Bear Digest

The Player Bears Offensive Linemen Would Do Well to Imitate

At least according to Pro Football Focus, the Bears have someone who is pass-blocking well, even after a game when they allowed seven sacks.

Gene Chamberlain

Travis Homer has impressed Pro Football Focus with his pass blocking as a passing down replacement at running back.
Travis Homer has impressed Pro Football Focus with his pass blocking as a passing down replacement at running back. / Denny Medley-Imagn Images
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Why Roschon Johnson can't get on the field for the Bears in games might be best explained by the Pro Football Focus grades released this week.

Johnson last year played effectively as a third-down pass blocker or receiver but this year he hasn't had a snap of offense and the reason is Travis Homer.

The Bears didn't exactly have a strong pass blocking night, as seven sacks of Caleb Williams says, but Homer pass-blocked on eight plays and came away with a PFF grade of 86.8, by far the best pass-blocking grade on the team at any position.

Homer has yet to allow a pressure according to PFF. He had a similar high pass-blocking grade in the first game, but only got in for one pass-blocking play.

In a game when Williams took a severe beating, more of the linemen need production similar to Homer's.

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Still, for the second straight week the Bears offensive line seemed to skate through a bit with better grades than it appeared they should have.

Guard Teven Jenkins received the lowest pass-blocking grade of all the linemen at 59.8, but the highest run-blocking grade for the entire team at 76.1 on a night when the Bears had only 71 rushing yards.

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Braxton Jones (69.3) had the highest pass blocking grade and Nate Davis was second (61.5). Darnell Wright was given the low grade of 39.0 as a pass blocker for all the linemen.

The blocking of center Coleman Shelton has taken a beating from fans because of a few poor efforts or being vicitimized by a trip, but Shelton actually came out well in PFF grades as a blocker.

Shelton has the team's second-highest run-blocking grade this season at a relatively high 75.2, including 68.2 Sunday night. His pass blocking has been much lower, as it has for most of the linemen. Shelton's pass blocking grade is 55.6.

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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.