Offensive line, assemble!
“The Avengers” are five men assigned to protect Caleb Williams and produce the league’s second-best rushing attack. They are, with nicknames determined by the Bears quarterback himself:
• Center Drew Dalman as The Hulk.
“He’s the brains and all of it, but when he gets out there and on the field, he’s strong as can be, fast and the right guy for the job for us and my future — and our future here,” Williams said.
• Guards Joe Thuney as Doctor Strange and Jonah Jackson as Red Hulk.
• Tackles Darnell Wright as Bucky — “because he has the one arm brace” — and Ozzy Trapilo as Wolverine. The latter was an Avenger in comic books, though Williams admitted he’s “not really” part of the movie canon.
“All of them collectively form a very formidable team to go out there and go to war with,” Williams said.
Dalman finds Williams’ nicknames funny — “People have kinda gotten a kick out of it,” he said — but said all five starters are comfortable without the attention.
“I think we’re used to sorta not being in the spotlight, and I think we like that mentality,” said Trapilo, the second-round rookie who’s the Bears’ third different starting left tackle this year. “But it’s not a bad thing at all.”
It has taken a superhero effort to turn around the Bears, who are 10-4 entering Saturday’s rivalry brawl with the Packers that will determine first place in the NFC North.
Last year, Williams was sacked 68 times, tied for third-most in the history of the sport. This year, he has been sacked just 23 times. Williams could be sacked on his next 35 drop-backs and still have a lower sack percentage than he did last season.
Last year, the Bears averaged four yards per carry, fewer than all but two teams, and finished with 1,734 rushing yards, the eighth-fewest in the NFL. This year, they rank fifth in the league with 4.8 yards per carry and second with 2,126 rushing yards.
Head coach Ben Johnson, who installs the team’s running plays in addition to calling them, had plenty to be excited about after Sunday’s 31-3 win against the Browns. Yet Johnson said he went to bed thinking about just one play — a nasty block by Jackson in which he knocked rookie defensive tackle Mason Graham to the ground on a trap run.
“Things like that just put a little smile on my face,” Johnson said.
Jackson winked at offensive-line coach Dan Roushar as he ran to the sidelines.
“To put that on tape and for our guys to see that — see what it looks like — can embody the physicality that you want to play with and the brand of football we want to embody,” offensive coordinator Declan Doyle said.
Roushar is happy not only with his linemen’s performance, but how much they’ve improved by playing next to each other all season. He marveled at how the starting offense, and not just the line, decided to take the field en masse Sunday.
The Bears’ offensive linemen have had time to build chemistry. Dalman has yet to miss a snap this year. Thuney has missed five. Jackson and Wright have missed fewer plays than any of the other offensive players but Williams.
That portends well for the rest of the season, starting Saturday night at Soldier Field.
“You’re constantly chasing it; you never hit this critical level of cohesion,” Dalman said. “Whatever our standard was five months ago, we’re a good bit past that. But our standard keeps rising.”