The Chicago Bears offensive line is in a bad way. This isn’t breaking news to anybody. They’ve allowed nine sacks in two games and have failed miserably to establish anything on the ground. Everybody, including the coaching staff, has played a part in the constant breakdowns. However, if there was one poster child for the misery, it must be Nate Davis. The right guard missed most of training camp with more health issues, and his lack of work showed with five pressures allowed across his first two starts.
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Word out of Halas Hall is that coaches and teammates are growing tired of his perceived lack of commitment to working hard. His constant mental errors don’t help. Calls for a shakeup to the offensive line grow louder by the day. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune made it clear that the Bears aren’t likely to do anything grandiose. They won’t move guys around like chess pieces. If one move is coming, it will be a straight replacement for Davis at right guard. There is a heavy favorite for that role.
That leaves Poles, coach Matt Eberflus, Waldron and offensive line coach/run game coordinator Chris Morgan with few choices beyond doing things internally. The Bears could consider replacing right guard Nate Davis with Matt Pryor, the only reserve among the four on the 53-man roster who has played an offensive snap in a regular-season game…
…Center Coleman Shelton has had a rough start, and Doug Kramer is an option there. But if a personnel move is made in Week 3, my guess is it would involve Davis/Pryor.
Pryor is a fascinating gamble for the Chicago Bears.
He was a 6th round pick out of TCU for Philadelphia in 2018. The consensus was that he was massive, long, and powerful and could maul defenders when the motor ran hot. He was also a pretty good athlete for his size, having played both guard and tackle in college. Some had concerns about his commitment, believing he could sometimes be somewhat lazy. That could be why he’s bounced around the league somewhat. However, he has shown steady improvement over that time. His performance in the preseason for Chicago was excellent, allowing only one pressure in 39 snaps.
A big key to this is the fact Pryor has started 12 regular season games at right guard. He has experience doing it. He allowed 30 pressures in those games. It is worth mentioning that 15 of those came in three particular games. The other 15 came in the remaining nine. He’s shown flashes of being quite effective on the interior. The problem is that his former teams kept moving him around from guard to tackle. The Chicago Bears seem to have him focusing on one position. That could pay dividends if they decide to bench Davis.
