Thread: Jeff Otah to chicago still a possibility

It sure makes you wonder what's going on. And how is it a "good thing" if we want an underachieving guy who is so messed up that he can't pass a physical?

It's like scraping up a roadkill off the pavement.

Well if there's this much doubt/indecision then it indicates that Webb/Williams are maybe too erratic. Carimi might not have time to cut his teeth at RT and if they are at this point should let Gabe compete for LT imo. If Williams fails to get the LT job he should be the starting LG not Spencer.

Originally Posted by short faced bear

Well if there's this much doubt/indecision then it indicates that Webb/Williams are maybe too erratic. Carimi might not have time to cut his teeth at RT and if they are at this point should let Gabe compete for LT imo. If Williams fails to get the LT job he should be the starting LG not Spencer.

We seem to have a lot of excellent interior linemen, and too few LT's who can play well. Spencer is a better guard than he ever was as a center for Seattle (although he was certainly a decent center too). Lance Louis has evolved into a really solid lineman now too. Garza does an excellent job at center, and is playing the best football of his career. And we have some real talent backing these 3 guys up now.

At tackle, we are thin.

It's not so much that we can't put 2 decent tackles on the field, I think it's more of a problem of depth. That's why they pulled an excellent LG (C.Will) to bring him back to his original tackle position. He's got the talent to do this. His absence from the interior line position won't be missed at all. Even though he was a great LG (IMHO).

Now that I've had a day to think this over, it does make sense to bring in another guy for depth at tackle. An older experienced tackle can be picked up pretty cheap (relatively speaking) and he does not have to be a 16 game starter. Just solid insurance in case injuries take out tackles this year.

Otherwise, when injuries hit, we're back to switching oline players all over - and out of their "normal" position - in crisis mode. And this kills our oline every year. Get the players in their BEST position, and leave them there, so they can excel. If an injury takes out a guy, then just play the backup at that position, instead of moving everyone around. The 5 oline positions at the NFL level are very different. It's a "big deal" to move them around (it takes awhile to get up to speed at a different oline position).

It actually makes GREAT sense to bring in a solid backup, or if he CAN beat out Carimi or C.Will (or Webb) let him start and the guy who got beat out can be a great backup. The Bears are trying (for once, now that Emery is here) to be pro-active, and NOT let injuries tank our season. There are, in fact, two other older tackles still available who we could go after if we wanted, but time is running short for that kind of move. You need them in camp NOW.

Originally Posted by BigBadPapaBear

Guy is banged up though. I wouldn't say either that things aren't as great as Tice would have us believe. At this point we have a roster loaded with Guards and only 1 swing tackle with real NFL experience. So I can understand looking for another RT to backup Carimi.

Yeah, I'd agree. One thing I think we've all noticed is that Phil Emery is very big on continuing to look at potential upgrades and/or guys who can provide experienced depth. Guys like Otah or Price come pretty cheap as far as their salaries go and you get a guy with NFL starting experience as a backup or a rotational guy for little more then a rookie or 2nd year guy would run you.

So Otah has had some injury issues, meh. If he didn't he wouldn't be available. Guys around here have been saying we need more OLineman so here's one who can play and has played RT at a pretty high level. Sorry but starting caliber lineman without a history of injuries or other issues aren't just walking around waiting to be picked up or available for a 7th round pick. We don't release guys who can play and are healthy and neither does anyone else.

Plays for guys like Otah, Price, Rachal, Hayden, Hayes, etc are smart moves. Just because a guy didn't pass another teams physical doesn't necessarily mean there's anything wrong with the guy. That team may just be looking for an excuse to unload him and that's it. Case in point. Price failed the Bucs "conditioning test" not his physical and he passed the Bears physical just fine. Hayden has a neck injury that made the Bears wary last year so this year when they signed him they did it with an "injury waiver" to protect themselves and if he stays healthy we got a badly needed physical, veteran CB to compete with Jennings and/or backup both.

Any of these "tests" are subjective. The guidelines are whatever the team says they are. The Bucs didn't want Price any longer so they test him after he tweaks a muscle running, he's slow because of it and they trade him. That's all the excuse they need to let him go. The Bears do that shit too. Happens all the time.

If the Jets queer the deal and the Panther's release him then maybe we bring him in to see what he's got to offer. Can a one legged Jeff Otah be any worse than a two legged Frank Omiyale? Nobody even says he'll make the team! We have plenty of rookies and second year guys competing so we bring in a vet to add to the mix. If he's healthy enough to backup at RT for a vet minimum salary he's probably a better option than an inexperience rookie or anyone else whose last name starts with an O.

I don't get it. Earlier this spring some of you wanted the Bears to sign Marcus McNeil who has some real serious issues with a neck injury. One that could permanently disable him. When healthy he was a pretty good LT and a guy we could have used to create vet competition for Webb without having to move CWill. If you've noticed so far no other NFL team has touched him either. How often to NFL teams ignore healthy, viable, experienced LT's????

So you wanted McNeil despite a career and possibly lifestyle threatening injury but not Otah?

Just sayin'.