Stock up, Stock down after Bears-Texans review |
Chicago Bears fans had a lot to take away from their first loss of the season against the Houston Texans. The offensive line is poor, the defense is one of the best in the league, and wide receiver Keenan Allen was missed in Chicago’s offense.
Caleb Williams - Stock Up This may come as a surprise, given that his quarterback rating was lower against the Texans (51) than in the season-opening win against the Tennessee Titans (55.7) and he threw his first two interceptions of his NFL career. Williams took some strides in the right direction. When he was not under pressure, he made some incredibly difficult throws. He nearly had his first NFL touchdown on a throw to rookie receiver Rome Odunze that was precisely placed where only Odunze could catch it. Surely, Williams made some rookie mistakes, including the interceptions. However, mistakes are to be expected, particularly in his first NFL road game. There were also some issues with clock management that resulted in multiple delay-of-game penalties, which he attributed to cadence issues. Nonetheless, his stock is up as he continues to make progress and show flashes of his potential. Offensive Line - Stock Down It is unclear if the stock on Chicago’s offensive line can get any lower. Williams was sacked seven times against Houston. Seven is inexcusable. The Texans undoubtedly have elite defenders, but no defense should get seven sacks in a game. To make matters worse, it was not even one player that continually got in the backfield; six different players had at least one sack. With offensive guard Teven Jenkins questionable after suffering a deep thigh bruise against Houston, things are not looking promising for the offensive line for this coming Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts (Noon / CBS). Jenkins is actually Chicago’s best offensive lineman, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF), as he has a PFF grade of 73. Right guard Nate Davis, who also landed on the injury report with a groin injury, has a PFF grade of 57.4. Left tackle Braxton Jones has a PFF grade of 62.3; right tackle Darnell Wright has a PFF grade of 59.5; center Coleman Shelton has a PFF grade of 66.6. Anything in the 60s is average, while anything in the 70s is above average. These grades are a clear indication of how poor the offensive line has been given Jenkins is the only above average player and both starters on the right side of the line are below average. Keenan Allen - Stock Down Allen could not play against the Texans (heel injury), and it was noticeable. He was brought to Chicago to be a security blanket for Williams, and he could have used one this past Sunday night. Especially when Houston started to blitz, Williams would have benefitted from being able to dump the ball off to Allen. As an experienced veteran, he is incredibly quarterback-friendly all around. He is also wide receiver-friendly because having Allen in the game would also probably open things up for fellow receiver DJ Moore, as defenses seem content with leaving Odunze one-on-one. Signs are not good for his return against the Colts, as he did not participate in practice on Wednesday or Thursday. D’Andre Swift - Stock Down What did the Bears pay Swift $8 million a year for? Against the Texans, he had more rushes for fewer yards compared to the season opener against Tennessee. Chicago needs a run game. Running the ball is their offensive legacy. There is a reason the Bears have numerous Hall of Fame running backs like Gale Sayers and Walter Payton - Chicago runs the ball. More recently, the Bears had success with Matt Forte, Jordan Howard and David Montgomery. Swift was supposed to be the next man up in that running back history and he has been beyond disappointing. Shane Waldron - Stock Down The offensive line may be poor, and Swift may be underperforming, but the play-calling from offensive coordinator Shane Waldron is not helping matters. It was no surprise that Houston started to bring pressure against a rookie quarterback, and Waldron never adjusted anything at the line to give Williams a little more time to throw the ball, which could have been the difference in the game. Waldron will have to change the protections for the offensive linemen if he wants Williams to play a full 17 games.
