Clock Ticking on Bears Offensive Line
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It's not a matter of talent for Teven Jenkins.
It's a matter of time.
It's two weeks into preseason and the Bears are fiddling with their offensive line yet again. The big experiment began in practice with Teven Jenkins moving to guard for the first time and it continues with a more serious test against Seattle in Thursday night's game.
Moving a tackle to guard in the NFL for the first time seems like a change best implemented in the offseason, but that came and went with Jenkins at tackle.
"I think it's a little bit of an adjustment, but we wouldn't ask him to do anything he couldn't handle," offensive line coach Chris Morgan said. "He's got some attributes that can really probably shine in there.
"So we're excited about it, excited to see how it looks."
There is a bottom line to it all and it's one the Bears say they go by whether they're talking about Jenkins or current No. 1 right guard Michael Schofield or the tackles or center.
"We're always going to try to put our five best players on the field," Morgan said.
There doesn't seem to be a problem with Jenkins' skill set in this regard. He might not have the experience or reach of an ideal tackle—Braxton Jones has arms nearly two inches longer and Riley Reiff has been playing tackle in the NFL on both sides for 11 years.
What Jenkins does have is physical strength, tenacity and speed. He did 36 reps on the bench press at his pro day, which was in the top 3% of his draft class. His 40 time of 5.01 was top 9%.
So surely someone with such natural ability should be able to fit in somewhere.
Jenkins' measurements, predraft workouts and style of play do compare to someone from the recent Bears past who was considered a tackle briefly but wound up at guard.
That's Kyle Long.
Their 2013 first-round draft pick was even faster with a 4.94-second 40, was about an eighth of inch taller and 5 pounds lighter than Jenkins and with virtually the same arm length. He had 33 3/8-inch arms. The difference being Long had huge hands, bigger than 98% of his draft class at 11 inches.
That matters on the line, but means more at tackle than at guard because the pass rush is always right in front of you on the inside and on the outside might be just beyond your reach.
In Long's case, he always maintained that one year playing tackle when he made the Pro Bowl was the roughest thing he had to do, other than rehab from the injuries that deprived him of a longer career.
The real question for the Bears here with Jenkins is time. There is one preseason game after the Seahawks game and then two weeks until the regular season.
Offensive line coaches are always stressing the need for players to work in a cohesive unit, which requires practice repetitions together.
Guard Cody Whitehair just turned 30, has moved between guard and center plenty in the past and has seen Bears offensive lines take shape for seven seasons now. He had a surprising answer about how long it actually takes to get a group synched up for the opener.
"The biggest thing about training camp is you're trying to find the best five guys so that when Week 1 does hit, you're ready to roll with those best five guys," Whitehair said. "It happens naturally, it really does.
"Really, all you need is a week to get ready. By Week 1 we'll have that and we'll have continuity and we'll be ready to roll for sure."
It seems like very little time but if Whitehair is right the Bears could conceivably have their line together and practicing for the opener in the last two preseason games if they consider Jenkins their starting right guard.
Either way, Schofield must be seriously concerned about his starting status. He isn't a highly paid right guard alternative, as they paid him $1.12 million to come in and supply experience.
Schofield allowed a sack of Justin Fields against Kansas City and Morgan said there are goals for him.
"I just think you want to see him improve," Morgan said. "You want to see him gel with the guys around him. You want to see him pick up the differences in our scheme, our terminology and apply them."
By now, they've seen Schofield trying to pick up the offense and fit in at right guard for a little over three weeks.
If Jenkins does enough against Seattle to indicate he is picking up the position, he'll have about three weeks to prepare for the regular season at the position.
They're already going to be throwing center Lucas Patrick back into the mix with very little time to work after his hand injury heals.
In the end, they might have the three weeks together with Jenkins which is longer than Whitehair said it takes to pull a line together. But when Patrick returns it will be an entirely different mix and they may not have more than a week before the opener to work together.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
