Chicago Bears: 5 Players who must shine vs. Lions in Week 10

Cody Whitehair

Cody Whitehair is a coach’s dream. He does whatever he’s asked to help the team. When he came to the Chicago Bears in 2016 he was a guard. An injury required him to move over to center. He did that and did it well. The next season he was asked to move over to left guard, then over to right guard and he did so. Again, he did well.

Last season Whitehair again went to center. He ended up making the Pro Bowl. This offseason, however, the Bears asked him to move over yet again. They wanted James Daniels to take over at center and Whitehair at left guard. Whitehair again moved and didn’t complain.

This latest move has caused some struggles, though. Daniels seems to have trouble with the calls on the line. The blocking is off and on too many occasions we see linemen run into each other, letting the defender through.

One of the reasons Montgomery has improved is Whitehair’s blocking. His pulling has opened up holes for Montgomery. Montgomery just needs the smallest of an opening for him to blast through and get a chunk of yards.

There were reports out of Halas Hall that Whitehair took reps at center with the first team at practice. Perhaps the experiment with Daniels is over and the Bears will switch them back. An added benefit of having Whitehair back at center beside the signal calling is that Trubisky was very comfortable with him. Maybe having Whitehair back at center helps Trubisky feel more at ease.

As I mentioned before, this is a porous Lions defense. If Whitehair helps open holes Montgomery could have a huge day. Hopefully, that happens and Montgomery’s rise continues.