Bears Analysis; Tight Ends (You Know, Those Guys We Used To Throw To)

Bears analysis: Passing interest in tight ends

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/...0-16124304.jpg Bears tight end Kellen Davis looks for running room at Oakland on Nov.27, 2011. (Chris Sweda/Tribune Photo)

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Should the Bears have kept tight end Greg Olsen instead of trading him to Carolina?

Yes. Playoffs proving that pass-catching tight ends are a must in the NFL.
No. Getting third-round draft pick for undersized Olsen was a good move.

By Brad Biggs, Tribune reporter 8:25 a.m. CST, January 17, 2012

Seventh in a 10-part series

In four divisional-round NFL playoff games last the weekend, three tight ends had 100-yard receiving games and another, New England’s Aaron Hernandez, led his team in rushing.

As the Patriots other tight end Rob Gronkowski was tying an NFL playoff record with three touchdown receptions Saturday night in a 45-10 demolition of the Denver Broncos, former Chicago Bears tight end Greg Olsen reacted on Twitter. He pointed out the Bears had a tight end making plays for them in the postseason a year ago.

He’s right. Olsen caught three passes for 113 yards with a 58-yard touchdown in the 35-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round. It was his second-to-last game in a Bears uniform as he was traded to the Carolina Panthers on the eve of training camp.

In all, tight ends made 41 receptions for 652 yards and eight touchdowns in the NFL over the weekend. San Francisco’s Vernon Davis led the way with seven catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Gronkowski had 10 receptions for 145 yards and New Orleans’ Jimmy Graham had five catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns.

It was a good look at what the Bears didn’t have in their offense this past season when Kellen Davis and Matt Spaeth combined for 25 receptions for 256 yards and seven touchdowns. The position's focus under Mike Martz was on blocking for the running game when elsewhere tight ends were being targeted more than ever. The 25 catches for Bears tight ends was the lowest production at the position in the NFL.

Roll call: Kellen Davis (unrestricted free agent), Matt Spaeth (signed through 2013), Andre Smith (signed through 2013), Kyle Adams (signed through 2013).

2011 review: The trade of Olsen to the Panthers was made for multiple reasons. First, Martz never has featured the position in the passing game. He had Davis in San Francisco and in 2008 he kept Davis in as an in-line blocker on more than 250 snaps. Yes, the 49ers had real issues with their offensive line and particularly at tackle, but one way to take the pressure off the line is to have success throwing to an athletic tight end like Davis. Martz wasn’t interested and while he said the right things about Olsen, he prefers wide receivers in the route scheme. Second, the Bears didn’t feel comfortable giving Olsen the money he was seeking in a contract extension, especially with Martz not enamored with the idea of using him in that way. So, former general manager Jerry Angelo made a move to help in the future, flipping Olsen for a third-round draft pick. It didn’t do a thing to help the team in 2011 but it will aid his replacement provided the draft pick pans out.

With Olsen out of the picture, the Bears continued a subtle shift in personnel to become more of a running team by signing Spaeth in free agency to a $7 million, three-year contract. He earned $3 million of that this past season when he and Davis combined as a blocking tandem in a running game that was the team’s most productive since 1991.

Davis continued to be a red-zone target in the offense and finished with a team-high five touchdown receptions -- two more than the next-closest player, rookie wide receiver Dan Sanzenbacher. He now has nine touchdown receptions in the last three seasons in a total of 28 catches. That’s almost a score every three receptions. But no one would say he took off in the passing game like the team expected at the time of the Olsen trade, another underlying reason for the deal. Whether it was a lack of opportunities in Martz’s scheme or a failure by Davis to step forward, that could make for a good debate. It was probably a little bit of both. Spaeth wound up being what the Bears expected. A steady player who is a good presence in the locker room. Adams was a top special teams player until a hamstring injury forced him to injured reserve. He and Smith are developmental players moving forward as both were undrafted rookie free agents.

Free agency/draft priority: What do the Bears want to do? If new offensive coordinator Mike Tice wants to maintain the power running game, and the explosive edge rushing attack the Bears enjoyed at times, he’ll probably want to keep his tight ends in place and see Davis return in free agency. Maybe he’ll be ready to flourish and blossom in a fifth season. If Tice wants to diversify the offense, surely the Bears will look to play what will now be a game of catch-up to the rest of the league and look for the athletic kind of target that creates mismatches for opposing defenses. Coach Lovie Smith talked about Davis having all the skills necessary to be that player, but he just didn’t develop like he should have in the passing game in 2011.

Looking ahead: The new general manager probably will have a say in this matter but it would not be a surprise if the Bears pursue Davis in free agency knowing they likely can get him back with a modest investment. But one would imagine a priority also will be placed on finding a skilled addition to the passing game to help control the middle of the field for quarterback Jay Cutler. You didn’t have to watch much playoff football over the weekend to see what these dynamic players can do.

Bottom line: Trading Olsen didn’t help the Bears' passing attack in 2011 but the moves made did augment the running game. It’s time to find a way for the tight ends to start helping the quarterback by doing more than chip blocking from time to time.

Wednesday: Safeties.

bmbiggs@tribune.com

Twitter @BradBiggs

Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune
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Here's one of the biggest reasons why I was so pissed off with Martz's stubbornness. Kellen Davis has only caught 28 passes in 3 seasons but 9 of them have gone for TD's including 5 this year on about 20 catches yet Martz won't throw to him. Despite our two year struggle to score inside the 10 yard line Davis is ignored. Other teams are killing us with TD passes to their TE's yet Martz chooses not to go that route. That's just plain stupidity.

I guess if you look at what we picked up in the running game because of Davis and Spaeth you could almost call that an even trade off or the passing yards we may have lost by trading Olsen. Since Martz wouldn't have thrown to him often it's doubtful that he'd have had anymore than he did in 2010 and as far as scoring Davis pretty well took care of that.

I can see Tice getting Davis far more involved in the passing game than Martz did but he'll still have to do double as a blocker. Lovie has confidence in him but he really needs to break out in 2012. I think he's done well enough to get an offer to stay with the Bears. I'm sure he's not gonna attract much interest elsewhere. Here's a 6'7" target with some bulk and strength for Cutler to use so for cripes sake start doing it. At the very least we need to know whether or not he can handle the position of whether we need to draft another pass catching TE.

Could he REALLY produce ? Don't know .... can't say I'm sold on him . Also can't say whether or not he's been given enough chances. Maybe he has been but doesn't get open enough. This guy falls into the believe it when I see it category imo.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue Horse-shoe

Could he REALLY produce ? Don't know .... can't say I'm sold on him . Also can't say whether or not he's been given enough chances. Maybe he has been but doesn't get open enough. This guy falls into the believe it when I see it category imo.

I'd tend to agree with you but when a guy gets you an average on one TD for every 3 or 4 catches I think we should throw to him more often. That's what used to piss me off so much about Martz. Cutler would throw a TD pass to Davis but the next trip to the red zone he's completely ignored. Like don't repeat what works like the Packers do when they play us.

I don't know if he can play or not either but we may as well find out. We aren't gonna get a chance to replace him for the 2012 season.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue Horse-shoe

Could he REALLY produce ? Don't know .... can't say I'm sold on him . Also can't say whether or not he's been given enough chances. Maybe he has been but doesn't get open enough. This guy falls into the believe it when I see it category imo.

Agreed. But we haven't "seen" enough to determine whether or not to "believe" yet, thanks to MM's ignorance of a TE's role in current NFL passing schemes. So let's use KDavis to help us in the RZ and to convert some 3rd & 5s and see what he can/cannot do. He's all we have anyway as far as receiving TE possibilities go and there's little chance of changing that this offseason. I'll be happy if he can give us 3-4 hundred yards & 7-8 TDs.

Soul the only problem we had as an offense because of the Olsen trade is that joke JA not adding a legit wr to take up the load. There is nothing wrong with not using a TE if you have other legit targets out there. Packers survived without Finely last year and won the superbowl and had a top legit offense because of their other weapons. Getting rid of Olsen and reitterating horse shit like Hester is our big money wr is the real problem. Getting rid of JA should solve this crap of an offense and if raye is the guy they found Gates as an undrafted FA and will be expecting upgrades like that here.

Maybe we can trade Martz for Olsen... oh wait.

Quote:

Originally Posted by motownbear

Soul the only problem we had as an offense because of the Olsen trade is that joke JA not adding a legit wr to take up the load. There is nothing wrong with not using a TE if you have other legit targets out there. Packers survived without Finely last year and won the superbowl and had a top legit offense because of their other weapons. Getting rid of Olsen and reitterating horse shit like Hester is our big money wr is the real problem. Getting rid of JA should solve this crap of an offense and if raye is the guy they found Gates as an undrafted FA and will be expecting upgrades like that here.

Oh no doubt mo. Signing that useless mother frocker RWill was just about as lame ass a move as JA could possibly have made. It ranks right up there with signing OMG to play LT. Even though he caught a few passes he fell far short of expectations and cost us a couple of games with picks that came on throws to him that he didn't handle. He should be on the first wave out the door with Meriweather close behind. Those were two of the biggest nails in Angelo's coffin this year. Both a waste of money.

The Packers may have survived without Finley late last year but they didn't fail to find a TE they could throw to. Martz just ignored them. Every time he did make an important catch you pretty much knew that was it for that game. How many times did he ever catch more than one or two passes in a game?

I have no doubt that one of the first things the new GM will do, whoever he is and after locating the men's restroom, is to find some better targets for Cutler to throw to. The situation demands it. Davis should get a chance to show what he can do as a receiver in camp. If he can get open and hold onto throws he works until we can find better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigClaws

Maybe we can trade Martz for Olsen... oh wait.

I'd give 'em Martz, Drake, Babich, and that 3rd rounder back. One things about Davis is that he plays a lot tougher than Olsen does. I was listening to one of the sportscasters talking about him on the radio and he said Olsen plays smaller and slower than he really is. I think that's a fair observation.

if it wasnt for dealing with a coke problem(probably Hurd was his supplier lol) I would like to take a look at Fred Davis. The guy was a beast for Grossman last year. But already a three strike guy. All I know is we are seeing some great talent at TE and they are coming from all over the draft so last thing I want is a 1 or 2 round guy. Maybe some of the "draft guys" on the board can make a list with pros and cons on some guys.

And Cutler did do some good things with Sheffler when in Denver so it was never a Cutler thing that we didnt use TE it was all Martz and we called that shit out before he was hired...oh wells

and the RW and Hurd signings coupled with Olsen being traded was complete horse shit. I expected if Olsen isnt re-signed for the 7 mil a year and he got traded that we would use that salary on Sydney Rice...........