Bears Are Very Pleased With Spencer............

Bears glad Spencer for hire

Guard wanted to play center but was needed elsewhere

By Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune reporter 6:37 p.m. CDT, November 5, 2011


When the lockout ended and free agency opened, Chris Spencer was a little surprised there wasn't an opportunity for him to return to the Seahawks.

Sure, there had been massive turnover because the franchise had a new coach and front office last season, but "when you play your butt off" for six seasons, you figure you will be back.

When that door remain closed, he began considering other options. Before the Bears finalized a two-year deal for Spencer after Olin Kreutz turned his back on a 60-minute ultimatum from general manager Jerry Angelo, other offers came in.

Those teams wanted Spencer as a guard.

"I wanted to play center," he explained.

So, with Kreutz out of the mix, the 29-year-old Spencer figured the Bears would give him the best opportunity. The irony, of course, is Spencer will make his sixth start at right guard Monday night when the Bears play the Eagles in Philadelphia.

After Spencer arrived he never got a shot to unseat Roberto Garza at center. Offensive line coach Mike Tice settled on his starting five after a week of practice, and quarterback Jay Cutler was crystal clear he wanted to roll with Garza.

"Isn't that funny?" Tice said. "Look at Spence now. He's playing good ball. Even when he got here, he kept saying to me, 'I'm ready to go, man, I'm ready to go.' He wanted that center job.

"We laugh about it. We just felt this was a complicated system and to come in with two weeks and be ready … mentally, with our system, I didn't see that."

Spencer picked up the offense at guard quickly and filled in for Lance Louis when an ankle injury kept him out in Week 2.

Now, he's entrenched somewhat even if change is coming when recovering first-round pick Gabe Carimi returns to right tackle and displaces Louis, who replaced him.

"When it comes down to it, you don't want to be on the bench," Spencer said. "You have to do what you do to get on the field."

And Spencer has done everything he can to remain on the field. He briefly left the Week 4 game with the Panthers when he suffered a broken right hand. Spencer had a cast put on it and returned to the action. He had surgery the next day to insert a plate and eight screws in the top of his hand. He played the next week in Detroit, displaying the kind of toughness Tice seeks in his linemen.

Spencer isn't worried about how things shake out when Carimi returns. The Bears likely will choose between Spencer and the younger Louis at right guard. Louis has played well and has been a two-year project for Tice. But as Tice says, Spencer is improving weekly.

"Whenever they make that decision, they make that decision," Spencer said. "We don't even know how quickly Gabe is going to be ready to go.

"I compete my butt off and do what I am asked. I don't look at this like I am auditioning every week. That's not my approach."

Spencer is just one of seven centers drafted in the first round in the last 10 years. His size — 6 feet 3, 309 pounds — set him apart when he came out of Mississippi as a junior in 2005. Garza is in the final year of his contract and the position could open up next year.

He's not even considering that. He's doing his best at guard.

"I'm really starting to get more comfortable here," Spencer said.

bmbiggs@tribune.com

Twitter @BradBiggs

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It's kind of ironic that Spencer turned down other teams because he didn't want to play OG yet he comes here and gets thrown into the mix at OG. He's done a pretty fair job there too. He and CWill have both got the athlecticism to pull and trap and I think that has made a big difference in Forte's ability to pick up yardage both inside and outside.

He's played so well that it will be hard to sit him once Carimi is ready to go again. He and Louis have really done a nice job on that right side of the line both in run blocking and pass blocking. It's made a huge difference as far as giving Cutler more time to throw.

Someone, sox maybe???, brought up an interesting possiblity. Since Louis seems to actually play better on the outside where he can take advantage of his footwork and athletic abilties maybe Tice should give him a shot at LT instead of RG. He may not have prototypical size for it but undeniably he's a good pass blocker which is something Tice crowed about in training camp.

At least one positive has come out of this season as far as the OLine is concerned. We've got some positional flexibility that wasn't apparent when the season began. CWill, Garza, Spencer, and Louis are capable of playing different positions than they playing now and I think even Carimi could play OG if he had to. Having that flexibility has to help in getting the five best on the field.

What I don't understand is why we don't go ahead, pull the trigger, and put Carimi in at LT. I know he's a rookie, and that apparently, there is an unwritten rule stating that you do not start rookies at LT, but by God, he's the best bet we've got, and he's got the size to be a devastating LT.

I'd like to see it Dags. At least give Carimi a look at LT at garbage time. Hell, cut Omiyale, install Levi Horn in his place and have him run during garbage time. At least then we would be cycling through bums or developing some depth. I still say no matter how much better the line performs they still need to draft another O lineman HIGH in the draft.

It just seems like this coaching staff is doing everything it can to sabotage the team's season further than what Jerry Angelo has already tried to do. Put Carimi in at LT and keep Lance Louis at the RT position. We have the trappings of a pretty decent offensive line right now if we'll just plug in the pieces in the proper holes. This isn't rocket science, people.

I call hijack! How did this thread get switched from being about Spencer to being about Carimi in only 5 posts. Dags, shorty you guys feeling a little ADD tonight???? :rofl2: j/k

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Originally Posted by soulman

I call hijack! How did this thread get switched from being about Spencer to being about Carimi in only 5 posts. Dags, shorty you guys feeling a little ADD tonight???? :rofl2: j/k

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Soul, you have to admit one thing: this is the first time since this past summer that I've hijacked a thread. That being said, I'm pleased with Spencer too, and think he should stay in his spot at RT. He's very effective, and I think he's showing just why he was drafted in the first round now.

But also, PLEASE Tice, consider putting Carimi in at LT and ditching Webb, who is barely better than OMG.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dagan81

Soul, you have to admit one thing: this is the first time since this past summer that I've hijacked a thread. That being said, I'm pleased with Spencer too, and think he should stay in his spot at RT. He's very effective, and I think he's showing just why he was drafted in the first round now.

But also, PLEASE Tice, consider putting Carimi in at LT and ditching Webb, who is barely better than OMG.

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I was just funnin' with you and shorty. It was like whooosshhhhh, were'd it go. LOL :lol-032:

IF Tice does try Carimi at LT you can bet that it won't be this year. I'd say there's a much better chance of him giving Louis a shot at it if something should happen to Webb. That's probably the best thing to come out of Carimi's injury. We found out that Louis is a pretty fair pass blocker too.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by soulman

I was just funnin' with you and shorty. It was like whooosshhhhh, were'd it go. LOL :lol-032:

IF Tice does try Carimi at LT you can bet that it won't be this year. I'd say there's a much better chance of him giving Louis a shot at it if something should happen to Webb. That's probably the best thing to come out of Carimi's injury. We found out that Louis is a pretty fair pass blocker too.

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For once, I'm as happy as I can possibly be with the offensive line when one considers what we have to work with. They have played good football the past two games, and the strategy of putting in an extra TE or two along the line is proving to be a smart move by Martz and Tice. (God, I shudder to say that!) I think, believe it or not, that we will have the advantage against the Eagles tonight at the point of attack, though I could just as easily be wrong.