Harry Hiestand Comments On Whitehairs Snaps

[Bearfacts]

I think we've all been commenting on this for awhile now and just how much of an impact a bad shot gun snap can and has had on the Bears offense. Here's how Whitehair's OL coach views his problems.


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Bears OL coach says 'anxious moments' impacted Cody Whitehair's shotgun snaps

By: Bryan Perez | 3 hours ago

It was obvious to anyone watching Week 1’s Sunday night game between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. Bears center Cody Whitehair was botching late-game shotgun snaps. And it hurt Chicago’s offense.

In fact, had Whitehair been able to get the ball to Trubisky cleanly, the Bears’ offense may have been able to stay on rhythm and sustain a drive that produced potentially game-winning points.

Instead, Chicago lost the game, 24-23.

Offensive line coach Harry Hiestand said the size of the moment contributed to Whitehair’s struggles.

“Anytime it’s not what it should be, it’s technique,” Hiestand said via the Chicago Tribune. “But there are also the anxious moments. The pressure, the type of game it was, being on the road and the silent cadence, all the things he had to deal with. He’s got to get them there. That’s part of the game. We want to eliminate those obviously.”

Whitehair held off a late preseason surge by second-round pick James Daniels to open the season as the starting center, but if his struggles snapping the ball continue, the Bears will have no choice but to move him to guard.

A change in technique may be what does the trick.

“I can’t tell you how many times he snapped between the spring and then the middle of training camp,” Hiestand said. “We were really struggling, and we switched the technique.

“I forget who brought up the dead snap, with the hand on top, and we decided to give it a shot. He has done well with it.”

Whitehair will enjoy the comfort of playing at home in Week 2 and his snaps should be much improved with less crowd noise during Chicago’s possessions.

If not, a change could come sooner than later.

[Middleguard]

Daniels was also botching shotgun snaps in preseason, tho not as many. Grasu was the only one who didn't.

[Bearfacts]

IMHO it seems to be a foregone conclusion that James Daniels will become the starting OC. I understand he's only 21, they'd probably like him to add some weight and functional strength, and that playing OC is an important if not somewhat more complex job than OG but we also seem to be paying a heavy price if Whitehair continues to struggle.

We know Cody can block and that if we used conventional snaps on most of our offensive plays he'd probably be fine but that's not the way this offense is run. Howard runs better out of shotgun formations and Mitch passes better as well so it's pretty likely we'll be using those more often than not and poor snaps are messing up our timing even on runs.

What I don't get is if Cody could be forced to play OC out of raw need as a rookie why Daniels can't also be trusted to do it. If necessary Cody could still make line calls from LG where he's a better choice than Kush and Daniels will be able to focus mainly on his snaps and blocking assignments. To me it seems like we're just avoiding the inevitable.

[Bearfacts]

Daniels was also botching shotgun snaps in preseason, tho not as many. Grasu was the only one who didn't.

Well Grasu won't be back and if Whitehair can't get over his "golf putter yips" when making shotgun snaps either Daniels or Kush will need to play OC soon. We can't have 16 games of this and his new "technique" while maybe adequate in practice isn't during a game or at least not so far and I don't buy into the excuse provided.

We play 8 games on the road and we're gonna face some noise. That shouldn't be as much of a hindrance as he's shown it to be.

[Middleguard]

Or the Bears could have Trubisky take snaps out of the center's butt the way a QB should.

[Moriarty]

Daniels was also botching shotgun snaps in preseason, tho not as many. Grasu was the only one who didn't.

Well Grasu won't be back

I won't hold my breath, but I don't think that's absolutely certain, either.

He was the last cut. And if they ever drop down from a ridiculous 6 OLB, he could well be back, if Whitehair's snaps still suck and they don't fully trust Daniels for whatever reason.

[Bears Whiskey Nut]

Daniels was also botching shotgun snaps in preseason, tho not as many. Grasu was the only one who didn't.

Well Grasu won't be back

I won't hold my breath, but I don't think that's absolutely certain, either.

He was the last cut. And if they ever drop down from a ridiculous 6 OLB, he could well be back, if Whitehair's snaps still suck and they don't fully trust Daniels for whatever reason.

Grasu is not, nor did he ever have the talent level of Daniels. Daniels is larger, more agile, and has much better technique. They are not bringing Grasu back as a placeholder for Daniels. My guess is that Kush has more NFL experience, and they are trying not to pair a rookie QB with a rookie C.

[Bearfacts]

Or the Bears could have Trubisky take snaps out of the center's butt the way a QB should.

Not in this offense. It's gonna be mostly shotgun formations.

[Boris13c]

Or the Bears could have Trubisky take snaps out of the center's butt the way a QB should.

Not in this offense. It's gonna be mostly shotgun formations.

I'm old enough to remember articles in the newspaper bemoaning the fact the Bears were pretty much the only team in the NFL that did not use the shotgun formation and how they need to get with the times to help their offense

here we now are, years later, and conversations regarding taking more conventional snaps from center seem to be in vogue

just goes to show how things are always in cycle I suppose

[malk]

“I can’t tell you how many times he snapped between the spring and then the middle of training camp,” Hiestand said. “We were really struggling, and we switched the technique.

Flogging a dead horse a bit but ugh, that's when you know to make the change. Daniels looked ok in pre season and Kush is never going to be all that. Lets try and get our best five on the field and used to each other, please!

[G08]

Whitehair wasn't really terrible until the 4th quarter, it was kind of disappointing that he cracked under pressure.

[malk]

Whitehair wasn't really terrible until the 4th quarter, it was kind of disappointing that he cracked under pressure.

In this game, his snapping has been an issue pretty much from day one no?

[Bearfacts]

“I can’t tell you how many times he snapped between the spring and then the middle of training camp,” Hiestand said. “We were really struggling, and we switched the technique.

Flogging a dead horse a bit but ugh, that's when you know to make the change. Daniels looked ok in pre season and Kush is never going to be all that. Lets try and get our best five on the field and used to each other, please!

I'm trying not to but at the same time I'm also trying to post threads that can provide info directly from coaches than tend to either confirm or deny our own opinions. Just more facts or data to base our opinions on.

My gut feel here is Cody is gonna continue to struggle with this because it's not what he's best at doing but for whatever number of reasons HH believes Daniels isn't quite there yet. However, soon that may change. That's my read.

There's really no shame in it. If making longer snaps was a walk in the park OCs would make them and there would be no LS. A shotgun snap doesn't need to be quite as precise as a FG snap but it still requires the same degree of precision and consistency or the timing of the play may be upset. Whitehair seems to lack that.

[malk]

“I can’t tell you how many times he snapped between the spring and then the middle of training camp,” Hiestand said. “We were really struggling, and we switched the technique.

Flogging a dead horse a bit but ugh, that's when you know to make the change. Daniels looked ok in pre season and Kush is never going to be all that. Lets try and get our best five on the field and used to each other, please!

I'm trying not to but at the same time I'm also trying to post threads that can provide info directly from coaches than tend to either confirm or deny our own opinions. Just more facts or data to base our opinions on.

My gut feel here is Cody is gonna continue to struggle with this because it's not what he's best at doing but for whatever number of reasons HH believes Daniels isn't quite there yet. However, soon that may change. That's my read.

There's really no shame in it. If making longer snaps was a walk in the park OCs would make them and there would be no LS. A shotgun snap doesn't need to be quite as precise as a FG snap but it still requires the same degree of precision and consistency or the timing of the play may be upset. Whitehair seems to lack that.

Just to clarify, I was saying that I was flogging the horse!

[EricTighe]

Just maybe we are starting our best 5 O-lineman right now. With what we spent this year I very seriously doubt the ole school mentality that FOx had is still in vogue with this new coaching staff.

Everyone thinks Daniels is gonna be a stud at center and maybe he will be. But don't you think if he was ready and Cody is better at guard then that would have already happened?

[Bearfacts]

“I can’t tell you how many times he snapped between the spring and then the middle of training camp,” Hiestand said. “We were really struggling, and we switched the technique.

Flogging a dead horse a bit but ugh, that's when you know to make the change. Daniels looked ok in pre season and Kush is never going to be all that. Lets try and get our best five on the field and used to each other, please!

I'm trying not to but at the same time I'm also trying to post threads that can provide info directly from coaches than tend to either confirm or deny our own opinions. Just more facts or data to base our opinions on.

My gut feel here is Cody is gonna continue to struggle with this because it's not what he's best at doing but for whatever number of reasons HH believes Daniels isn't quite there yet. However, soon that may change. That's my read.

There's really no shame in it. If making longer snaps was a walk in the park OCs would make them and there would be no LS. A shotgun snap doesn't need to be quite as precise as a FG snap but it still requires the same degree of precision and consistency or the timing of the play may be upset. Whitehair seems to lack that.

Just to clarify, I was saying that I was flogging the horse!

[malk]

Just maybe we are starting our best 5 O-lineman right now. With what we spent this year I very seriously doubt the ole school mentality that FOx had is still in vogue with this new coaching staff.

Everyone thinks Daniels is gonna be a stud at center and maybe he will be. But don't you think if he was ready and Cody is better at guard then that would have already happened?

As I said above, this may be true and a poor option. How much better does Kush need to be over Daniels for it to be worth him starting? If we're not moving closer to contending for a Super Bowl then we're going in the wrong direction. Daniels definitely needs development and we need to know what we have with him. That, for me at least, is more important than the marginal increase in ability to win with Kush right now.

Now if the coaches see the difference as being significant, or there being a benefit to Daniels sitting, then fine. But since I predict that our eventual line will be Whitehair at guard and Daniels at center, I think we're just wasting valuable development time.

[Atkins&Rebel]

Just maybe we are starting our best 5 O-lineman right now. With what we spent this year I very seriously doubt the ole school mentality that FOx had is still in vogue with this new coaching staff.

Everyone thinks Daniels is gonna be a stud at center and maybe he will be. But don't you think if he was ready and Cody is better at guard then that would have already happened?

As I said above, this may be true and a poor option. How much better does Kush need to be over Daniels for it to be worth him starting? If we're not moving closer to contending for a Super Bowl then we're going in the wrong direction. Daniels definitely needs development and we need to know what we have with him. That, for me at least, is more important than the marginal increase in ability to win with Kush right now.

Now if the coaches see the difference as being significant, or there being a benefit to Daniels sitting, then fine. But since I predict that our eventual line will be Whitehair at guard and Daniels at center, I think we're just wasting valuable development time.

Most coaches have a grading system that they stick to. That system is based on the cumulative multitude of hours of film that they've looked at in practice and games.

Pressure is a real thing. This game was the biggest game some of these guys have ever played in... Being up on a previously insurmountable opponent then seeing them start working back and going ahead. Then having to try and score with time running down...

Or maybe he had his finger/hand/arm dinged late and it affected his snaps...happens all the time in football.

[Bearfacts]

Just maybe we are starting our best 5 O-lineman right now. With what we spent this year I very seriously doubt the ole school mentality that FOx had is still in vogue with this new coaching staff.

Everyone thinks Daniels is gonna be a stud at center and maybe he will be. But don't you think if he was ready and Cody is better at guard then that would have already happened?

As I said above, this may be true and a poor option. How much better does Kush need to be over Daniels for it to be worth him starting? If we're not moving closer to contending for a Super Bowl then we're going in the wrong direction. Daniels definitely needs development and we need to know what we have with him. That, for me at least, is more important than the marginal increase in ability to win with Kush right now.

Now if the coaches see the difference as being significant, or there being a benefit to Daniels sitting, then fine. But since I predict that our eventual line will be Whitehair at guard and Daniels at center, I think we're just wasting valuable development time.

Most coaches have a grading system that they stick to. That system is based on the cumulative multitude of hours of film that they've looked at in practice and games.

Pressure is a real thing. This game was the biggest game some of these guys have ever played in... Being up on a previously insurmountable opponent then seeing them start working back and going ahead. Then having to try and score with time running down...

Or maybe he had his finger/hand/arm dinged late and it affected his snaps...happens all the time in football.

Yeah, if only that were true.

Cody has been struggling with this all summer and even HH admits that. So much so that they actually changed his technique to see if that would help him overcome it. So far it hasn't. He's still making multiple bad snaps per game.

HH has also said Daniels is close so either at OC or OG there's a chance we may see him after the bye week.

[Bearfanuk]

I don’t see the bears making a change unless an injury forces them into it. The time for changing was in the summer;0 not when live bullets are flying at you. Injuries are never nice but sometime there exactly what you need. If Kuah were to go down then they would be forced into making a decision

[Mr.Irrelevant]

I saw where Eddie Jackson was asked why Daniels isn't playing and he indicated it's because James hasn't mastered the playbook yet. I'm not sure how Eddie would know that or if it's true, but it makes sense.

For years we've heard all about how important continuity is to the Oline, so as was said above I doubt we see a change unless because of injury. Even then, I wouldn't be surprised if Sowell takes over if one of the guards goes down.

[Umbali]

I don’t see the bears making a change unless an injury forces them into it. The time for changing was in the summer;0 not when live bullets are flying at you. Injuries are never nice but sometime there exactly what you need. If Kuah were to go down then they would be forced into making a decision

I dont see them making a change at this point. It seems like the number one priority is to protect Mitch and if Daniels isnt ready to call out all the protections that protect Mitch, then they will put up with some errant snaps for a while.

[wab]

I don’t see the bears making a change unless an injury forces them into it. The time for changing was in the summer;0 not when live bullets are flying at you. Injuries are never nice but sometime there exactly what you need. If Kuah were to go down then they would be forced into making a decision

I dont see them making a change at this point. It seems like the number one priority is to protect Mitch and if Daniels isnt ready to call out all the protections that protect Mitch, then they will put up with some errant snaps for a while.

Eh. Slausen made the calls from LG when Grasu was forced into action his rookie year.

[Bearfacts]

I don’t see the bears making a change unless an injury forces them into it. The time for changing was in the summer;0 not when live bullets are flying at you. Injuries are never nice but sometime there exactly what you need. If Kuah were to go down then they would be forced into making a decision

I dont see them making a change at this point. It seems like the number one priority is to protect Mitch and if Daniels isnt ready to call out all the protections that protect Mitch, then they will put up with some errant snaps for a while.

Eh. Slausen made the calls from LG when Grasu was forced into action his rookie year.

Yep, there different ways to go about this.

Cohension is important but Daniels did play quite a bit during preseason and one game in Long is already being rested due to ankle soreness. If Long misses any time it will force a change and I'd much rather see Daniels come in than Sowell.

[wab]

I don’t think Long has much left in him.

[JMHJD2017]

Is bad snaps came at the worst moments. Gosh, twas annoying.

[BR0D1E86]

I don’t think Long has much left in him.

I’m starting to think that also. Kind of sad, he was one heck of a good player for a very short period of time.

[malk]

On the quality front, I looked back at that 2015 offensive line and we only gave up 33 sacks despite it being a pretty motley crew. Another reason to get the five with the most upside out...

For Long, I think there's a decent chance he can drop his in season practice time, get extra rest, and stay at this standard for a while longer.

[Bears Whiskey Nut]

On the quality front, I looked back at that 2015 offensive line and we only gave up 33 sacks despite it being a pretty motley crew. Another reason to get the five with the most upside out...

For Long, I think there's a decent chance he can drop his in season practice time, get extra rest, and stay at this standard for a while longer.

I think Long can maintain if he doesn’t try to do anything too crazy. Honestly, a Kyle Long at 90% is the best option we have at RG.


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[Bearfacts]

Kyle is a throwback kinda player. He's a warrior and will play through the "hurting" whenever he can.

He's signed through 2021 (age 32) for some very reasonable cap hits but if push came to shove he could be let go before the 2020 season with only $1.5 mil in dead cap if we've managed to draft and develop a potential replacement for him by then. Despite his injuries I'm still gonna say it's at least 50/50 he finishes out his contract.

As for Daniels I believe he'll be starting somewhere before the season is half way gone either due to injury or he will have earned it. How much longer they can ride on Whitehair's errant snaps I can't say but there's no question it's impacting the offense and at some of the most critical times. IMHO either he improves or he's replaced sooner than later.