Silverman: "Bears’ Offensive Line Questions Cast Doubt"

**JustAnotherBearsFan99** · 06-07-2012, 05:18 PM

Everyone understands our 2012 season will go as far as those 5 olinemen take us.

The rest of the offense cannot overcome a weak oline. But. If the oline can perform well, then the skill players can play up to their FULL potential. The result will be awesome. Maybe our 1st Super Bowl win since 1985.

To me, it's like the highest stakes poker game. You've got your last dime (maybe even your car keys) in that last pot. You know you'll either be a huge winner - or walking home in total defeat. Emery, Lovie & Tice are gambling the 2012 season on those 5 linemen being solid.

It's all on the backs of those 5 big guys. They can carry us to a Super Bowl - or we can suffer the embarrassment of another 3rd in the NFC-N again.

LINK to the article

By Steve Silverman- (CBS)

Optimism has never been higher around the Chicago Bears in the Lovie Smith era.

It’s still more than a month from the start of training camp, but this is the year that the Bears believe they can fight the Green Bay Packers for the NFC North title and then make a run in the postseason.

For the first time in the modern era of pro football, the Bears have a state-of-the-art passing game. Jay Cutler is an under-appreciated signal caller and Brandon Marshall is a world class receiver. The memory of laughable Roy Williams masquerading as a footballplayer is over and as the years go by, Williams will cement his position near the top of the all-time pro football phonies list that he has been destined to occupy since he was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 2004 out of the country club known as the University of Texas.

But we are not here to celebrate Williams’ departure; we are here to question the foundation of this house. The offensive line is a big issue for this team no matter what Smith, Mike Tice and Phil Emery say for the public to consume.

The offensive line is only as good as its weakest member and J’Marcus Webb is not an NFL caliber starter. The Bears know this in their heart of hearts and that’s why they had Chris Williams working out with the first team at left tackle.

Williams was drafted in 2008 to become the Bears left tackle and it did not work out the way former general manager Jerry Angelo thought it would. Williams had serious back problems and could not stand up to the competition. While the Bears would move Williams inside, drafting him in the first round was a mistake.

Last year, the Bears used Webb at the position. It was not a good thing for a team that wanted to win footballgames. Webb is a big body (335 pounds) but he could not win the battle in the 16 starts he made a year ago. Despite the preachings and teachings of Tice, he could not turn Webb into anything more than a body who filled a position.

He was not the player the Bears needed to anchor the most important position on the offensive line. Jay Cutler is not shy about speaking the truth. He is not going to come out and say that Webb is a bad football player, but he has said that he has concerns about the offensive line. He has identified Gabe Carimi, Webb and Williams as question marks. That’s a huge problem for this offense. Cutler is quite athletic in the pocket and he can run away from pressure. However, he is not Michael Vick. Eventually, he is going to get caught and slammed to the turf. It has happened many times and it seems certain to happen again this season.

You might be able to hide one soft spot on the offensive line, but when you have one consistently under-performing player in Webb, and there are serious questions about former first-round picks like Williams and Carimi, a season of great promise could be one of great frustration.

Cutler’s honesty earlier in the offseason was refreshing. He knows the Bears’ offensive line still has a long way to go before it proves itself.

He sees that the Bears have made major moves to upgrade the receiving crew by bringing in Marshall and drafting Alshon Jeffrey –great size and hands – but it won’t matter a bit if Cutler is constantly running for his life.
That was the case last year and while the Bears had a 7-3 record when he injured his thumb. While he was injured chasing down an interception when he got blocked, a quarterback who is constantly under siege is quite likely to suffer an injury that could derail the season.

Tice will do what he can to get the most out of this offense. Assuming that Matt Forte is back in the fold before the start of the season, the Bears are well-rounded and talented at the skill positions. Tice will put together logical gameplans that Mike Martz was never capable of doing.

But Tice is not a miracle worker. Webb has not shown he can play. Williams has not shown he can play left tackle. Carimi has not shown he can stay healthy. If this trio does not pan out, a season of great hope will slip into desperation.

**soulman** · 06-07-2012, 07:06 PM

Nothing but stating the obvious but with more doom and gloom than necessary. I don't know for whose benefit he's writing but it certainly can't be Bears fans. It's like, "tell us something we don't already know".

No matter what the rest of the world thinks I keep coming back to the same conclusion. If Phil Emery believed there was no way these guys could perform well I think he would have done something about it. There wasn't a whole lot of affordable choices as far as players guaranteed to make the line better but at least he would have made some moves to bring OT's as opposed to letting them go.

I'm not worried about Carimi and to question whether or not he can stay healthy is kind of ridiculous. He had a serious injury last year that ruined his debut but he was a 4 year starter at Wisconsin and he doesn't exactly carry a stack or medical records around as thick as War and Peace. If he'd questioned CWill's ability to stay healthy I could at least understand that.

What it really boils down to at LT is can CWill take that spot away from Webb. If Webb hasn't progressed from last year that should be relatively easy to do and Webb winds up as the swing tackle until he does progress. Maybe losing his starting gig would be the best thing that could happen. If he realized he had to improve mentally and fight to get that spot back it may eventually make him a better player. Two years running he comes in and starts after being drafted in the 7th round. That's almost unheard of. IMO so far it's been too easy for him and I think that shows in his cockiness and lack of maturity. It's time he was taken down a notch.

It's also time to find out whether or not CWill can play the position he was drafted for. My feeling is that he never really had a fighting chance there before they started moving him around. Maybe if they'd left him there by now he would have grown into the position but as it is he has to come in cold and take a job away from someone which means he needs to be convincingly better. Of course if he's not convincingly better and neither is Webb we've got trouble. I still feel like one of those guys will own that spot by the opener and the play will be better than last year but there's no question that LT is the weakest spot on the line.

Garza did a good job at OC last year and I expect him to be just as good if not better at line calls and that may help a lot. Louis only needs to improve his pass blocking and that means he needs to stop lunging and trying to "pancake" somebody on every play. He started out looking OK at RT but somewhere along the line they solved him because he was second on the team in sacks allowed with ten.

Some have been putting Spencer's play down last year but his run blocking was very good and even I was surprised to see that he allowed just one sack last year. For a guy playing at OG for the first time that's not too shabby. I really think the line is more solid than Silverman believes it is but undoubtedly we should be keeping a close eye on the developments at LT. I'm sure Jay Cutler will be.

**BigBadPapaBear** · 06-07-2012, 10:07 PM

I for one am not one that believes our season will go as far as our line takes us. In fact, I believe how far we go will be based on whether our D-line can generate more pressure than last season and whether Cutler plays with the consistency he showed during that 5 game winning streak.

**bearsinhouston** · 06-07-2012, 10:19 PM

Actually, I think there is truth in both positions. I think we can have a good season with a mediocre line. We did last year. But on the other hand, I would say that the POSTseason will go as far as our line takes us. In the postseason, you have teams that are very good at pressuring the QB and you are in a one and out situation in the postseason. So if the OL is not solid, but all the elements you mentioned are there, I think we can get to the postseason. I don't think we will be there very long though unless we can protect against the best the NFL has to offer.

Originally Posted by BigBadPapaBear

I for one am not one that believes our season will go as far as our line takes us. In fact, I believe how far we go will be based on whether our D-line can generate more pressure than last season and whether Cutler plays with the consistency he showed during that 5 game winning streak.

**JustAnotherBearsFan99** · 06-07-2012, 11:03 PM

Both lines (D & O) are important. You need quality players on both. We are going to have to put some serious points on the board to win all the way to a Super Bowl. The days of winning on defense alone in Chicago hasn't been true in over 50 years. We're sure not going to surpass Green Bay & Detroit on defense alone.

My belief is that we will need a solid offensive line to take advantage of Cutler and the new weapons. But - if the oline is not decent, don't buy any Super Bowl tickets. It will be another 3rd place finish in the NFC-N. Hey, I'm hoping we have a solid season behind a solid oline.

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