The topic of Joe Thuney is trending due to recent news indicating that he is expected to start at left tackle for the Chicago Bears in their upcoming playoff game against the Rams. The announcement has generated significant interest as fans and analysts closely follow roster changes and player performance in high-stakes situations.
The decision to start Thuney in this critical playoff matchup has led to over 10,000 searches as stakeholders within the Bears community seek to understand the impact of this move. Starting a player in a key position such as left tackle during the playoffs is crucial for the team’s success and performance, prompting increased curiosity.
Additionally, reports highlighting Thuney’s role as a player to watch in the playoffs further contribute to the surge in search interest. Analysts and fans gearing up for the game are keen to analyze his performance and its potential influence on the Bears’ playoff run. The combination of these factors has positioned Joe Thuney at the forefront of current sports discussions.
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Internet Reacts
M
Feels like a more concrete development from his tweet about Thuney and McFadden from yesterday
M
Everyone relax and take a deep breath trust our coaches that this is the best way to start if it doesn’t work they can always roll thuney back inside and put jones or benedet in
J
Yep. This isn’t Flus and Waldron making the call. In Ben I trust.
W
There was some peak delusional Redditor behavior on here yesterday from people thinking they somehow know better than the coaching staff about who should be starting
R
It’s not delusional to have an opinion. We’ve seen how huge a downgrade it is for Thuney to go from guard to tackle, and it’s not a stretch to assume the practice squad guy who’s never been a starter before probably isn’t gonna be good at guard. I hope I’m wrong but if we’re not allowed to discuss the team then what the hell is the point of being on a Bears forum?
C
I think you assume you can hide him between two great players I thought Theo wasn’t terrible at tackle and was actually a solid run blocker. Then I have heard you don’t love two positions to fix one, but I trust in Ben
S
I mean there’s a difference between being delusional and understanding that this isnt good at all and saying something lol. I’m not the biggest fan of blowing up of all pro interior to move thuney to tackle where he’s statistically not very good.
M
Us Bears fans being delusional? That doesn’t sound like us /s in case the tone is not obvious
S
Its delusional to think the coaching staff has the better players on the game day roster? Or is it delusional to think they have the better players on PS? If we are trusting the staff now then that means the coaching staff had worse players on the roster and coming in for snaps this year? Which is it?
D
Players do get batter and improve during the season. Both things can be true based on time
C
This right here is important. I actually trust that Ben, you know, spent the week with them practicing in their expected positions for the week. Whereas with Flus I imagine he just would’ve said “hey today we’re gonna try you out at tackle. Kickoff in 30”
N
Or Nagy. Remember how he’d move guys around like 3/4x a season?
A
I’m officially worried about run game chemistry. Weeks 1-4 were hairy. It wasn’t until the interior OL got some work together that we started hitting big runs
Z
For me, the worry isn’t that this is the wrong decision, it’s that this is the right decision because we’ve overestimated Benedet.
V
This is a clear message from the coaching staff they believe Benedict is nothing more than a backup. This is a pretty extreme move.
B
Mc-who?
R
I thought I had a good handle on the roster. I have no idea who he is or where he came from.
B
Easy to not know unless you were highly tuned into the preseason… he’s had 2 total offensive snaps all season, 25 special teams snaps. And he was on the Chargers before this year where last year he had 1 offensive snap for them, and his rookie year the year before he had 163 snaps (largely because he drew 2 starts). And that’s it. 166 total offensive snaps in his career, 3 total over the last 2 seasons.
R
Looks like he didn’t even make the initial Final Cut and was on the practice squad up until Dec. Would have guessed Newman would have been above him. Interesting move.
M
Newman was on IR cause of a foot injury. He was activated before the end of the season since players can’t be activated after the season ends. My guess is his foot is still bothering him.
T
I guess why is he the go to over Newman when Newman was the backup earlier this season?
Z
Coaching staff probably thinks he gives them the best chance to win would be my guess
S
Newman hasn’t fully recovered from his injury yet.
A
Yep. Mecole Hardman stored a TD yesterday for goodness sake lol.
I
I really hope this isn’t being over-thunk
L
Our offense won’t work if Caleb’s blindside isn’t protected. Verse is an absolute monster, and Thuney has played a very good LT for the Chiefs.
S
His PFF grades last year were decent at LT, definitely isn’t top 10 caliber though. Verse is great, but he got reps at LT last year against Myles Garrett, TJ Watt, Texans Dline, and Eagles Dline. He looked serviceable against all of them except the Eagles Dline. Kmet will likely be out there to help block / throw chips. Just hope the interior doesn’t take too much of a dive.
M
He was good in the playoffs until the Super Bowl. He allowed 7 pressures at LT to the eagles
L
He started at LT and was good until the SB. That is a good stretch of play.
M
It 100% is being overthunk.
L
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Ben Johnson called out McFadden in training camp. He was impressed with him. Thuney is likely a better option than Theo or Braxton. Is what it is boys bear down.
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D
There’s a very large difference between week 5 and the divisional round of the playoffs
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R
It’s almost as if the coaches learn something about their players throughout the year?
M
There’s an element of wanting to find out what they have in Theo in week 5 that isn’t present in the playoffs
C
I’m 1000% sure that’s exactly what they’re doing. They must feel McFadden at G gives us a better chance to win than Theo at T. They aren’t making this change willy nilly. Much easier to give support to the interior and leave Thuney on an island then try to help on the edge.
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T
Because Ozzy was decent
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T
He was a rookie so he was likely still developing early in the season
B
They needed to see some game reps to determine they can’t trust him
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B
Maybe it was more having to wait until the 2nd round rookie was good enough. I don’t remember the specifics but I think Ozzy only started once theo was hurt and from then on it was clear Ozzy was a much better option. You probably don’t start your undrafted guy unless you have to.
M
I would’ve liked to see Luke Newman, but he was on IR for a month with a foot injury so he’s probably still nursing it or something
S
Thuney got embarrassed at LT by Josh Sweat in the Super Bowl, but hopefully Verse is a better matchup. I know Sweat had a big arm length advantage on Thuney so Im hoping thats why it played out how it did. Verse still has the length advantage, but its not as big as Sweats was.
S
He also played serviceable against Myles Garret, Texans Dline, and TJ Watt at LT last year. Eagles pash rush was getting home on all fronts in the SB so Thuney didn’t get much help that game.
C
Theo gets rolled by power rush. Thuney is the better match up against Verse.
R
I’ll trust Ben but if it’s not working I would hope he can adjust as well.
S
Bro poor Thuney. One of the best to ever do it at his position and for the past 2 years he’s been kicked out to LT because of an injury skill deficiency. Thuney was a solid LT for the Chiefs last year till the SB, but he was far from the only problem that game. Fucking sucks Ozzy went down.
Additional Sources:
Bears Wire – 5 Bears players to watch vs. Rams in divisional playoffs
Bears Wire – Bears to start Joe Thuney at left tackle vs. Rams
