Bear Digest

Ice thins for Bears tackle Theo Benedet after tough Saints outing

Coach Ben Johnson seemed to support his new left tackle but said he needs to see improvement going forward after inconsistent game with New Orleans.
Gene Chamberlain|
Theo Benedet admits he had a rough time against the Saints blocking Chase Young but for now his job appears to be safe.
Theo Benedet admits he had a rough time against the Saints blocking Chase Young but for now his job appears to be safe. | Chicago Bears On SI Photo: Chicago Bears Video

In this story:

Chicago Bears

Theo Benedet wasn't about to nonchalantly sweep away his performance in Sunday's 26-14 win over the Saints.

"I didn't have my best game today so to have the running game working as it was, it was nice to be able to fire off on them (and run block)," he said. "I mean, I just felt like I probably didn't play winning football today—mental mistakes, penalties."

When Bears coach Ben Johnson put Benedet in the lineup at left tackle after Darnell Wright returned at right tackle, he didn't characterize it as permanent.

It was described as a case where the standard had to be upheld, and Braxton Jones hadn't been doing it.

Now Benedet's ability to get it done at left tackle is in question? Although Pro Football Focus didn't give him a sack allowed, he had a low grade for the offensive line of 43.2 from that analytics website. His grade was the worst offensive grade for the Bears in the game. Against Washington, he had been better at 62.0, second lowest for offensive linemen, and allowed two pressures.

“It's inconsistent, to say the least," coach Ben Johnson said Monday. "You know, he had a couple false starts mixed in there. Run-game wise, he did some good things in terms of moving guys, but probably wasn't as clean as it could be. And then in pass pro, I think (Saints DE) Chase Young got after him just a little bit more than he had liked, as well.”

Whether Johnson would go back to Jones seems unclear, although it seems for now Bendet is still being counted on to play against Baltimore.

“I mean, we need all of our guys to perform at a high level for us to move the ball, score points on offense, win games as a team, and so the evaluation process always goes on," Johnson said. "If there's someone that's not pulling his weight, then we’ve got to make a decision there.

"But, no, I think he's going to continue to get better with the more reps that  he gets. And, that wasn't a slouch that he was going against yesterday on most of those snaps and I think he's going to continue to get better.”

Chase Young was the edge player giving Benedet the most trouble.

Jones had a PFF blocking grade lower than Benedet's last grade only once, and that was in the Raiders game when he was benched.

More Chicago Bears News

Published
Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.