Joniak's Journal: Bears' Offensive Line Is Gaining Comfort
By Jeff Joniak--
(CBS) The Bears (2-4) are on their bye this week. Here are a few observations as they take a break.
First impression
Bears assistants have leaned on their many years of experience to prepare inexperienced players to be the "next man up" over the first six weeks of the season. Offensive line coach Dave Magazu moved Kyle Long from right guard to right tackle with little prep for the season opener against the Packers to begin the reshaping of the front five.
"He's hard on himself, and I'm hard on him," Magazu said. "But he's a big boy, and he can take that. He knows what is expected. If you look at some of the progress like a blitz we missed in the opener against Green Bay, we got that same blitz in the last game against Detroit and there were no issues, so there's a learning curve there."
Long was critical of himself for his performance against the Lions, but Magazu is OK with Long pointing the finger at himself first. He said Long's a good football player who's only six months into an entirely new system and a few into a new position.
Second thought
Magazu may have found a home for Charles Leno Jr. at left tackle.
"He's better with his right hand," Magazu said. "As a tackle, you've got to be really well-versed with your inside hand. Everybody thinks it's your outside hand. He feels more comfortable there. He's playing with balance right now, and there's a pace to his sets. Every once in a while, he gets into trouble, and you'll see him panic on one and you can just see sometimes it's by alignment and it's like 'uh oh.' He's feeling comfortable and he's feeling confident, and that's half the battle right there."
When asked if this means Leno is challenging injured Jermon Bushrod for the starting job after the bye week, Magazu made it clear that it's not fair to say anything like that.
Third degree
I continue to be impressed with the teaching, motivation and quality of coaching being done by receivers coach Mike Groh.
He's excellent. Players respect him, even though he rides them hard and expects a lot from them every day. Marquess Wilson is getting better and earning the trust of quarterback Jay Cutler in part because of Groh's guidance. Wilson and rookie Cameron Meredith were barked at a lot in training camp, but they both were central figures on late fourth-quarter drives over the last three weeks.
"It's fun to be able to watch them go out there and do that," Groh said. "It's a credit to them. Nobody gave them any kind of chance to make those plays, so it was fun just watching them having fun."
Groh will be of great help to rookie receiver Kevin White (shin) when he returns. White's getting the classroom instruction and understanding the offense, now he just needs to heal and eventually take it to the field.
Fourth-and-short
Pro Football Focus ranks Matt Slauson as tied for second in the NFL among left guards with 302 snaps without allowing a sack.
Jeff Joniak is the play-by-play announcer for the Bears broadcasts on WBBM Newsradio 780. Follow him on Twitter @JeffJoniak.