By Omar Ureña

The heroic Monsters of the Midway have been in pain since their right guard, Kyle Long, one of the most enthusiastic and courageous warriors of the Bears, fell in the 24-10 victory over the Jets. Long was the Bears 1st pick in 2013, was Pro Bowl in 2013, 2014 and 2015, unfortunately his last three seasons have been truncated by injuries in ankle, shoulder and now the foot.

Kyle Long (75) por ATHLITACOMICS

It’s the scary movie we’ve already seen. The huge and charismatic # 75 being carted off the field aboard the miserable vehicle, symbol of frustration, pain and broken dreams; It happened in Tampa in 2016 after he destroyed his ankle against the Buccaneers, and this time the replay of the macabre scene happened at Soldier Field after his teammate, tight end Dion Sims, rolled on his right foot. An injury that came at the end of the fourth quarter. That was the moment that could possibly change the Bears’ destiny. Kyle Long will be out for eight weeks and it’s very painful. It hurts him, his brother Chris and his dad Howie, both Super Bowl champions, it hurts the whole City of Chicago. It is unfortunate after this warrior was having one of his best seasons. I had the opportunity to greet him after they defeated Kansas City in the preseason and he was happier and stronger than ever. His energy was intense because the Nagy system is the best he has had in 6 years in Chicago. He was portrayed by ATHLITACOMICS as a Superhero made out of brick, and he really is a huge brick in Bears OL.

In the first game without him the Bears faced Buffalo, the defense ranked number 5 of the league, commanded by the head hunters Shaq Lawson and Julian Stanford. Bryan Witzmann started as right guard with an offensive line that never found its rhythm. True, they faced the explosive front four of the Bills but their attitude was not that of a team with guts. The Bears had 190 yards in only 46 plays at the New Era Stadium, 20 less than their season average, and got stuck getting only 11 first downs. The Chicago defense was what made the difference in the 41-9 victory over Buffalo.

In spite of everything Da Bears offense scored twice on the ground with Jordan Howard in runs of 1 and 18 yards. It was a difficult afternoon for Witzmann who just arrived from Kansas City, one supposes that he fits in the line because he is familiar with Nagy system but there are aspects that can not be coached as courage, that trigger that goes beyond the technique to gain one yard. At the start of the game in a 3rd and 1 Bryan Witzmann was so slow and hesitant that he was thrown two yards back and collided with his running back. On the next drive the veteran Eric Kush replaced him and at the end, Witzmann finished the game. The experiments to fill the gap left by Kyle is alarming for an offense that will face the No. 6 defense, the Vikings, on November 18, a game that will be crucial in defining the supremacy of the NFC North Division. Except for Cody Whitehair at this moment is hard to guess who will step up with the same fight spirit, courage and leadership in the trenches than the powerful brick man No 75. That’s where Kyle Long leaves a hole in the wall difficult to fill.