The Chicago Bears made some adjustments on offense prior to Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions. Whether that was benching tight end Adam Shaheen or a switch on the offensive line, Matt Nagy was determined to shake things up.
After switching Cody Whitehair to left guard and James Daniels to center during the offseason, the team decided to switch them back after Daniels struggled at his new position over the first eight games this season.
When Whitehair snapped for the first time Sunday against the Lions, it was his first snap to quarterback Mitchell Trubisky since the pair played in the Pro Bowl back in January.
Whitehair struggled with his snaps, including one that could’ve been a disaster as a fumble that Trubisky managed to turn into a 3-yard gain. There were a few others that were high or wide that Trubisky had to adjust to.
“It went OK for me, but I wish I could have a couple [plays] back …” Whitehair said, via the Sun-Times. “It’ll get better as we go.”
Neither Whitehair or Daniels had played their former positions prior to switching during practice last week.
“It’s not easy switching positions within seven days,” Daniels said, “but [offensive line] coach Harry [Hiestand] believed in me.”
The switch comes after some struggles on the offensive line, where Nagy wouldn’t blame Daniels, just like he wouldn’t focus on Whitehair’s snapping issues.
“I think sometimes when, whatever sport it is — if it’s golf and a golfer has the yips or you get into people, pitchers or whatever — the less you talk about it, the better it gets,” he said.
We’ll see if that’s the case when the Bears travel to Los Angeles to play the Rams on Sunday Night Football, where defensive star Aaron Donald awaits.
