Greg Gabriel spent nine seasons with the Chicago Bears as director of college scouting, from 2001-2010. He has 40 years of experience as an NFL scout, scouting director or consultant, also working in the scouting departments of the New York Giants and the Buffalo Bills.
On the May 30 episode of the Ross Tucker Football Podcast, Gabriel spoke about the upcoming season for the Bears and how he thinks the new regime change, led by general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus, is going to help both the development of the team’s young offensive linemen — and the team as a whole.
“From what I do — and I evaluate talent — I think they’re a lot better than what they were,” Gabriel told Tucker, a former offensive lineman who spent seven years in the NFL. Gabriel then listed a new strength and conditioning coach along with a new mindset instilled by Poles as primary reasons why the Bears should improve in 2022.
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Gabriel Points Finger at Ex-OL Coach Juan Castillo
The Bears’ offensive line was one of the league’s worst in 2021. The unit allowed 58 sacks in 17 games, which led the NFL, and its sack percentage of 9.32 was the highest in the league. Two of the team’s top rookies in the 2021 draft, offensive linemen Teven Jenkins and Larry Borom, also struggled at times.
Jenkins missed the first 11 games of the season after having back surgery, and he allowed 11 pressures, two QB hits and two sacks in 157 snaps at left tackle, per Pro Football Focus. He also had seven penalty flags thrown his way.
Borom was serviceable, but there were moments he was overwhelmed by faster pass rushers. He gave up 32 total pressures, four QB hits and five sacks in 633 snaps, also getting flagged four times, per PFF.
Gabriel told Tucker Chicago’s former O-line coach, Juan Castillo, was the primary reason the Bears’ line looked stagnant much of the time last year:
Juan wanted these big elephants who couldn’t move. I’ll give you an example. Last year, they drafted Larry Borum, winds up starting nine or 10 games as a rookie — drafted him in the fifth round out of Missouri — he played at between 350 and 360 (pounds) while he was at Missouri. He knew he was too heavy, got down to 320 for his Pro Day and really tore it up. He ran a 5.1 (40-yard dash) at 320 pounds, did very good on the agility drills, vertical jump, etc., and then he gets to Chicago and Juan says: ‘You’re too small. I want you big again,’ and they make his butt get back up to 335-340. And the same with Teven Jenkins. Teven Jenkins was 312 pounds at the combine, and he was 335 when he came back from surgery. … You had all these guys who couldn’t move.
Tucker also had thoughts about Castillo, and they weren’t great. “I’m not a Juan Castillo guy, he said. “I don’t care for his techniques.”
Gabriel says a new emphasis on body fat and nutrition courtesy of Poles and the team’s new trainers should make a load of difference in how the Bears’ O-line performs in 2022.
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Jenkins Has Already Dropped Significant Weight, Body Fat
Jim Arthur, the new strength coach brought in by Eberflus, is a disciple of Rusty Jones, the current director of sports performance for the Indianapolis Colts. Jones also served as the Bears strength and conditioning coordinator from 2005-2013, helping train and shape the last Chicago squad to appear in a Super Bowl after the 2006 season. Gabriel, who still has strong ties to the team, thinks the addition of Arthur will make a huge difference.
Poles noted in March that he wanted the offensive line to cut their weight and/or body fat, and Gabriel said the team is “buying in” to that idea completely, and he may be right.
Jenkins says he has already dropped 20 pounds and reduced his body fat by nearly 10%.
“I’m down to 325. Last season I was up to 345,” Jenkins said on May 24. “I got down to — I believe at the end of last season I was 33% body fat. Now I’m down to about 24. So, slimming down is difficult, but you gotta be disciplined in yourself to stay on the right diet and make sure your body does what it’s supposed to do.”
Jenkins is just one player, but as a former second-round pick, he’s a pretty important one. If he alone can improve his play on the field, the Bears’ O-line could make positive strides this coming season. If Borom and company join him, the unit could look far better than anticipated.
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