Bars was his introduction.
The moment he got onto the field after Daniels went down, he was blown up by Bucs nose tackle Vita Vea for a sack. An ugly start to his first real action on an NFL field. To his credit though, he didn’t seem to let that bother him. Bars finished the game without any other notable mistakes.
It feels like the team plans to move forward with him as the spot-starter at left guard. While that will make some people nervous, it’s important to remember something. The 25-year old had a lot of fans coming out of college.
Hard to do much better as a pulling guard than Alex Bars here. And yeah, we all watched Quenton Nelson last season. Bars was excellent against Michigan. pic.twitter.com/BIq253H9tT
— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) September 3, 2018
First play of the game. Good pull by LG Alex Bars (71). Gets through traffic to make his block at the second level.
Nice seal by TE Alizè Mack as well. pic.twitter.com/AGB1rnqnhi
— Matt Freeman (@mattfreemanISD) September 17, 2018
No surprise that was also a pancake for Q Nelson. Just like this one was for him and Alex Bars. Great feet and finish by #33Trucking too pic.twitter.com/SXPNvVBz0H
— Jamie Uyeyama (@jamieuyeyama) November 1, 2017
Undrafted rookie Alex Bars looked like the #Bears best backup offensive tackle against the #Colts
What really stood out was his football intelligence. He hadn't played OT in years but was ready for every blitz and stunt thrown at him pic.twitter.com/nCi6LrnzLt
— Lorin Cox (@CoxSports1) August 26, 2019
Alex Bars was on his way to being drafted before injury struck
People automatically go to the fact that Bars was undrafted. This must mean he isn’t a capable blocker. Yet anybody who watched his college tape would know that was a load of bull. He wasn’t drafted because he tore his ACL in September of 2018. There was little chance he’d be 100% ready for the start of the 2019 season. So teams didn’t bother risking a pick.
Kyle Crabbs of The Draft Network though made it clear the guy was being overlooked. He rated Bars as a 3rd round pick going into the draft.
“Alex Bars, health willing, projects well as a potential starting offensive guard at the NFL level. Bars’ physicality and power at the POA shine bright in gap/power concepts and he was the needed tenacity to press through contact and uproot even the heaviest of anchors. Bars needs to focus on sustaining the width of his framed blocks to prevent spinning off contact, but he’s got requisite athleticism and a compact punch to help him play with good power at first contact.”
The Bears have had their share of success with 3rd round pick offensive linemen in the past. Names like Olin Kreutz and Jerry Fontenot come to mind. Alex Bars has the power and necessary athleticism if healthy. Not to mention standout intelligence. He comes from an offensive line factory at Notre Dame.
If given an opportunity, it shouldn’t shock anybody if he runs with it.
