Chicago Bears: Cody Whitehair has been disastrous to start 2017

The Chicago Bears need center Cody Whitehair to play much better and actually learn how to snap a football.

The Chicago Bears offensive line has been inconsistent this season, whether it be because of poor player performance or different starting lineups. Both tackles, Bobby Massie and Charles Leno Jr., have had their fair share of ups and downs. But that was expected coming into the season, as both are just average starters. What was not expected, however, is the putrid performance of second-year center Cody Whitehair.

Through the first five weeks of the season, Whitehair has committed four penalties (three holdings, one illegal use of hands), second-most on the team (behind Leno’s five penalties). In the Bears’ Week 5 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Whitehair had a critical holding penalty on third down that negated a 26-yard reception by Tre McBride.

Instead of having a first down inside the Vikings 20-yard line, the Bears were forced to punt in a game that they lost by only three points.

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Whitehair has horrible grades from Pro Football Focus Edge thus far. His overall grade is 43.7, and his pass blocking grade is a laughable 14.4, which ranks dead last in the league amongst all offensive linemen. To put this in perspective, Whitehair had an overall grade of 85.9 last season.

To his defense, he has been tasked with playing both center and guard, including playing both positions in some games. But what’s not excusable is his pass protection and awful snaps as a center. Whitehair started 16 games at center last season, so he should have something as simple as snapping a football down pat.

But it’s been a disaster this season snapping the ball, especially in shotgun formations. There’s been at least one “snap snafu” in every game this season, leading to sacks or a completely busted play.

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Whitehair was supposed to be someone the Bears counted on this season, but the opposite has been true. He’s been a liability out there, and if Hroniss Grasu was healthy, he might be pushing for Whitehair’s job. I don’t know if Whitehair is playing hurt or what, but he looks nothing like the player we saw he could be last season. The offensive line is obviously much better when he’s playing well, and the team desperately needs him to return to his 2016 form.