Eric Steinbach worth a look?

**Blue Horse-shoe** · 04-06-2012, 04:34 PM

Originally Posted by 4DaBERS

You are right, we do have many Guards, but none of them are very good. Now, I think Chris Williams is good, but as many, including myself, have suggested, Williams should replace Webb at LT. He was given a bad rap (IMO) at LT when he got his limited chance there, and even at his worst, he was better than Webb. Now, if you move him back to LT and keep Garza at Center, then who are our Guards? Chris Spencer, Lance Louis, Edwin Williams and then we have relative unknowns (Ricky Henry and Reggie Stephens). Chris Spencer did not play well for us last year and I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt because he was playing with a broken hand through most of the season, but he was a below Average Center for the Seahawks so how much benefit of the doubt do we give him? Edwin Williams is a solid reserve, but he is not a starting caliber OG in the NFL. Many people like Lance Lewis because he has shown "flashes", but he has had more bad games than good and these games have come AFTER the flashes which show regression. So, yea, we have a lot of Guards, but it's a patchwork of back-ups at best outside of Chris Williams. I can't speak for everyone that wants us to pursue Guards, but that is my rationale.

With all that said, I certainly respect you opinion BigPapa as you always make some very good points, and you are just as apt to be right than me. After all, we all just watch from a fans perspective and I will openly admit that I sometimes place too much importance on O-Line. I have no idea if Steinbach is healthy enough to play at previous levels, but when he was healthy, he was one of the best in the league. Depending on how much this injury slows him down (and I admit, it could be completely over for him), Eric Steinbach at 80% is still much better than Lance Lewis at 100%, which he never is beyond game 2. Let's keep in mind that we just signed Kelvin Hayden whose neck problems were of more concern to us last year as we passed him up.

Hit the nail on the head with every swing.

**BigBadPapaBear** · 04-06-2012, 04:54 PM

Lance Louis is a very good guard. Chris Williams played very well at guard as did Edwin Williams. Sorry but some of you guys are way off saying the Bears don't have very good guards when these guys excell at pulling and run blocking down field. I swear I wonder if any of you guys even watch Bear games and see the way some of our guards were opening up holes for Forte last season. You don't run for over 2000yds as a team without having Guards that can play.

**Bipolar Bear** · 04-07-2012, 05:07 AM

Louis shows the potential to be very good, but then he has stretches where he'll give up 3-4 pressures or a couple sacks in a row because he has no idea who he's supposed to be blocking. I agree with you about Chris Williams too, but I'm really hoping Tice moves him back outside to at least compete with Webb for the LT job. At least make Webb earn his starting spot because he's done nothing the last 2 seasons to justify being anything more than a backup.

So ideally the Bears should snag a starting caliber Guard in the draft like Zeitler or Osemele in the 2nd round and give Williams an opportunity to play the position he was drafted as.

**VJ18** · 04-07-2012, 08:02 AM

Originally Posted by Bipolar Bear

Louis shows the potential to be very good, but then he has stretches where he'll give up 3-4 pressures or a couple sacks in a row because he has no idea who he's supposed to be blocking. I agree with you about Chris Williams too, but I'm really hoping Tice moves him back outside to at least compete with Webb for the LT job. At least make Webb earn his starting spot because he's done nothing the last 2 seasons to justify being anything more than a backup.

So ideally the Bears should snag a starting caliber Guard in the draft like Zeitler or Osemele in the 2nd round and give Williams an opportunity to play the position he was drafted as.

well if we grab Steinbach then we can move Williams back to LT which im not crazy about but its worth a shot right? and then instead of a guard can we draft a center and start grooming him cuz we've been without a center now for about 4-5 years

**Dagan81** · 04-07-2012, 09:40 AM

Originally Posted by VJ18

well if we grab Steinbach then we can move Williams back to LT which im not crazy about but its worth a shot right? and then instead of a guard can we draft a center and start grooming him cuz we've been without a center now for about 4-5 years

We have a center and his name is Roberto Garza. :) He was an honorable mention for the Pro Bowl this past season and he called some damn good games and blocked very well for us. Now, I wouldn't be at all opposed to drafting a C and grooming him to take Garza's place in a year or two just because.

**nelliewilson** · 04-07-2012, 05:17 PM

Bears Expressing Interest in Eric Steinbach

If Steinbach can stay healthy, he can be a huge help. We've been struggling to keep our players healthy so I question whether we pick up another guy that missed all of last season from a back injury and is still recovering from that injury.

**Dagan81** · 04-07-2012, 09:39 PM

Originally Posted by nelliewilson

Bears Expressing Interest in Eric Steinbach

If Steinbach can stay healthy, he can be a huge help. We've been struggling to keep our players healthy so I question whether we pick up another guy that missed all of last season from a back injury and is still recovering from that injury.

I would also be concerned with his age coupled with that injury because if he were younger, we'd be talking about someone who could come back from that injury and still potentially have several more years of productivity left in the tank. With him being 32 years old now, his shelf life might have just been cut short.

**BigBadPapaBear** · 04-07-2012, 09:42 PM

Originally Posted by Bipolar Bear

Louis shows the potential to be very good, but then he has stretches where he'll give up 3-4 pressures or a couple sacks in a row because he has no idea who he's supposed to be blocking. I agree with you about Chris Williams too, but I'm really hoping Tice moves him back outside to at least compete with Webb for the LT job. At least make Webb earn his starting spot because he's done nothing the last 2 seasons to justify being anything more than a backup.

So ideally the Bears should snag a starting caliber Guard in the draft like Zeitler or Osemele in the 2nd round and give Williams an opportunity to play the position he was drafted as.

First and foremost, Louis spent the majority of last season at RT. Lance Louis is not a RT. And the other thing I wanted to point out is how many big runs came on Louis' side. Enough said.

**Dagan81** · 04-07-2012, 09:48 PM

Originally Posted by BigBadPapaBear

First and foremost, Louis spent the majority of last season at RT. Lance Louis is not a RT. And the other thing I wanted to point out is how many big runs came on Louis' side. Enough said.

You're right - Lance Louis spent majority of last season as a RT. However, he was only effect the first few games he played before opposing defenses started ganging up and blitzing inside on him to where he couldn't figure out who to block. He is probably a better OG than a OT for sure since that's his natural position, but I'm waiting patiently for Gabe Carimi to fully recover from his knee subluxation and become the force on the right side of the line that everyone says he will become.

**BigBadPapaBear** · 04-07-2012, 09:59 PM

Originally Posted by Dagan81

You're right - Lance Louis spent majority of last season as a RT. However, he was only effect the first few games he played before opposing defenses started ganging up and blitzing inside on him to where he couldn't figure out who to block. He is probably a better OG than a OT for sure since that's his natural position, but I'm waiting patiently for Gabe Carimi to fully recover from his knee subluxation and become the force on the right side of the line that everyone says he will become.

What in the world are you talking about? Louis is a GUARD. He's always been a guard while with the Bears. He played only 2 games at Guard last season. He played in the opener last season against ATL, then missed the NO game and didn't play against GB. Then started at RG against CAR in the first half and replaced Omiyale at RT in the 2nd half of the CAR game. Louis played RT the rest of the year from that game on. You're criticizing Louis based on his play at RT. lol I repeat, Louis is not a RT. He actually did the Bears a favor last year playing RT. I mean you're putting down a guy who was playing a position that he isn't even equipped to play. The guy is 6'3 and 320lbs and he's got short arms.

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