Former Bears’ Pro Bowler had disastrous debut with new team in Week 1
In most situations, being petty is unbecoming. But NFL fandom is not most situations, and it’s built on a solid foundation of grudges and small gripes. Being at least slightly smug about former players not playing well with their new teams is part of the routine, and it’s a time-honored tradition that families pass down from generation to generation. Maybe there will come a day when NFL fans won’t concentrate on whether or not former players are still good, but it is not this day.
On this day, Bears fans have yet another reason to be smug on the web. The first round of grades from Pro Football Focus are here, and they’re beautiful. And sure, no one knows how meaningful they are, or what to infer from them, or how they’re even made, but none of that is really the point – the point is that they’re a nice, neat, color-coordinated number that we can make hundreds of assumptions from. There’s no narrative too complicated for PFF grades. Anything you want to argue is at the tip of your fingers thanks to those tiny little red, yellow, and green squares. We’re so back.
Cody Whitehair’s first game in Las Vegas wasn’t one to remember
This week’s unfortunate victim of PFF’s grading is old friend Cody Whitehair. After a bunch of successful seasons in Chicago, Whitehair followed Luke Getsy to Las Vegas and signed a one-year deal with the Raiders this past offseason. Preseason injuries gave Whitehair an opportunity to play meaningful snaps again, and he was the team’s starting left guard against the Chargers during Week 1. It, uh, didn’t go well.
So not only did Whitehair allow the most pressures of anyone on the Raiders’ offense line – a unit that was hyped up as one of the NFL’s most underrated heading into the season – but he was, by PFF’s metrics at least, the worst player on the Raiders’ offense. In 40 pass rushes, Whitehair allowed four hurries and five QB pressures. It’s certainly not ideal!
In case there was any question about Whitehair’s role on the Raiders, this probably answers it. When rookie Jackson Powers-Johnson is cleared to return and play, it’s back to backup/swing guard for Whitehair. It’s a tough look for a Bears player that spent basically all of his time in Chicago absolutely beloved, but that’s just how it goes in the NFL. And Bears fans can’t really talk – it’s not like their left guard played all that much better.
