Matt Eberflus Proves Ineptitude Again With New Cody Whitehair Revelation

It is almost impossible to defend Matt Eberflus these days. Nobody can argue the man has the right ideas when it comes to building a winning team. He wants guys who hustle, play with intensity, and are smart with the football. He wants players who are great athletes and loves the game. His belief is building for the long-term and developing young guys. All of these are good principles to have. Unfortunately, it takes more than that to be a successful head coach in the NFL. One vital trait is recognizing weaknesses in your own roster.

The worst thing you can do is see a problem and not do anything to avoid it. A perfect example of this is Cody Whitehair. Going into the season, Chicago planned for the veteran to resume playing center. This felt like a dangerous gamble, knowing Whitehair's history with snap issues. Either Eberflus didn't know about the problem when the change was made, or he didn't think it would be an issue. Then Whitehair had such a bad day snapping the ball against Minnesota that he was eventually benched.

Eberflus then made it so much worse by admitting that there were issues in practice leading up to the game.

"It’s been a little bit during practice, some. But again, that’s always an issue when you work through and change positions. I think that when you have that, but again, it’s not been like it’s been glaring. There’s been some of it. But again, we’ve corrected it, made those adjustments. It’s got to be better than what it was on Sunday."

Matt Eberflus deserved exactly what he got on Sunday.

He knew Whitehair had snapping issues, and he knew he had a quarterback that liked to work from shotgun. That is never a good combination. Yet the Bears went ahead with it anyway. Multiple drives were affected by the problem. It's not like Eberflus had the excuse of needing Whitehair's capable blocking. The 31-year-old has allowed 12 hurries, four hits, and two sacks on the quarterback through the first six games. For all the grief Lucas Patrick gets, he's been more reliable in pass protection and doesn't have the same issues snapping the ball.

This is further proof that Matt Eberflus doesn't fully grasp what his players do well. For all the talk about working to their strengths, the decision to move Whitehair back to center was far too risky. It's another reason GM Ryan Poles deserves criticism for not addressing the position during the off-season. Now, the Bears are stuck in this situation for another 11 games, making life even harder for the offense. Some coaches can't handle big decisions. Some can't handle little ones. Eberflus can't seem to handle either.