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Bears expect offensive line improvement from within
It's a hoot to go back and read about how confident Lovie and Tice were about the offensive line being solid, going into this season.
LINK to the article Bears expect offensive line improvement from within
With offensive line, what you see is likely what you're going to get
April 08, 2012|By Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune reporter
Jay Cutler chuckled when he was asked if he expects the pass protection to improve with Mike Tice now directing the Bears' offense.
"Hope so," the quarterback said when he was finished laughing. "It's going to. It will. We're headed in the right direction. I know that."
There was nothing funny about the protection over the last two seasons as the Bears led the NFL with 105 sacks allowed.
The huge number is one the Bears, without saying as much, largely have pinned on former offensive coordinator Mike Martz. He relied heavily on seven-step drops and often left the line with little help in a boom-or-bust approach that too often led the quarterbacks to dust themselves off after being toppled.
But to place all the fault on Martz would be unfair. With so many sacks there must be plenty of blame to go around.
Despite calls from the fan base to invest in linemen, the club has yet to do so almost four weeks into free agency. Most signs point to the Bears looking for help on defense in the early rounds of the NFL draft that begins April 26, although it's impossible to rule out help for the line.
But drafting 19th overall, the Bears are unlikely to have a left tackle fall in their laps. They don't have a need for another right tackle with Gabe Carimi, last year's first-round pick, returning. It's uncommon for interior linemen to be drafted that high. But it's still possible the franchise goes in that direction after many drafts in which ex-general manager Jerry Angelo ignored the line until last season.
So, what have the Bears done? Veteran Frank Omiyale was released March 1 and guard Anthony Herrera, a Tice protege from the Vikings, visited Halas Hall on March 14. That's it. Herrera remains unsigned. General manager Phil Emery, speaking on a teleconference with season ticket holders Wednesday, indicated the team still is seeking help.
"(We're) trying to find the right competitors to come in here," Emery said. "The right players that fit for us and what Coach Tice is asking."
If there was a creative difference between Tice and Martz, it didn't spill out publicly. It seemed evident how Cutler felt about Martz at times, and cameras captured elements of their relationship last season.
With pretty much the same blockers, minus Omiyale, can the line be better in 2012?
Probably.
First, the sacks didn't pile up last season until after Cutler went out with the thumb injury in Week 10. He was sacked 23 times in 10 games, which put the Bears on pace for a manageable number of 37. Cutler was sacked only five times in his last five games.
When Caleb Hanie entered, chaos ensued. He was sacked 19 times in four games before being benched, and Josh McCown was sacked seven times in the season finale against the Vikings in Minnesota.
So, a healthy Cutler should trigger improvement. And when he left, Martz took most plans for seven-step drops with him. The introduction of quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates to the system likely will bring some elements that helped Cutler be successful for the Broncos with rollouts and moving pockets. Those wrinkles also should help against pressure just as the addition of a top-flight receiver in Brandon Marshall should.
Coach Lovie Smith, speaking a week ago at the owners meetings, said he's comfortable with the personnel.
"I don't want to picture it that we are looking for a left tackle," he said. "We feel comfortable with (J'Marcus Webb and Carimi). We like (what) we have right now for what we are going to do with them."
Carimi (knee) and left guard Chris Williams (wrist) are returning from injuries. That will allow Lance Louis, who spent nearly all of 2011 at right tackle, to move back to guard where he is a better fit. There's decent depth on the interior with Chris Spencer and Edwin Williams, who got a modest contract extension late last season.
Tice lauded the performance of center Roberto Garza, and now it's a matter of how he lines the group up on each side of the Pro Bowl alternate. It looks like he's going to do that with familiar faces.
bmbiggs@tribune.com
Twitter @BradBiggs
Trestman - Kromer - Tucker - DeCamillis
I'm looking forward to seeing these guys coach. Hope they're good.
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Honestly, Webb has gotten better (not great, just better) and nobody saw how rough of a season Carimi was gonna have, and Louis was kind of a given going into the season. Another thing, why are people giving up on Carimi after his first full season? You guys DO realize that a lot of players don't start off as pro bowlers, right? Just ask Drew Brees...
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Originally Posted by
Henry Burris 
Honestly, Webb has gotten better (not great, just better) and nobody saw how rough of a season Carimi was gonna have, and Louis was kind of a given going into the season. Another thing, why are people giving up on Carimi after his first full season? You guys DO realize that a lot of players don't start off as pro bowlers, right? Just ask Drew Brees...
Agree, Henry. I'm not giving up on Carimi at all and think he can/will be a lot better next year after a season of experience, full healing, and hopefully much better coaching. Fingers crossed on Louis bouncing back strong next year too. But the left 3 spots on the line are a mess right now. Webb has improved a bit but not enough to warrant being a everyday starter. Garza has regressed and is at the tail end of his career. And LG is a black hole of failure with the two most likely candidates, Williams & Chilo, gone from the team. It looks pretty grim right now for next year even if Louis and Carimi solidify the right side. Need 2 new starters minimum IMO.
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Originally Posted by
MPBears68 Agree, Henry. I'm not giving up on Carimi at all and think he can/will be a lot better next year after a season of experience, full healing, and hopefully much better coaching. Fingers crossed on Louis bouncing back strong next year too. But the left 3 spots on the line are a mess right now. Webb has improved a bit but not enough to warrant being a everyday starter. Garza has regressed and is at the tail end of his career. And LG is a black hole of failure with the two most likely candidates, Williams & Chilo, gone from the team. It looks pretty grim right now for next year even if Louis and Carimi solidify the right side. Need 2 new starters minimum IMO.
Agreed. I'm really disappointed in Garza. How many false starts did he have? And he's the guy snapping the ball! I'd like to see a new C, LT, LG next year, with added talent for depth, but would be happy enough with a new C and LG.
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This morning I have been going back to read the team's off-season comments as to why they CHOSE to not fix the oline this past off season. It's enough to make you cry when you read the stupid comments. They "felt good" about our oline going into this season. They blew a lot of smoke up our butts (they must really think Bears fans are pretty stupid). But to our credit, the fans "get it" but the Bears organization seems clueless.
BTW, I look at the entire "body of work" and not just one season - I look at the past 3 years of failed offensive lines - and the impact it has had on our team over those three years.
I "get it" that there are a lot of excuses, as to why the oline is overlooked. There are just as many excuses as to why the oline is always the weak link in our failed offenses. But in the end, I figure the team either fixes the problem - or they don't. We haven't.
Last edited by JustAnotherBearsFan99; 12-21-2012 at 10:08 AM.
Trestman - Kromer - Tucker - DeCamillis
I'm looking forward to seeing these guys coach. Hope they're good.
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There really is no "hindsight is 20/20" in at least a few of us wondering how the hell we were picking at 18 and only one of the best 4 o-line prospects were off the board, and emery went de. I know we needed a de, but Reiff was there for the taking, and even if webb somehow beat him in tc, it's hard to imagine CW would've been moved back to LT after playing efficiently at LG since his move there. Hell, i think placing webb/reiff at the TE spot would've worked even better than having carimi there, and we maybe, just maybe, could've moved the ball more. Back to Webb, i don't want anyone to confuse what I said as him being good enough to be certified as our LT for the foreseable future, but as a 3rd tackle, he beats the hell outta Omiyale.
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Originally Posted by
JustAnotherBearsFan99 This morning I have been going back to read the team's off-season comments as to why they CHOSE to not fix the oline this past off season. It's enough to make you cry when you read the stupid comments. They "felt good" about our oline going into this season. They blew a lot of smoke up our butts (they must really think Bears fans are pretty stupid). But to our credit, the fans "get it" but the Bears organization seems clueless.
It is frustrating watching the management of this team operate. To have the success we have had under Lovie, I find amazing considering how dis-functional we are organizationally. Here's an interview with George McCaskey from June. Though he'll never be invited on Tony Robbins' tour, or any of next year's TEDx conferences, he is saying all the right things as far giving Emery legitimate GM authority. I'm a huge skeptic on how Halas Hall runs this team, but I am giving them a shot to get it right moving forward.
Last edited by Rakk; 12-21-2012 at 10:53 AM.
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A few more thoughts:
Whoever the coach is for next year better only get say in things that are a proven strongsuit with them.
If Lovie stays, i wouldn't be opposed to Tice staying, but only with a demotion of some sort. He's getting better at playcalling, but is overwhelmed with preparing the players, i do think he's done a better job with this crap of an o-line than most.
If Lovie goes, i think he'll have success somewhere else (hopefully to NYJ), but I'm starting to think that if we brought in Andy Reid, that would be the best guarantee of no dropoff on either side of the ball. Also, I hope that if he is replaced, we keep marinelli, because he's slowly moving us away from the cover 2(which was fine with Urlacher in his prime) and more to fitting the system to the players, which is a major ingredient to being a good coaxh.
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Originally Posted by
Henry Burris There really is no "hindsight is 20/20" in at least a few of us wondering how the hell we were picking at 18 and only one of the best 4 o-line prospects were off the board, and emery went de. I know we needed a de, but Reiff was there for the taking, and even if webb somehow beat him in tc, it's hard to imagine CW would've been moved back to LT after playing efficiently at LG since his move there. Hell, i think placing webb/reiff at the TE spot would've worked even better than having carimi there, and we maybe, just maybe, could've moved the ball more. Back to Webb, i don't want anyone to confuse what I said as him being good enough to be certified as our LT for the foreseable future, but as a 3rd tackle, he beats the hell outta Omiyale.
Good points, and I agree.
I'm fine giving Emery a pass for this year's oline. I think he made mistakes, but he probably believed Tice and Lovie - that the oline was fine. But moving forward, I'm watching WHAT EMERY DOES in the draft and free agency, as far as SERIOUSLY and SIGNIFICANTLY fixing this problem that kills our seasons. If we want to be an elite franchise, then we need to have an offense to go with our defense. 10 & 13 point outings against the Packers won't ever cut it. 7 points against the 49ers & 6 points against the Texans were embarrassing. Heck, the 14 points against the Vikes didn't cut it either.
We need an offensive line. We have a dirty toilet of crap instead.
Talk is cheap. I put zero stock in what us fans are told anymore. I watch what they DO. If Emery fixes the oline this year (not just throwing us a bone or two, but truly fixing the mess) then I'm fine. If Emery craps on us, and does a half-hearted band-aid fix, then I'm through with him. He's just "Jerry Angelo-II" to me at that point.
I'm watching and waiting to see what he does.
Last edited by JustAnotherBearsFan99; 12-21-2012 at 10:58 AM.
Trestman - Kromer - Tucker - DeCamillis
I'm looking forward to seeing these guys coach. Hope they're good.
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High Fives / Like - 1 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
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Originally Posted by
Shark86x Agreed. I'm really disappointed in Garza. How many false starts did he have? And he's the guy snapping the ball! I'd like to see a new C, LT, LG next year, with added talent for depth, but would be happy enough with a new C and LG.
Yeah his play really declined this year compared to last. Probably due to age, just like Kreutz starting falling off a cliff a few seasons ago. I don't know if Garza could be a serviceable LG for one more year but he's probably nearing the end and should stick as a "vet backup" OG/C only.
i think it's reasonable and realistic to make an LT the "splash" FA acquisition this offseason (probably the only major FA we could afford to sign from another team) and to draft a player like Barrett Jones in the latter 1st to be our C for the next decade.
I still have no idea where we will find a LG. Maybe Brown steps up with good coaching (don't laugh-other teams develop late picks/UDFAs into quality OGs, those teams are called "successful"). Maybe Garza could be adequate. Maybe it is some other vet FA or draft pick we don't even have on the roster at all right now. I really don't know.
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