Bears’ offensive coordinator breaks down progress across the board

Ariana Pensy · Correspondent · 3 hours ago

CHICAGO - What a difference a year can make. Chicago went from arguably having the worst offensive line in the NFL, with how many sacks they were giving up, to only giving up 14 sacks in nine games.

The Bears spent a lot of capital to revamp the offensive line during the offseason, including trading for left guard Joe Thuney.

Thuney not only brings All-Pro talent to the offensive line, but he also brings veteran leadership to a younger group that needs someone with Thuney’s experience.

“Joe Thuney, it starts kind of behind the scenes, what you guys don’t see. Just how he carries himself everyday and then really, the biggest thing is that he’s incredibly consistent. (Running backs coach and former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator) Eric Bieniemy, when we were going through the process, talked about him and his relationship with him in Kansas City,” offensive coordinator Declan Doyle said. “He’s just said he’s going to bore you to death with how consistent he is on his details. You’re not even going to notice him and that’s the biggest thing. He’s done a great job of doing everything that we’ve asked of him, but the leadership behind the scenes is really the area that he has the biggest impact on our team.”

Chicago also added numerous talented players in the most recent NFL draft that are already making their mark including tight end Colston Loveland, running back Kyle Monangai and wide receiver Luther Burden III. Between the three of them, they have accounted for five touchdowns this season.

Burden III has perhaps received the least attention among the three, but he has put in a lot of work to earn more reps and plays in the offense.

“I’ve seen a guy that comes to work every day… He does a lot of work behind the scenes with (wide receivers coach Antwaun Randle) El, just with the offense, trying to ingrain really the techniques and the fundamentals that we’re going to ask him to go out and execute,” Doyle said. “I’ve seen a guy that has taken advantage of the times where the ball may find him and he’s gotten better without the ball in his hands as well and so, that’s really the area that you like to highlight and that’s the biggest area of growth.”

For anyone, it isn't easy going against Minnesota’s defensive coordinator, Brian Flores. His defenses are notorious for heavy blitzing but also changing things up to make their defense unpredictable.

They have continued that trend this season.

“They’ve done a great job of generating pressure, just as a defensive front and so, every game is a new one when you’re going against him. I think that the first week we played against them, it’s different than what we’re going to get this week. We’re a different team. They’re a different team,” Doyle said. “The biggest challenge with them is they force you to think on every snap. They’re a smart defense. They move around a lot. They’re in different spots and so, as you prepare for them, they do a good job of utilizing their personnel in a number of different ways and putting those guys in different spots and so, they’re not sitting ducks. As an offense, we want to be able to morph and be able to play and dictate in different ways. They certainly do that as a defense. They’re able to morph week-to-week and so, when you’re looking at the big picture over a season, it feels like a lot of defense because they’re able to morph and change the way they play.”