Last week, we looked at pass rushing. LINK This week we'll take a look at the Bears' pass blocking. How does it rate? Short answer: not good. However, with Chris Williams entrenched at Left Tackle instead of someone else, this season's pass blocking should be better.
ProFootballFocus writer Khaled Elsayed published a very informative article about pass blocking productivity. Part 1 (tackles), Part 2 (centers & guards).
They broke down every single pass blocking opportunity for each player and credited 1 point for a sack and 0.75 points for a QB hit or QB pressure allowed by who they were blocking to get Pass Block Points. Then divide by the number of pass blocking opportunities (minimum 150 opportunities, 200 players ranked) and multiply by 100, and voila: Pass Block Productivity.
PassBlockingProdSpreadsheet <= Click here to download excel file.
Bears Offensive Lineman Pass Blocking Productivity & Rankings:
- Olin Kreutz: 1.371 PBP; 5th ranked Overall (out of 200 ranked linemen), 3rd among Centers.
- Roberto Garza: 2.155 PBP; 42nd Overall, 15th among all Guards, 9th ranked Right Guard.
- Frank Omiyale: 3.595 PBP; 100th Overall, 54th among Guards, 23rd ranked Left Guard.
- Kevin Shaffer: 4.390 PBP; 124th Overall, 21st among Tackles, 12th ranked Right Tackle.
- Josh Beekman: 4.412 PBP; 126th Overall, 70th among Guards, 30th ranked Left Guard.
- Chris Williams: 6.740 PBP; 183rd Overall, 63rd among Tackles, 33rd ranked Right Tackle.
- Orlando Pace: 7.626 PBP; 192nd Overall out of 200, 71st among Tackles, 33rd ranked Left Tackle.
This truly illustrates what an utter disaster Orlando Pace was at Left Tackle. Chris Williams 2nd half was much better than his first half. His last 5 games at Left Tackle were very good (projected over an entire season those numbers would rank him 8th in the NFL among all Left Tackles).
Chris Williams Snaps / Sacks / Hits / Pressures / Points / PBP
Total 638 7 11 37 43 6.74
1st Half 319 5 10 22 29 9.091
2nd Half 319 2 1 15 14 4.389
Right Tackle 436 5 11 30 35.75 8.200
Left Tackle 202 2 0 7 7.25 3.589
I added up all the stats for the NFC North and the Bears ended up 3rd in the division...not good. Vikings have elite pass rushers in Jared Allen & Kevin Williams. Ray Edwards is no slouch either. Green Bay's pass rushers (Cullen Jenkins & Clay Matthews) are good too, and now even Detroit has brought in 3 new pass rushers in Kyle Vanden Bosch, Corey Wiiliams (a 3-4 DE who will probably rush from the tackle spot), and Donkey Kong Suh.
NFC North Snaps / Sacks / Hits / Pressures / Points / PBP
Vikings 2967 22 28 61 88.75 2.991 (5th in NFL)
Lions 3256 23 40 103 130.25 4.000 (20th)
Bears 3194 16 31 124 132.25 4.141 (23rd)
Packers 3297 36 32 114 145.5 4.413 (26th)
If we do a little math and take out Orlando Pace's numbers and Chris Williams' stint at right tackle, then project CW's left tackle numbers over an entire season; the Bears improve to a PBP of 2.861. That's good for 4th in the NFL. Let's hope Chris Williams continues to do what he did at the end of last season. Simply put, having Chris Williams as the starter at Left Tackle over Orlando Pace is a huge improvement in the ability of the Bears' offensive line to pass protect.
Bottom line: Kreutz, Garza, and Chris Williams at LT are all good pass protectors. Frank Omiyale was mediocre at pass blocking at the Left Guard spot & Kevin Shaffer was OK at right tackle. Frank's move to right tackle doesn't guarantee success, however, tackle is his natural position. Chris Williams at right tackle was disastrous, so I don't think Omiyale could do worse. If Frank stumbles again, having Shaffer at right tackle would not spell doom for the Bears. Looking at these numbers, Beekman's stats at Left Guard are not very good. It looks like Johan Asiata and Lance Louis will battle it out to see who gets the job. What could go wrong?