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BBAO: Reconfiguring the Bears' OL again
Here it is:
LINK to the article BBAO: Reconfiguring the Bears' OL againIt appears that injuries and performance issues will leave the Chicago Bears with alternate starters at three of their five offensive line positions Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. Michael C. Wright of ESPNChicago.com has the full story.
Right guard Lance Louis will miss the rest of the season because of a knee injury, and the Bears will continue to use former right tackle Gabe Carimi in his spot, according to Wright. That means Jonathan Scott will continue to start at right tackle. Meanwhile, left guard Chris Spencer will need a week or two to recover from a knee injury, leaving backup Edwin Williams to start in his place.
Backups will be undrafted rookie James Brown, who has not played in an NFL game, and veteran guard/center Andre Gurode, who was signed Tuesday. Gurode, 33, last played for the Baltimore Ravens in 2011.
The Seahawks are tied for ninth in the NFL with 29 sacks this season.
Continuing around the NFC North: Here's the Michael Wright article mentioned above:
By Michael C. Wright
ESPNChicago.com
Looking to bolster depth up front after losing right guard Lance Louis on Sunday for the season with a torn ACL in his left knee, the Chicago Bears on Tuesday announced the signing of veteran guard/center Andre Gurode, a five-time Pro Bowler.
The signing of Gurode comes on the heels of the Bears losing two starters in the 28-10 win over the Minnesota Vikings. Louis suffered his season-ending injury after sustaining a blindside hit from Vikings defensive end Jared Allen. Starting left guard Chris Spencer also suffered a knee injury against the Vikings, but his timetable for recovery is approximately one to two weeks, according to a source familiar with the situation.
The Bears also waived veteran defensive tackle Amobi Okoye, in addition to signing offensive lineman Derek Dennis and receiver Dale Moss to the practice squad.
While Gurode, 33, possesses All-Pro pedigree in addition to being named to multiple Pro Bowls, he joins the Bears as a backup, according to an NFL source. With Spencer expected to sit, it's likely the Bears will continue to use former starting right tackle Gabe Carimi at guard for Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks opposite veteran Edwin Williams, who replaced Spencer when he suffered the knee injury against the Vikings.
Prior to the signing Tuesday of Gurode, undrafted rookie James Brown -- who was inactive during Sunday's win over the Vikings -- represented the only backup option remaining on the active roster. Brown still hasn't yet played in an NFL game.
"We just keep playing the way we're playing," left tackle J'Marcus Webb said Tuesday, just before news surfaced of Gurode's signing. "We're a unit. We've been together now for X amount of weeks, X amount of years. We have to continue to look like it and play like it; play as a unit, and not as one."The attrition at Halas Hall hasn't diminished morale, Webb said.
"The mood of the team is great. We're sitting real nice," Webb said. "Seattle is in our way. We can't let injuries or anything like that (keep) us from reaching that ultimate goal. We're at home, and we have to play like we're at home. The past weeks before last week were a little rough. We feel good. We're going to continue to strive for excellence."
Selected to five consecutive Pro Bowls from 2006-10 as a center for the Dallas Cowboys, Gurode last played for the Baltimore Ravens in 2011. After Gurode missed the majority of training camp in 2011 recovering from offseason knee surgery, the Cowboys cut him after the preseason and he signed with the Ravens that September.
Gurode started five games for the Ravens in 2011, and has made 127 starts over his career.The Bears also worked out linebacker Aaron Curry at Halas Hall on Tuesday, according to a source familiar with the situation.Information from ESPNChicago.com's Scott Powers contributed to this report.
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Another.
LINK to the article
Bears’ 'chaos management' key on OL
Exactly which of the injured Bears – Spencer, cornerback Charles Tillman, linebacker Lance Briggs, running back Matt Forte, returner Devin Hester – will play Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks really won’t be known until that morning, maybe on Friday if coach Lovie Smith announces an early “out.”
And exactly what any of the personnel situation mean won’t really be clear until mid-afternoon that day.
But chaos is often the friend of the prepared and the Bears have managed chaos extremely well recently, particularly on the offensive line, when forced on them by injury or incompetence.
Holding Jared Allen, Kevin Williams and Minnesota Vikings at bay after demotions and injuries was not the first time for successful chaos management.
The Bears reached the 2010 NFC Championship game with Frank Omiyale starting the last 14 games of the season at left tackle. So if there are any misgivings remaining with either J’Marcus Webb (a rookie emergency right tackle for the last 12 games) or Jonathan Scott. Omiyale is now the backup left tackle for the Seahawks.
And the starting left guard beginning with the Seattle game and the subsequent 10 after than was Chris Williams, a former No. 1 pick as a tackle and who’d never played guard before. Sound familiar?
Last year’s team went to 7-3, ranked sixth in scoring and as high as No. 9 rushing with an offensive line that went through Gabe Carimi, Omiyale and finally Lance Louis in just the first six games.
Fill-in’s set a standard
The real point is how Carimi and Edwin Williams played on short notice against Minnesota. For perspective, Carimi not only had never played guard, but spent the week working entirely at tackle, albeit as the swing tackle.
Williams has been almost exclusively the backup center behind Roberto Garza. The result with the fill-in’s was no sacks.
“I really liked what [Carimi] was able to do,” Smth said. “When you haven’t played that position and the team needs you and you step in right away and play pretty good – just like Edwin Williams, hadn’t gotten a lot of time, but he stepped in and did a good job also.”
Last edited by JustAnotherBearsFan99; 11-28-2012 at 03:15 PM.
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I really wish Webb would just shut his fool mouth and learn to play the game but instead I'll look at what I see as the only bright spot in that line right now.
At least OMG isn't around or they'd be finding some way to play him. I'll take a line of Webb, EWill, Garza, Carimi and Scott over one that includes OMG any day of the week. All we can do is hope for the best because that's all we have to throw in there.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. 
Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
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Originally Posted by
soulman 
I really wish Webb would just shut his fool mouth and learn to play the game but instead I'll look at what I see as the only bright spot in that line right now.
At least OMG isn't around or they'd be finding some way to play him. I'll take a line of Webb, EWill, Garza, Carimi and Scott over one that includes OMG any day of the week. All we can do is hope for the best because that's all we have to throw in there.
Good point. I'm not so worried about the lineup of Webb-E.Will-Garza-Carimi-Scott so much as I'm worried about who's backing these guys up now. If any of these 5 go down we really will see a precipitous drop in performance. Yes, the oline is bad now. But yes, it CAN get much worse.
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Tice said he's got it covered. Next in line is Cutler. "Jay has got more experience having contact with opposing DL and DE's than anyone else on the team. He just keeps getting back up. I think he can do it. I know talent when I see it. I am guru -- hear me roar. oh.... sorry that was Jay screaming again."
Originally Posted by
JustAnotherBearsFan99 Good point. I'm not so worried about the lineup of Webb-E.Will-Garza-Carimi-Scott so much as I'm worried about who's backing these guys up now. If any of these 5 go down we really will see a precipitous drop in performance. Yes, the oline is bad now. But yes, it CAN get much worse.
Last edited by bearsinhouston; 11-29-2012 at 09:32 AM.
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Originally Posted by
bearsinhouston Tice said he's got it covered. Next in line is Cutler. "Jay has got more experience having contact with opposing DL and DE's than anyone else on the team. He just keeps getting back up. I think he can do it. I know talent when I see it. I am guru -- hear me roar. oh.... sorry that was Jay screaming again."
Watch, when he's through playing he'll be a great D-line coach.
Arguing on the internet is like winning the special olympics, even if you win your still messed up.
Restore the roar!
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