Chicago Bears: Offensive Line End of the Year Evaluations

I think what's most interesting is that the evaluators are saying the same thing I've been saying all season long. We don't have the right players for a power blocking scheme and that it was the wrong scheme both for that group of lineman and for a back like Forte.

I think Forte was very frustrated playing in this offense this year. The cutback lanes he uses so effectively weren't often there ans he was woefully underused in the passing game. Bush was a far better runner for Tice's offense than Forte and in some games he showed that but he was another guy who was badly underused.

The guy who really cost Lovie Smith his job is Mike Tice. It's not Cutler who's a coach killer it was Tice. Any reasonably experienced OC would have made the right adjustments in design, game plans and play calls to fit the skills of his team but when you have no experience at all in those matter how do you know when you're wrong or if the players are wrong.

Lovie's loyalty to Tice was his undoing. The Ravens fired Cam Cameron who has far more experience than Tice and not only made the playoffs but laid 38 points on a good Broncos defense today in another Ice Bowl like game. If Lovie would have removed Tice even as a play caller after the SF game we probably would have made the playoffs but he didn't and it cost him his job. Jerry Angelo isn't the guy in charge anymore. Emery can make the tough calls that Angelo and Lovie never could.

I think we as fans saw the reality far better than Tice or Lovie did.

Louis- A
Webb- C-

everyone else- F

Yeah Webb probably improved just enough this year at LT to justify keeping him to compete at RT next year and maybe start or end up at the swing guy.

We have to replace him at LT that's a given but he's cheap solution for an experienced starter or depth if Carimi returns to his college form. As long as that remains a question mark Webb and Scott probably have a job.

Webb C- (He was better this year. He still needs to improve.)

Rachal D+ (I hope he gets his head straightened out)

Garza D (He's not very powerful and gets pushed around like a rag doll)

Louis C (He did improve this season. I hope he comes back and takes another step in improvement)

Carimi F (I hope it was just due to him being injured. He was a total "Fail" this year.

Spencer D (career backup at best)

Scott D (nothing special here)

Brown C- (he shows a lot of promise)

E Will D (career backup at best)

Cwill D as a tackle. As a LG in 2011 he was a B. He was our most consistent OL performer at LG in 2011. Tice lost his mind and moved him to tackle in 2012. Of course Tice loves to play olinemen out of position (and hates to leave a player in the same spot for any length of time, unless his name is "Webb")

I think Rchal was very solid. He was emotional and came back the very next morning. They did not really do this right. Another Tice fail. Webb was screwing up consistently and never got sat once. This guy gets sat after the two T's fail, loses it and his season is over. He screwed up, but it was mishandled and he is pretty good.

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Originally Posted by JustAnotherBearsFan99

Webb C- (He was better this year. He still needs to improve.)

Rachal D+ (I hope he gets his head straightened out)

Garza D (He's not very powerful and gets pushed around like a rag doll)

Louis C (He did improve this season. I hope he comes back and takes another step in improvement)

Carimi F (I hope it was just due to him being injured. He was a total "Fail" this year.

Spencer D (career backup at best)

Scott D (nothing special here)

Brown C- (he shows a lot of promise)

E Will D (career backup at best)

Cwill D as a tackle. As a LG in 2011 he was a B. He was our most consistent OL performer at LG in 2011. Tice lost his mind and moved him to tackle in 2012. Of course Tice loves to play olinemen out of position (and hates to leave a player in the same spot for any length of time, unless his name is "Webb")

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Originally Posted by bearsinhouston

I think Rchal was very solid. He was emotional and came back the very next morning. They did not really do this right. Another Tice fail. Webb was screwing up consistently and never got sat once. This guy gets sat after the two T's fail, loses it and his season is over. He screwed up, but it was mishandled and he is pretty good.

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Spencer played much better after they moved him to RG which was where he was last year and looked OK. He can't play LG and that's that but he's an expensive FA option we no longer need. Emery will sign Louis.

Rachal I'm not so sure about. The guy has all kinds of potential but never reaches it. He seems to be kind of a hot head who lets his emotions overrule his good judgement and he does it on the field too.

The may bring him back but my guess is that Brown is a better fit long term if they can coach the kid up right. He played as or better as a rookie than Rachal did as a five year pro.

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Originally Posted by bearsinhouston

I think Rchal was very solid. He was emotional and came back the very next morning. They did not really do this right. Another Tice fail. Webb was screwing up consistently and never got sat once. This guy gets sat after the two T's fail, loses it and his season is over. He screwed up, but it was mishandled and he is pretty good.

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I am NOT excusing Rachal's temporary anger meltdown, let me say that first. But I completely agree with the above. Tice utterly eff'd that situation up like he did virtually everything on the OL this past year. Rachal replaced Spencer (after he replaced CWill) at LG and was an epic fail the first two games. Chilo got his shot and stabilized the position. He played pretty darn well for a guy new to the team and coming off the bench. Dare I say it, he was our 2nd best interior OLman (after Louis) all year. Way better than Spencer, better than Garza, better than Carimi as a G, better than EWill, and better than Brown (who you couldn't expect much from as a udfa rookie coming in cold). If you guys remember, it was looking then like Emery picked up a hidden gem from the waiver wire who was making the best of a change-of-scenery opportunity.

After the disaster that was the SF game (in which we totally out coached yet again), Tice benches him even though the embarrassing sack fest we gave up was almost exclusively on Webb and Carimi. Rachal threw a shit fit and I can kinda understand it (not saying its right but...). He felt and was singled-out for accountability that Tice hadn't shown to Webb all year and the tackle play was the problem not the LG play. We all know what ensued.

As it is right now, we don't have much at LG. EWill sucks hard so don't even suggest it. Spencer blows and is a goner soon. Brown is a possibility but is ready to start? Garza may be an option if we get Jones in the draft to take over C but we all know he's on his last legs. I'm not averse to giving Rachal a one year, vet minimum "last chance" deal and letting him compete for a roster spot in TC/PS. What's to lose? We need depth there and he has shown he can play the position. If he hasn't got his head straightened out in the offseason or otherwise flops performance-wise, then we just cut him.

I question Rachal's attitude when he walks away like that. Yeah he was pissed and maybe he had a right to be but that's NOT something a pro does if he expects to stick around. I'd be surprised if the re-signed him.

And I don't think he was any better than Brown who got off to a shaky start as a rookie playing OG when he was an OT in college but he actually did OK his last couple of games. The real question is does Brown have the upside to get a lot better whereas Rachal hasn't ever reached his potential and with his temper and his attitude will he ever?

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Originally Posted by soulman

I question Rachal's attitude when he walks away like that. Yeah he was pissed and maybe he had a right to be but that's NOT something a pro does if he expects to stick around. I'd be surprised if the re-signed him.

And I don't think he was any better than Brown who got off to a shaky start as a rookie playing OG when he was an OT in college but he actually did OK his last couple of games. The real question is does Brown have the upside to get a lot better whereas Rachal hasn't ever reached his potential and with his temper and his attitude will he ever?

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I don't dispute that. All I'm saying is that competition is good and we should be trying to get the best 8 or 9 OLs we can on the final roster. I have high hopes for Brown too and think he was a helluva pickup by emery right after the draft. If Rachal can't earn a roster spot, mentally or physically, then you cut him in PS and nothing much is lost. If he can and does, then you've added a vet OG for depth who's played with some success. Just an idea depending on how many new OL players we add between FA or the draft. If that's just Albert (LT) and Jones (C) for example, we will need some OG options to look at.

I agree. I doubt we make him an offer again. The guy is REAL emotional and I think he was going through some personal stuff also during that time. If a remember the T's were even less than a turnstyle. It was horrible. Rachal was not playing well either (but no where near as bad as the T's) -- but no one on the line played well that game. I think his biggest sin was a holding penalty.

I am not defending him as much as I am saying that the situation was made worse by the actions taken by Tice. Carimi had no leg to stand on (literally) as he was the worst one in the game, so he couldn't complain about being sat. Honestly, in the heat of the moment knowing that Tice is a clown I might have told him to shove it too.

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Originally Posted by soulman

I question Rachal's attitude when he walks away like that. Yeah he was pissed and maybe he had a right to be but that's NOT something a pro does if he expects to stick around. I'd be surprised if the re-signed him.

And I don't think he was any better than Brown who got off to a shaky start as a rookie playing OG when he was an OT in college but he actually did OK his last couple of games. The real question is does Brown have the upside to get a lot better whereas Rachal hasn't ever reached his potential and with his temper and his attitude will he ever?

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