The Chicago Bears continued to check Teven Jenkins at proper guard Tuesday throughout their last follow earlier than Thursday’s preseason sport in opposition to the Seattle Seahawks.
One day after getting second-team reps on the place, Jenkins took first-team reps there because the Bears attempt to discover the precise mixture for his or her offensive line.
Before and after follow, coach Matt Eberflus, offensive line coach Chris Morgan and left guard Cody Whitehair talked about Jenkins’ transfer from sort out and a number of other different subjects. Here are 4 issues we heard.
1. Morgan thinks Jenkins has the attributes to excel at guard.
The Bears have pressured the necessity to get their 5 greatest offensive linemen on the sector as they tinker with completely different choices.
Rookie Braxton Jones is getting an prolonged take a look at left sort out, and Riley Reiff and Larry Borom have cut up reps at proper sort out — and may play on both facet. So Jenkins’ greatest guess to earn a roster spot is likely to be exhibiting the flexibility to play guard and sort out.
The Bears produce other choices too. Veteran Michael Schofield began at proper guard within the preseason opener, and Sam Mustipher can also play there, although he has been at middle whereas Lucas Patrick is injured. But Morgan stated the coaches are excited to see what Jenkins can present them, and it will likely be value watching how they use him in opposition to the Seahawks.
“He’s got great size,” Morgan stated. “He’s got good strength. He’s a smart football player. Those are all things you want inside, that translate inside. Things move fast inside.”
Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy stated Monday that guards carry a much bigger psychological load in his system and thinks Jenkins, a 2021 second-round pick of Oklahoma State, can deal with it. Whitehair is lending recommendation wherever he can as Jenkins dives into the brand new position.
“There’s just a lot more getting to the second level, making sure that you’re on the same page with protection calls and stuff like that,” Whitehair stated of the challenges in Getsy’s system. “The other systems I was in, you didn’t quite have to use your eyes as much at guard. But there’s a lot of responsibility that your eyes have to be right as far as getting to the second level and seeing different blitzes.”
Eberflus known as Jenkins a sensible, athletic participant, including he has instructed his workers to not put a ceiling on a participant. It’s a mantra Eberflus realized from one among his mentors, and he utilized it to Jenkins attempting to study a brand new place after lacking vital time at sort out final season with a again harm and a few practices this coaching camp with an undisclosed harm.
“Let him grow. Let him do his thing because some people mature and grow at different times and all of a sudden they just grow into a really good NFL player,” Eberflus stated. “And that’s for any position. We’re never going to put ceilings on guys. We’re always going to think the best for every player.”
2. Whitehair already is bought on Jones changing into a very good participant.
Jones has been with the Bears for less than three-plus months, however the fifth-round choose from Southern Utah clearly has gained over some folks in his quest to be the beginning left sort out, a job that would have gone to Reiff, Borom or Jenkins.
“Our department did a really good job of finding him,” Whitehair stated. “They knew what they have been in search of. I feel they discovered a very good one in him.
“The way he studies, the way he understands stuff. He’s very athletic, he’s got great length, he uses his hands well. I really like where Braxton’s at right now. He’s only going to continue to grow and I’m really excited to see that growth.”
Morgan stated Jones is wired to get higher day by day, so he wasn’t shocked how shortly the rookie caught on.
“He really has a clear vision of his process,” Morgan stated. “He has a clear vision of how he wants to attack it. He’s got a clear vision of how to measure himself day to day.”
3. Rookie middle Doug Kramer is out with a decrease leg harm.
Eberflus didn’t specify what Kramer’s harm was after the lineman missed follow Monday and Tuesday, however he stated Kramer can be out for an prolonged interval. The staff positioned Kramer on injured reserve Tuesday.
The Tribune’s Brad Biggs reported the team feared it may very well be a Lisfranc harm in Kramer’s foot, which might put his season in jeopardy.
Kramer, a 2022 sixth-round pick of Illinois, performed 73% of the offensive snaps within the preseason opener. He had been backing up Mustipher at middle.
4. Morgan is proud of how Borom remade his physique.
As the Bears search to turn out to be faster and lighter on the offensive line, Borom stated his goal weight of 320 is about 15 kilos lighter than final season.
Morgan praised the best way Borom went about remaking his physique and pointed to his even mindset as an attribute that has helped him as he works at each sort out spots.
“Larry did a heck of a job in the offseason putting himself in position to come out and compete,” Morgan stated. “You simply admire his mindset. He goes to attempt to get higher day by day.
“He has a great day, it doesn’t matter. He had a bad day, it doesn’t matter. I commend him on that. That’s a mental toughness attribute to me, and he’s doing a really nice job of jumping from right to left.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com