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The Chicago Bears finally had stable play from the center position last season.
Drew Dalman played every offensive snap and earned himself a Pro Bowl nod. After years of instability on the interior spot of the offensive line, there was finally consistency.
But that didn't last.
Dalman retired in March, and the Bears quickly traded for New England Patriots center Garrett Bradbury. The veteran offensive lineman has seven years of NFL experience and 105 starts to his name.
Although he's the new guy on the Bears' O-line, his teammates haven't noticed a drop off in the operation of head coach Ben Johnson's offense.
"I think we were all a little, you know, you don't know how it's going to go, especially when we lose somebody like Drew, who's, you know, kind of that captain of the offensive line there communication wise," Bears tight end Cole Kmet said. "But, I mean, with Garrett, it really has been flawless so far, and I know we haven't had pads on from a physicality standpoint, but, you know, you talked about communication in the walkthroughs that we've had, and in practice, things have been really clear, concise, and I feel like when I've been out there, especially in the run game and the pass pro, things have been really clear. And I think we've had great understanding with one another, so yeah, it's a good unit up front for sure."
Braxton Jones is currently in a competition for the starting left tackle position, but he's also noticed the cohesion he's felt with Bradbury playing with the starting unit.
"I mean, Garrett's jumped right in," Jones said. "He's, I mean, it's almost, it's weird like, you know, shoutout to Drew Dalman and everything he did, but, you know, Garrett jumped right in and has done a great job. It's like, you know, the same thing, their communication is great. And, you know, obvioulsy Garrett's a hell of a player himself, so it's been great and the continuity going forward. We're all a brotherhood. We all have a good time, but whe it's ready to, you know, get that work in, we're all getting that work in. So, it's just a great group to be around.
Caleb Williams is now playing with his third center in the last three years. The center and quarterback relationship is an important one for any offense. After last Wednesday's training camp practice, he mentioned that there was a slight miscommunication between the two.
Training camp is the time to address those miscues, as the Bears' quarterback is looking for perfection on game days.
Garrett doesn't have to be perfect -- or Dalman -- but he does need to provide a stable presence at the center position for this Bears offense to reach its next level.
Continue reading...
Drew Dalman played every offensive snap and earned himself a Pro Bowl nod. After years of instability on the interior spot of the offensive line, there was finally consistency.
But that didn't last.
Dalman retired in March, and the Bears quickly traded for New England Patriots center Garrett Bradbury. The veteran offensive lineman has seven years of NFL experience and 105 starts to his name.
Although he's the new guy on the Bears' O-line, his teammates haven't noticed a drop off in the operation of head coach Ben Johnson's offense.
"I think we were all a little, you know, you don't know how it's going to go, especially when we lose somebody like Drew, who's, you know, kind of that captain of the offensive line there communication wise," Bears tight end Cole Kmet said. "But, I mean, with Garrett, it really has been flawless so far, and I know we haven't had pads on from a physicality standpoint, but, you know, you talked about communication in the walkthroughs that we've had, and in practice, things have been really clear, concise, and I feel like when I've been out there, especially in the run game and the pass pro, things have been really clear. And I think we've had great understanding with one another, so yeah, it's a good unit up front for sure."
Braxton Jones is currently in a competition for the starting left tackle position, but he's also noticed the cohesion he's felt with Bradbury playing with the starting unit.
"I mean, Garrett's jumped right in," Jones said. "He's, I mean, it's almost, it's weird like, you know, shoutout to Drew Dalman and everything he did, but, you know, Garrett jumped right in and has done a great job. It's like, you know, the same thing, their communication is great. And, you know, obvioulsy Garrett's a hell of a player himself, so it's been great and the continuity going forward. We're all a brotherhood. We all have a good time, but whe it's ready to, you know, get that work in, we're all getting that work in. So, it's just a great group to be around.
Caleb Williams is now playing with his third center in the last three years. The center and quarterback relationship is an important one for any offense. After last Wednesday's training camp practice, he mentioned that there was a slight miscommunication between the two.
Training camp is the time to address those miscues, as the Bears' quarterback is looking for perfection on game days.
Garrett doesn't have to be perfect -- or Dalman -- but he does need to provide a stable presence at the center position for this Bears offense to reach its next level.
Continue reading...
