Bears rookie is facing the wrath of Bears fans after Week 2 loss but there’s clear context needed to give him some grace
Chicago Bears rookie Sam Roush had some plays he’d love to have back after the Week 2 loss, but two of his biggest errors need some clear context that fans are choosing overlook completely.
Anything that could go wrong, did go wrong for the Chicago Bears in Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings, leading to a gut-wrenching 3-9 loss that pulled the emergency break on the team’s momentum after Week 1.
This is a game of inches and a game of executing on the three-four critical plays that can decide a game. The Bears failed to capitalize on those opportunities and one player is getting more heat than anyone after the game in rookie tight end Sam Roush.
Roush played just 29 total snaps in Sunday’s game (20 on offense and nine on special teams) yet was involved in a few plays that played a pivotal role in the team’s loss. Fans have already hastily turned on the third-round pick, and it’s not entirely deserved.
Context matters before anyone should start turning completely on Sam Roush
First thing’s first, this was Roush’s second career NFL game. Turning on any player two games into their NFL career is ridiculous. Was there some plays Roush would love to have back, absolutely. But, to paint the loss on one player and treat him this way is insane.
As for the context, the Bears were impressed with Roush’s growth throughout training camp and that made it no surprise to see him this involved in a Ben Johnson offense this early in the season, even considering how Johnson used his rookies last season. The illegal shift is just a rookie mistake that can’t happen in this offense and it’ll be addressed.
“He’s building that trust,” Johnson said of Roush during camp. “There’s flashes where it gets you really really excited. Is it at the level of consistency that want yet? No. The answer is no. And I’m not surprised by that, either. I think he’s going to be a phenomenal football player for a long time in this league. It’s just a lot of thinking and a lot on the plate for a rookie tight end… We’re very hard on him and he’s answering that call.”
Roush was brought in to replace Durham Smythe as the TE3 behind Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet, a key position in this offense especially in the run game. Smythe had eight games with 20+ offensive snaps last season, and only one game with 30+ offensive snaps. Johnson isn’t overusing Roush at all compared to some of the complaints I’ve seen.
Of his 20 offensive snaps, only seven of those were passing plays. He’s a run-blocking tight end for this offense who can be a hidden threat defenses could forget about in the passing game.
Which is exactly what happened when quarterback Caleb Williams went his way on three pass attempts. One was a nine-yard completion on first-and-10. One was a bad drop on first-and-10 as the checkdown option in the middle of the field. And the third was one of Roush’s two most heavily criticized plays.
The second attempt that went Roush’s way came on another first-and-10 from the 17-yard-line. Williams fit the ball in to Roush up the middle, who caught it, and then the ball was dislodged after taking a hit from Vikings safety Theo Jackson. If Roush holds on and fights through the contact, it could’ve been a potential touchdown. It’s a play he needs to make. But it’s still a difficult play and not nearly as egregious of a mistake as fans are making it sound. Those things happen in a contact sport, people.
Blocked field goal was not solely on Sam Roush
Now let’s talk about the play that Roush is really getting grilled for. On that same drive in which Roush “dropped” the ball after getting hit (the same drive quarterback Caleb Williams was injured on), the possession ended in a blocked field goal by the Vikings.
Roush was playing at the wing position on the far left side. Fans watching the play back complained about Roush getting off the snap slow and not even putting a hand on Isaiah Rodgers, who made the effort to block the kick.
What fans didn’t notice on the rewatch, or the cropped video that singled-out Roush, was the high snap by long snapper Beau Gardner that slowed the operation down or the fact that Cole Kmet, the veteran tight end playing the wing position on the right side, was also slow coming off the snap and also didn’t touch the outside player for Minnesota. That context matters.
“As a wing, you have your inside gap and with your outside hand, you’re punching out on (Rodgers), the widest rusher or the first rusher outside of you,” Roush said, via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. “I felt like I got a piece of him. Clearly I didn’t get enough because he got there in time. We need to watch the film. There are a lot of factors that go into it. I don’t know if I need to widen my stance or what.”
If Rodgers came off the right side instead of the left, he still probably would have blocked this kick. There was clearly something off with the entire operation. I’m interested to hear from Richard Hightower later this week to see what really went wrong on that play.
All of this to say, give the rookie some freaking slack. It’s one game, and the second of his NFL career. Mistakes happen, you learn from it, and you move on. No one is getting cut or benched. The Bears have a lot of confidence in Roush’s ability and the value he brings to this team. That isn’t going to change after one bad game.
