Olin Kreutz Has Opinions on the Bears O-line and They're Not Ideal

Olin Kreutz is a six-time Pro Bowl center. He knows what good offensive play is supposed to look like. He's been part of both ends. The 2006 Chicago Bears had a really good group that allowed few sacks and paved the way for a top rushing attack. On the flip side, his 2010 group allowed 56 sacks. So his opinion carries a significant amount of weight in regards to whether a line passes the eye test. So take a guess at what he thinks about the current Bears front.

Not good. He discussed the topic on 670 The Score with McNeil & Parkins. Not only was he unimpressed with the line's ability to enforce their will in the ground game. He also seemed to take a minor shot at GM Ryan Pace for his lack of significant investment in the group with higher draft choices.

Indeed the line doesn't look all that impressive. Charles Leno (7th rounder) has not looked like the player who went to the Pro Bowl last year. James Daniels (2nd rounder) is back at left guard after struggling through the first eight games at center while Cody Whitehair (2nd rounder) replaced him. Rashaad Coward (UDFA) was forced into the right guard spot when Kyle Long went down with a hip injury. Now Cornelius Lucas (former 4th rounder) is filling in for Bobby Massie who is dealing with a high ankle sprain.

So yeah. Kreutz isn't wrong.

Olin Kreutz is right on both counts, like it or not

Running the ball has always been a staple of Bears football. So one can imagine Kreutz is not happy with the results thus far this season. They rank a dismal 29th in rushing through 11 games. Rookie David Montgomery has topped 100 yards just once. Anybody who has watched the games has seen a front both unwilling and unable to set the tone by driving defenders off the ball. This leans directly into the other part of his point.

The Bears have not spent a single 1st round draft pick on the offensive line during Pace's tenure dating back to 2015. His two highest choices were Daniels and Whitehair. Others included Hroniss Grasu (3rd round), Tayo Fabuluje (6th round), and Jordan Morgan (5th round). While he's tried to invest in the front as often as possible, he's tended to take a cheaper route in the draft, which can be dangerous.

It's also not something they can correct anytime soon with no 1st round pick in 2020. Put simply the Bears will have to try and fix these issues with more creative measures.