Lou goes 1 on 1 with Jeff King | Chicago Bears Pregame
Since the beginning of training camp, it's been open season for the Chicago Bears.
No position is going to be handed to someone with a bow. The players have to go earn it. It's an oft-used training camp cliché that, under head coach Ben Johnson, felt like it actually held water.
There's no place on the Bears' offense where that rang more true than the Bears' offensive line. The team was expecting to learn as much as it could on Sunday evening about a few key areas. Namely, who will win the left tackle job?
"I think this game is going to go a long way," Johnson said. "We kind of came into this game saying that this was going to be a big one for that."
If Sunday was any indication – and Johnson literally said it would be – then the left tackle competition should be reaching its closing arguments. We've seen the tape. We've seen the developments. It's almost time to reach the conclusion.
But, Sunday showed how the left tackle competition helped shape other parts of the offensive line's depth chart.
The backstory:
In the spring, and in the summer as well, Ozzy Trapilo ran with the first-team offense so frequently, it was beginning to seem like he would be the choice at left tackle. That's no longer been the case.
Recently, that development has changed the complexion of the offensive line.
Trapilo has been at right tackle this week, which is his natural position. Now, he can focus on being the Bears' swing tackle in case of injury, which bolsters the Bears' offensive line. That moved Theo Benedet up on the depth chart at left tackle.
This opened the door for Benedet, but was also why Johnson issued a challenge late last week.
"We want one guy to clearly come out and say that this is his job. We haven't gotten that yet from our crew," Johnson said Friday. "At some point, we have to pick somebody that's going to start Week 1. If we don't have that clarity over the next, call it, week-and-a-half, then we'll do that."
Benedet played with the first-team offense at times last week. That wasn't the case at the start of camp, when the left tackle race was between Jones, Trapilo and Kiran Amegadije.
But, Benedet said he learned on the fly as camp continued, and he just let the work speak for itself.
"(The Bears coaches) told everybody that jobs are open to be won, and I took that to heart," Benedet said Sunday. "At least I took them for the word that they meant it, so I just worked at it."
Benedet's progress coincides with Trapilo's move to the right side. Johnson said Trapilo needs to improve his play speed at left tackle, but Trapilo's presence on the right side gives the Bears a swing tackle who deepens the right tackle depth chart and gives the Bears a natural right tackle to plug in case Wright misses time.
Still, Jones started over Benedet on Sunday. When Johnson said he'll just have to pick a player to start at left tackle if no one emerges, Jones might be the player the staff are most comfortable playing at left tackle right away.
"He's shown flashes of his old self, and yet there's been some moments where I know we're going to get beat in this league," Johnson said. "I felt like we had good protection throughout."
Big picture view:
If Sunday was a benchmark in choosing the Bears' starting left tackle, then it can't be overlooked how Jones was the starting left tackle when the Bears' first-team offense executed a crisp opening drive for a touchdown.
Jones wasn't perfect. He allowed pressure from the Bills' defensive linemen Michael Hoecht and A.J. Epenesa, but not the kind that sent Caleb Williams running for his life.
On a third and five play, Epenesa nearly got by Jones. But, Jones slowed him up enough that Williams was able to get a pass out to DJ Moore for a first down.
"When you're playing tackle against some of these pass rushers in this league, you're going to lose a rep or two," Johnson said. There's two things: One is how do you bounce back when that happens? The other one, how do we slowdown from losing too fast? If we're going to lose, we want to lose slow."
That speed is becoming a theme for Johnson on the offensive line. Jones plays at the speed Johnson wants, even if his ceiling is lower than Trapilo's is. But, if Trapilo fits the speed Johnson wants at right tackle, that deepens the offensive line in a way that makes last year look like a faux pas.
Benedet's rise up the depth chart keeps the competition going at left, but Jones' experience and progress back from his injury seems to give the Bears a comfort level at this point in the preseason.
It's on Jones to make sure that comfort level stays where it needs to be right now.
"If we have to continue to battle it out over the course, through the bye week, then that's the nature of the NFL," Johnson said. "It's a long season. That's how this thing works. We're not afraid of it. It'll be next-man-up. If one guy's not performing up to snuff, then we'll find someone else that can."
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