Colts-Bears: Early test for Webb and Carimi

I agree with the article, that the primary issue may be our tackles. But, I don't think we'll see a pass/fail grade after one game. And, it's not just about the tackles. Those 3 interior linemen will be important too, even with the 3-4 that the Colts will use.

Too often we've witnessed teams blowing up our interior line to get to Cutler, whether by dline or blitzers. First they take away his pocket, flushing him to a waiting DE. And too often they have simple blown through to hammer Cutler.

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LINK to the article

Colts-Bears: Early test for Webb and Carimi

For years, preparing for the Indianapolis Colts defense was schematically simple but physically difficult. The Colts lined up in their traditional 4-3 alignment and sent four pass rushers more than any team in the NFL between 2008-11, relying on bookends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis to pressure quarterbacks without using the blitz.

New coach Chuck Pagano has scrapped that approach in favor of a hybrid 3-4 scheme, one that technically converts Freeney and Mathis to outside linebackers. On an otherwise rebuilding team, Freeney and Mathis present the most notable challenge to a Chicago Bears team that is heavily favored to win Sunday at Soldier Field.

Highest Percentage of Dropbacks Sacked or Under Duress, 2011 Season

Quarterback	Percent
Tim Tebow	34.5
Jay Cutler	34.2
Kevin Kolb	33.6
Christian Ponder	29.9
>> Among 34 qualified quarterbacks
Source: ESPN Stats & Information

You might not need to be reminded of the details, but here you go: As the chart shows, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was under duress more often last season than all but one NFL quarterback. The Bears have overhauled their scheme to provide him better protection in 2012, but it took most of the summer for left tackle J'Marcus Webb to secure his starting spot. And this week, offensive coordinator Mike Tice admitted that right tackle Gabe Carimi is still working his way back from a knee injury that cost him most of last season.

Whether Freeney and Mathis line up as 3-4 linebackers in the base or 4-3 ends in the nickel, their primary obstacles to Cutler will be Webb and Carimi. There is some concern in Indianapolis about the impact of Pagano's scheme on their pass rushers' effectiveness, but it should at least be matched by uncertainty the Bears feel with Webb and Carimi.

Tice told reporters this week that "I don’t feel good about where we're at yet" but added: "I feel good about where we're going." Cutler said he thought the line has been "holding up really well" since the start of the preseason but acknowledged: "We can only do as much as they can handle."

The Bears hold most of the advantages in this matchup. That's why they're favored by 9.5 points and all 14 ESPN experts have picked them to win. But if they're going to run into any trouble Sunday, you would expect it to come on the edges. For what it's worth.

Note: For those interested in the details, the Colts rushed four or fewer pass rushers on 81.3 percent of their snaps over the past four seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The next-highest team was the Tennessee Titans (75.8).

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if our interior oline can get their heads out of their asses and block we can take advantage of their ends over pursuing

I think Tice is not going to put our Tackles out on an island, but the absolutely means that the interior must be solid.

If a running back goes to the edge to chip, and they send a blitzer up the middle we will be hurting.

I think the most important thing to see in the first game is to be able to establish the run. Watching the game last night it seemed that both teams abandon the run. Mainly because neither team could move the ball. But I think it is going to be important for us to be balanced.


Tice is the guy for that (i Hope)

i agree got to get the run game going and im confident in tice

my prob is im not confident with the oline

guys guys guys, we cant judge a book by its cover. Lets wait till week 1 is finished before we begin playing chicken little.

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Originally Posted by VJ18

guys guys guys, we cant judge a book by its cover. Lets wait till week 1 is finished before we begin playing chicken little.

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I don't think we can judge the oline definitively after 1 game either. Hopefully they continue to improve over the next few games. That's what I am going to be looking for anyway. Sure, you want them to look solid in this first game too. But, unless they'd look horrible, I'm not going to react after 1 game. Let's watch and see if they keep getting better each week as they get more comfortable playing together, and for some, it is at new positions (Carimi is almost like a rookie too).

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Originally Posted by mdbearz

I think Tice is not going to put our Tackles out on an island, but the absolutely means that the interior must be solid.

If a running back goes to the edge to chip, and they send a blitzer up the middle we will be hurting.

I think the most important thing to see in the first game is to be able to establish the run. Watching the game last night it seemed that both teams abandon the run. Mainly because neither team could move the ball. But I think it is going to be important for us to be balanced.


Tice is the guy for that (i Hope)

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I wouldn't say Dallas "abandoned the run". I would say that they wisely stopped doing what wasn't working and took what the D gave them, hitting them at their weakest point.

Neither of those 2 OLs are anything special. In fact, Dallas' sucks as much or more than we do, especially with their starting C out. So they went with what they could do against a weak secondary--quick drops and a killer short passing game. It worked brilliantly. In the 2nd half they were able to hit a few longer throws and run the ball effectively.

It was a well designed and executed formula for a weak OL team to win on the road against a strong pass rush/weak secondary team. And look what they did it with...Romo, DMurray, and Ogletree (almost exclusively).

Think we could do that or better with Cutler, Forte/Bush, and Marshall/Hester/Bennett/Jeffery???

I'll take the latter over the former any day.

I'll tell ya' all what I think on Sunday night and next Monday morning. This is a good test and a great tune up for the Packers 3-4 next Thursday. We struggle handling 3-4s so here's two good one right out of the box and they either can or can't handle it.

I'm going to try really hard to judge the team over the course of those first 4 games:

Colts
Packers
Rams
Cowboys

I'm hoping we can watch the oline improve each game. BTW, the Packers "D" should be MUCH better this year. It may be a great test. Whatever happens, we'll know for sure what we have in this team after those 4 games. I don't want to just "react" if we struggle and look rough in the first game.

I know a lot of the fans have unrealistic expectations at this point. Even with the great talent we have, we still may look ugly at times. It happens. But we should take big strides improving.

If only one OLmen needs help, should be good, (Webb) but if the Bears breakdown at more then one position ( Blitz pickup) , it just might be a long day , or god help us a short day for JC.