Honestly, Braxton Jones Can Improve

Bears second-year tackle sees his ability to handle bullrushes as better but finds potential flaws he must still overcome.

 A year ago Bears left tackle Braxton Jones burst upon the scene as a surprise member of the NFL All-Rookie team.

It was anything but an easy season for the former Southern Utah player as he stepped up quite a bit in competition levels. Despite being ranked in the top 20 of all NFL tackles by Pro Football Focus, Jones' game had one major flaw.

The bullrush by defensive linemen gave Jones all kinds of trouble, and much to his credit he had no problem admitting it. He was brutally honest about his issues handling it all year.

Given an off-season to get stronger, bigger and work on technique, Jones remains honest.

"I've realized I'm a lot better at noticing the bull rush and then anchoring on it, actually," he said. "But my hands are too wide to help myself. I think I just need to get my hands back right. I worked on them pretty hard in the offseason but I think they are just kind of still wide, with pads being on even today. I just have to get them right.

"And I'll get them right, it's just going to take a little time. Work after practice and before practice as well just to get them right."

Honesty is the best policy. Jones might have a better chance to get better at blocking the bullrush for a few reasons.

For one, he's going to practice against someone who bullrushes.

Dominique Robinson was the player facing Jones the second half of last season on a daily basis and on Monday the second-year defensive end freely admitted he failed to use bullrushes enough in practice, which did not benefit Jones or himself.

"Didn't use power at all," he said. "Even during practice—that was something that me and Braxton both talked about once we came back for OTAs. We didn't help each other at all with that, because he kind of struggled with that and I didn't use it at all.

"It was one of those things where we went up against each other almost every day in practice and it never happened. That definitely has changed within these early practices. That's just one thing that I took from last season that definitely has to be different."

It will be different because it's DeMarcus Walker facing Jones now, and Walker is a stout end who relies more on power than going around the corner. 

Jones said he's already having trouble with Walker.

"I think with him, he has just such a small surface, he does a good job of really getting your chest," Jones said. "I have to work on that and throwing my hands. I think the anchoring part I have been working on and seeing the bull rush has been way better and just kind of sitting on it. I think I will give myself a better shot getting my hands right."

Hands are the key.

"Yeah, in one-on-ones, it's definitely been a fight," Jones said. "I think I'm more struggling with the hands part. Where to place my hands more than anything."

Another way Jones can get better at it is watch the rookie tackle the Bears drafted in Round 1, Darnell Wright.

"I think Darnell, he’s a big boy," Jones said. "So he can settle on bullrush really well. I think he anchors on it really well.

"Obviously, our hands have got to be better in certain areas for that, but I think learning from that, just the quickness he does that at, just settling on it, and then his pass pro, like he is pretty good at pass pro. And I can learn from that, as well and take some tools from him in that area."

It's not often a second-year player will say he can learn something from a rookie at his position but Jones has always been that type of honest player who freely admits flaws and tries to fix them.

He's out to repair any flaw.

"Yeah, I mean just my overall game," Jones said. "Even in the run game, too. I've felt, feel like I've came back with a different type of mindset in the run game.

"I used to run away from a lot of things, and that was just, it wasn't me trying to run away from some of the blocks or anything like that. It's just understanding and experience, so just even on those front side zones, those wide zones, just taking it straight on, widing that edge has been 10 times better this year."

Jones sees this as a help against specfic teams.

"So that will help our team, especially against bigger fronts," he said. "Like, I think last year I struggled a lot against like the Giants. They have that huge, huge front, where, you know, Leonard (Williams) and all of them guys. They're a big front. I just struggled cause I couldn't get into my blocks. So understanding that, getting my helmet into things, you know footwork and all types of things like that in the run game and just overall pass pro. Just fine-tuning my things and right now my hands just aren't right and I've been talking with my coach and they just haven't been right, and I just got to get them right."

If he doesn't, he'll be the first to let everyone know.

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