Bear Digest

Statement Ozzy Trapilo and Luke Newman made for Bears offensive line

It was never apparent when training camp started, but after they were tested the Bears found they had developed a solid core of backup blockers.
Gene Chamberlain|
Ozzy Trapilo and Kyle Monangai celebrate a touchdown in Sunday's 31-28 Bears win over Pittsburgh.
Ozzy Trapilo and Kyle Monangai celebrate a touchdown in Sunday's 31-28 Bears win over Pittsburgh. | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The big mystery over Jordan McFadden's promotion last week from the Bears' practice squad ultimately proved nothing more than one made for depth purposes at tackle, even though he has played guard.

The Bears had complete confidence in McFadden at either position, but they didn't need the help because Ozzy Trapilo handled the spot for injured Theo Benedet just fine. Also, they had Luke Newman when an injury hit them at guard.   

Inexperience made offensive line depth seem an issue for coach Ben Johnson in preseason, beyond guard/center Ryan Bates. After Braxton Jones' benching and injury, they proved they had players capable of filling spots at more than one position.  They had one more test on Sunday and passed.

Trapilo wasn't the only one called upon, as rookie Luke Newman came in when right guard Jonah Jackson went out due to injury. Jackson later returned but Newman played a full 22 plays at right guard before Jackson returned and finished. He also even lined up as a blocking back or extra O-line blocker.

“Similar to Ozzy, two guys that have done a great job of just being really receptive to information preparing themselves and they've come in through spells," center Drew Dalman said. "To come in the middle of the game like that is challenging and he was ready to go, which is awesome."

This, in and of itself, represents a bit of a shift because Bates had been considered top center and guard backup. Newman seems to have ascended as the guard backup. It makes sense because Bates is a free agent after this season.

Pro Football Focus graded Newman the third-best offensive line run blocker in the game for the Bears during his first bit of extended action. His pass blocking was somewhat suspect but the Bears had two line changes in the game after they had played six straight games with the same starting offensive line.  Not everything was going to be perfect.

Pass blocking held up fine overall. It was run blocking where  they actually had issues against a good front.

Trapilo's ability to fill in for Bendet on a side of the line he had been pulled from late in preseason when they shifted him to right tackle should have been no surprise.

"Credit to Ozzy for stepping up," coach Ben Johnson said. "Having not played a lot of ball yet this year, he did a played a really solid game for us. I thought it was really good.

"Our run game wasn't quite as efficient as we'd like it to be, and yet, our pass game, we're able to find enough plays there to somehow score 30 points."

Seeing players who normally have toiled in obscurity suddenly called upon and succeeding only reinforces the offensive line’s feeling they can cope with anything.

“I think guys get excited, too," Dalman said. "We had Jordan McFadden up this week. He's been practicing awesome. All the guys love him, and he's fired up. So, everybody gets super excited to see him get a chance, and then guys come in the game."

The offensive line, of course, hasn't been the only place where depth delivered after being tested. The fact seven starters on defense were missing through much of Sunday's win is a testament to the backups and backups to backups.

“This is what I'm accustomed to," Johnson said. "Where I've been in the past, this is what happens this time of year. Guys go down and someone else has to step up.

"The vision has been from the time we ended training camp, that if you're a special teams player on the 53, be ready to be starting at some point on offense or defense. And likewise, if you're a practice squad player, be ready to be called up. We've tried to develop them over the course of the year. Our coaching staff, I think they do a really good job of not just coaching the guys that are going to be playing on Sunday, but making sure we're coaching the show teams as well.”

It’s both working with technique but also keeping the subs involved instead of standing around daydreaming at practice.

 “A guy like (assistant offensive line coach) Kyle DeVan, I see him in that show team huddle every single day and not just to get the right look for our defense, but also to coach up our young offensive linemen to make sure that they're developing also,” Johnson said. “I think there’s a balance of that that goes on.

“I think those guys know that they're not just here to fill a spot. They also have a big role to play in terms of what we're doing. When their number is called, they don't shy away from it.”

Whether they'll return to their original lineup with Jackson at right guard and Benedet at left tackle won't be known until later in a short week.

With so little time to prepare until Friday's game, it might be difficult to accomplish, but they've had to put up with tougher situations. The offensive line responded, just like the remnants of their defense did.

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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.