LONDON — Whatever the reason, Bears left tackle Charles Leno Jr. hasn’t been playing at the level that earned him a Pro Bowl selection last season.
Leno was part of an offensive line that struggled mightily in the 24-21 loss to the Raiders on Sunday. The Bears averaged 2.5 yards per carry, dropping them to 80.6 per game this season. They also allowed Chase Daniel to be sacked four times for 37 yards.
“We need to figure it out,” Leno said. “You don’t want to be a one-dimensional team. When you’re a one-dimensional team, it just sucks because you’re struggling and you’re passing more often than not.
“Defenses can just dial up coverages, blitzes and all these types of things to stop the pass. If you’re running the ball, you can keep them guessing with play action, outside zone, inside zone, short game, screens. You’ve always gotta keep the defense guessing.”
As for Leno, specifically, he was flagged three times. He had a holding penalty that derailed a drive in the first quarter and committed holding and a false start in the fourth.
The Bears need more from him, especially after investing with a four-year, $37 million extension.
“We’ve just gotta do our job better,” Leno said. “I don’t even want to keep on saying it, but it’s gotta start with me. I’m gonna go to this bye week and do some real deep searching and see how I can get better.
“All I want to do is help the team win, and if I’m not doing my job, well…a la holding calls — some [expletive], in my opinion. But at the end of the day, if I’m not doing my job, I’m hurting the offense and we can’t get going.”
The Bears’ bang for their buck is an issue across the line. They’ve put a total of $131 million on the table for Leno, left guard Cody Whitehair, right tackle Bobby Massie and right guard Kyle Long over various contracts. Center James Daniels is the only cheap one since he’s still playing on his rookie deal.
That group’s inconsistency has been one issue in the offense’s struggles, but there are several. The Bears were 30th in total offense going into Sunday, then managed a paltry 236 against the Raiders.
