Bear Digest

Bears Can Stand for Immediate End to Starting Center Battle

Analysis: Calling the winner in the starting competition between Ryan Bates and Coleman Shelton at center should be easy and also necessary for the Bears line.

Gene Chamberlain

Ryan Bates looks the part of a starting center so far after coming over from the Bills.
Ryan Bates looks the part of a starting center so far after coming over from the Bills. / Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports
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It's not too soon to wonder if there should be an early resolution to the Bears center battle between Coleman Shelton and Ryan Bates.

It's the team's only true starting battle.

"I told the guys (Monday), you make the team or you make your position in pads," coach Matt Eberflus said. "It's hard to evaluate guys when we're out here and not in pads."

Then the Friday start of padded work would have to be considered Shelton's last shot, or when he needs to make his move anyway.

There are good reasons for liking Bates better, even after only two practices apiece working with starters.

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Unless there is a total reversal in how Bates looks once pads come on. Bates should be declared winner so the line continuity can develop. They need to get the same group together as soon as possible.

Regardless of how they've looked so far in their assignments, if all things are equal the winner has to be Bates because Shelton doesn't appear physically capable of handling the rigors of starting at NFL center for 17 games at his size.

While Bates isn't exactly heavy for the position at 6-4, 302, he's close enough to ideal weight for it. Shelton is 6-5, 285 pounds according to Bears roster sizes.

A 285-pound lineman might have worked in the 1980s and 1990s, but not now.

Sometimes the sizes change and aren't recorded correctly. For instance, Shelton was 299 on a couple of Rams rosters last year and in another past one at 300. But 285 is a new weight posted and unless they need to get trainers a new scale at Halas Hall, that must be presumed accurate. It's far too light even in an offense using a lot of wide zone blocking.

There's another good reason to give this to Bates. It always helps having a vocal leader at center.

Guard Teven Jenkins was asked regardless of position, if there is a vocal line leader so far.

"It would probably be Ryan Bates being a vocal leader," Jenkins said. "He's more of our vocal guy like you're asking right now. So I’d say probably Ryan Bates."

When the pads come on, it's difficult to see how something is going to change barring a health issue.

The fallback for coaches always is they need to let things play out in camp but this is one position where it’s better to have a player in place and getting the ball to Caleb Williams to start plays on a regular basis for the sake of consistency.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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Gene Chamberlain

GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher 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.