James Daniels moves to center

[sevvy]

The first time Daniels sails a snap, how many threads will be created on this forum?

 

[Rob219_CBMB]

The first time Daniels sails a snap, how many threads will be created on this forum?

zip it!

 

[TheWinman]

Sorta reminds me of moving Kyle Long to Tackle. If you like fixing things why not try to fix the tackle spot AND the new guard problem you just created at the same time?

THey are both now back in their natural position

 

[TheWinman]

The first time Daniels sails a snap, how many threads will be created on this forum?

It's only been 18 months since he was C at Iowa

 

[Bear Pride]

James Daniels was a good guard last year.
Cody Whitehair was a good center last year.

I appreciate people wanting things to be better and thinking Daniels would be a better center or Whitehair a better guard, but wouldn't another year of experience in their current positions also have a chance of them being better this year at the same positions? They are both young and could have year over year improvements without position changes.

To me it seems like change for the sake of changing.

If it's a demotion that makes sense, meaning if Whitehair just isn't good enough to be the center, then yeah that's the right move. I didn't see that last season. He was an upper 1/2 center in the league.


Maybe here's another way of looking at it - How many bad snaps do you think Daniels will be allowed? The bar is set fairly high. What if he puts a shotgun snap past Mitch? Is it an immediate switch or is there now pressure for that not to happen again? Granted if things don't work out then you can just switch it back, but they would have lost practice time to improve at their 2018 positions, so I'd still be asking why the change in the first place?

You should probably give up on this argument as you look worse the more you comment. It was always understood that Daniels was a Natural C, and would take that spot eventually, after he could make the calls at the LOS.

Heidstand pretty much said that early. This move makes the Bears OL better. Also, how does this create a hole at G? Long and Whitehair will be one of the best G tandums in the NFL. Bears also brought back Larson as a backup.

And the fact that the Bears just switched Sowell, a career T, to TE shows that the Bears young OL are ready for primetime, such as Coward replacing Sowell. Do you really think that Heidstand would make a move just to make a move?

He always didn't like to play rookies. He probably had a hard time putting Daniels at G early.

 

[hebs]

Idk if this will be permanent or not, but this is the EXACT time to try it. Not week 4 of the preseason.

 

[dennehy]

In the pros he could be fits way better as a guard than tackle though. Doesn’t have the athleticism for tackle

I think he's got the athleticism, just not the length. Great feet and balance. But barely 32' inch arms.

No matter, he's certainly better on the inside and I think he's best suit at G.

 

[baselman1974]

I understand last year why Daniels wasn’t in center position. It was first year with new coaching staff and they to keep the continuity with Whitehair at C. Whitehair is a veteran and Daniel was a rookie last year. Make the transition easier with vets on offense.

 

[SERE Bear]

James Daniels was a good guard last year.
Cody Whitehair was a good center last year.

I appreciate people wanting things to be better and thinking Daniels would be a better center or Whitehair a better guard, but wouldn't another year of experience in their current positions also have a chance of them being better this year at the same positions? They are both young and could have year over year improvements without position changes.

To me it seems like change for the sake of changing.

If it's a demotion that makes sense, meaning if Whitehair just isn't good enough to be the center, then yeah that's the right move. I didn't see that last season. He was an upper 1/2 center in the league.


Maybe here's another way of looking at it - How many bad snaps do you think Daniels will be allowed? The bar is set fairly high. What if he puts a shotgun snap past Mitch? Is it an immediate switch or is there now pressure for that not to happen again? Granted if things don't work out then you can just switch it back, but they would have lost practice time to improve at their 2018 positions, so I'd still be asking why the change in the first place?

I cant remember who the score had on talking about this at the end of the year but this statement stuck with me. “Whitehair could be a probowler at center but Dainels has the skills to be an All Pro at center for years to come.”

Seems like hyperbole to me but if that is what they are seeing then this move makes sense.

 

[Hawkeye OG]

Idk if this will be permanent or not, but this is the EXACT time to try it. Not week 4 of the preseason.

The exact time to do it was last year. This was an easy decision. I don't even know why Whitehair played C at all last year if this was they plan in place. #selfbackpat #calledit

 

[Sculpt]

The move makes sense. It's moving them to their natural positions.

But, as I recall, Whitehair didn't do as well at G last time they moved him from C to G.

Hopefully G isn't a problem position for Whitehair.

Plus, Whitehair's not the most consistent snapper. Another good reason to flip them.

 

[Midway Fields]

Sorta reminds me of moving Kyle Long to Tackle. If you like fixing things why not try to fix the tackle spot AND the new guard problem you just created at the same time?

What? These are make believe problems.

 

[Enasic]

I like the move. Should improve the OL. Daniels should be a beast C and white hair, while good, could be good at LG as well.

 

[vabearsfan15]

This team's current staff have shown the ability to properly evaluate talent and have therefore earned my trust. If they have skimmed over the tape and find this move to be in the best interest of the team, I fully support it.

 

[gwharris2254]

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Daniels more athletic than Whitehair ?

It makes total sense to use him ... having that advantage of knowing exactly when he is snapping the ball .... to immediately get to his assignment, whether that is handing a "Suh" type off to Whitehair or Long or faking left and going right to plow into a LB so that Monty can get to the next level with some room.

I like the move and we haven't even talked about Snaps.

This move should really help the interior running game.... And then we have Whitehair and Long on each side. OMG this should be nirvana for Pass Blocking and RoadGrading as Whitehair starts lovin his new assignments

 

[Bearly]

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Daniels more athletic than Whitehair ?

It makes total sense to use him ... having that advantage of knowing exactly when he is snapping the ball .... to immediately get to his assignment, whether that is handing a "Suh" type off to Whitehair or Long or faking left and going right to plow into a LB so that Monty can get to the next level with some room.

I like the move and we haven't even talked about Snaps.

This move should really help the interior running game.... And then we have Whitehair and Long on each side. OMG this should be nirvana for Pass Blocking and RoadGrading as Whitehair starts lovin his new assignments

I think it has as much to do with snapping than anything else. Centers often don't have a set assignment (man over them) and the more dynamic blocker is better off at a G spot. Strong hands (Cody) are also a big deal at C. There's a lot of good reasons that Cody has stuck there for a while but we all know his shotgun snaps, while now acceptable, are clearly not optimal. He has also moved away too early on regular snaps. Mitch has to look the ball in and adjust it differently each time while it also takes longer to get there. Mitch being able to take a deeper sets and raise his eyes a tick or 2 sooner is a noticeable advantage. I don't think there's much of an advantage either way at G but Cody is probably the better pass blocker. It's a nice problem to have when you've got 2 guys that can be VG at 2 interior spots.

 

[mceownr22]

They will both be in the spots they were actually drafted for now. Whitehair is a natural G that was thrown into place because of inability at C before Daniels. I only think this can improve our O-line and the continuity is already there.

I am happy with anything that isn't the musical chairs our OL has played a few years back that was horrendous to watch.

 

[modo]

Bears said this last year.....they have done everything so far they said they would with Daniels....

Last year they said they wanted to bring him along slowly. They said he wouldn't start right away. Said he was a natural center. Said learning center your rookie year was hard, would start him at guard.

 

[WindyCity]

Sorta reminds me of moving Kyle Long to Tackle. If you like fixing things why not try to fix the tackle spot AND the new guard problem you just created at the same time?

They do not have an OT problem.

They should not have an OG problem as Whitehair's job just got easier.

The issue with the Kyle Long move was that it was 3 days before the season started and he had no time to get use to the position.

 

[WindyCity]

Playing C as a rookie is a lot to ask. Often if a rookie is playing C a more experienced player at OG or the QB will handle the line calls. A blown line call can cause serious issues and get your QB hurt. The line doesn't need to be right, but they all need to be doing the dame thing.

Daniels now has a year in the system and should be in a better position to make the calls and run the lines. The bonus is that he got a ton of on field experience at OG.

This is the right move, and hardly a change for the sake of change, if they feel that Daniels can be dominant at C you need to explore it.

LG: Daniels [Good]
C: Whitehair [Good]

or

LG: Whitehair [Good]
C: Daniels [Great]

One of those is better, even if the first one is not bad.

I agree with their assessment that Daniels could be an elite C. His movement skills on the pull and his ability to anchor against big DTs is unique.