Brad Biggs: "Bears position analysis: Offensive line"

**JustAnotherBearsFan99** · 02-14-2013, 09:54 AM

Here it is.

LINK to the article

By Brad Biggs, Tribune reporter8:43 a.m. CST, February 14, 2013

When Phil Emery entered the Halas Hall auditorium the day after firing Lovie Smith last month, the Chicago Bears general manager was prepared to cover a wide range of topics.

Emery was ready to talk about the decision to release Smith after working with him for one season. He outlined what he was seeking in a new coach and in very general terms how the search would be launched. He was also ready to cover what he did and didn’t do in outfitting the offensive line for the 2012 season – in detail.

Asked about the play of the line in a 10-6 season, Emery took more than 10 minutes and 1,400 words responding to a single question. At times it was insightful as he explained how he used data from outside sources like Stats LLC and Pro Football Focus. He finds third-party evaluations of pass blocking somewhat useful but said run blocking is more abstract. It was telling, honest and unvarnished. At times he came across somewhat defensive but he was thorough – very thorough.

Emery made what many believe was the right move when he took over – prioritizing playmakers over all else. He thoroughly explained the decision process that led to a trade for Brandon Marshall and the use of a second-round draft pick on wide receiver Alshon Jeffery instead of selecting what would have been a developmental offensive lineman.

In the process of explaining the move, Emery noted that their was a dearth of "franchise" left tackles in the free-agent market. The market is different this year with as many as seven starting left tackles coming out of contract around the league. Add a solid mix of offensive linemen in the 2013 draft into the equation and the Bears will have options when prioritizing a personnel plan for the offseason.

Roll call: Cory Brandon (signed through 2013), James Brown (signed through 2014), Gabe Carimi (signed through 2014), Roberto Garza (signed through 2013), Lance Louis (unrestricted free agent), Chilo Rachal (unrestricted free agent), Jonathan Scott (unrestricted free agent), Chris Spencer (unrestricted free agent), J’Marcus Webb (signed through 2013), Edwin Williams (signed through 2013)

2012 season review: It's clear the Bears can't continue to hold the play-caller responsible for the performance of the line. From Ron Turner to Mike Martz and then Mike Tice, the idea has been that the players would be made better by the scheme. It’s time to consider the personnel over the scheme. The Bears have replaced the play-caller again and it’s easier to replace one man than five on an offensive line, but more change is likely coming.

How did the Bears rank? They were 25th in sacks allowed with 44, a category that isn’t solely on the offensive line. There were clearly times when quarterback Jay Cutler, intent on making a play downfield, held the ball too long. In those instances, blame can also go to wide receivers for not springing open. The offense finished 10th in rushing with 1,970 yards, just shy of a second 2,000-yard season under Tice. The Bears averaged 4.2 yards per carry, tied for 14th.

In citing data from Stats LLC, Emery said the Bears finished 26th in pass blocking, taking into account sacks, hits and hurries.

“We finished 26th, which tells we’ve got to get better,” Emery said. “We’ve got to get better. How does that impact winning? Our disruption pressures were like 33 percent range in terms of for every pass play. The six teams below, three of them were in the playoffs, three weren’t. The team at 25th, that was within .10 difference was the San Francisco 49ers, one of the best teams in the league. So I cannot absolutely say that it’s on the offensive line that’s going to determine our success or not.

“The O-line has got to get better, we’ve got to push that level up. We can’t be in the back end of the 20s or in the 20s if we are going to be a championship-contending team on a consistent basis. I still think it comes down to how many playmakers do you have as opposed to the team you’re playing. And are they making plays that are game-changing in the moment of truth?”

Pro Football Focus ranked the linemen, a subjective process as we have outlined in other position reviews. Webb ranked 47th out of 80 graded offensive tackles – 42nd as a pass blocker. Carimi, who spent some time at guard, was 73rd among tackles. But he was ninth among all tackles as a run blocker, proof of a strength identified when Carimi was drafted in the first round in 2011. Louis ranked 47th among 81 guards. He was 17th in pass blocking, the metrics that Emery puts more weight in. The Bears didn’t run the ball particularly well up the middle. Louis was 76th. Center Roberto Garza was 30th but 19th as a pass blocker, in the middle of the pack. Spencer (50th overall) graded much better than Rachal (76th).

It’s worth remembering that Emery thought Scott did a solid job in the second half of the season playing right tackle.

Free agency/draft priority: One club source said in the final weeks of the season and in the aftermath of the firing of Lovie Smith that there was talk of pursuing Denver’s Ryan Clady and Miami’s Jake Long, two players coming out of contract. It is strongly believed the Broncos will place the franchise tag on Clady and Long has an injury history in recent years and pay demands that might put him out of the Bears’ reach. One way or another, the club has to settle the left tackle position. Webb has spent the last two seasons at the position and it’s difficult to imagine new offensive coordinator/line coach Aaron Kromer views him as a longterm solution at the position. If the Bears can find an upgrade – via free agency or the draft – they can move Webb to right tackle and allow him to compete with Carimi. The Bears counted on Carimi bouncing back from a serious knee injury in 2012 and he didn’t return to the level he was at as a rookie. He spent an entire offseason working on his knee. They can’t put as much faith in Carimi this time around, but it’s fair to imagine that with an entire offseason ahead of him, there is room for considerable growth. Carimi is a dedicated worker and this year he will be able to work on improving his frame. Tice thought he played too light this past season. Carimi will be able to get stronger and he could return to form. Webb could push him and be a swing tackle. Scott could also play a role if the Bears decide to bring him back. If Scott is re-signed, expect the club to draft a lineman and perhaps not make a big play at the position in free agency.

A decision needs to be made on the interior as well. Louis is rehabilitating a torn ACL and should be ready to go sometime around training camp. He is coming out of contract and the club needs to find a guard if he isn’t brought back. Louis will command attention from other teams if he reaches the open market. Brown showed promise at the end of the year and he could figure into the mix for 2013 and beyond. Carimi also got a little work at guard and that’s not outside the realm of possibilities. Garza is entering the final year of his contract and drafting a player to groom behind Garza for a season would make sense.

Change in coaching staff means: Kromer’s bread and butter in New Orleans was a zone blocking scheme but he also used plenty of iso and power. He came with strong recommendations from Saints players.

“He coached guys on an individual level to your strengths, and that is a good way to go about it because guys are different," New Orleans center Brian De La Puente said. "Jahri (Evans) and Ben (Grubbs) are different players than I am. He knew that and he coached to our strengths. That is something he is going to bring to the Bears — individualized coaching and really maximizing each player.”

A new staff is going to want some personnel changes and that is what will make the next two months interesting.

Bottom line: As Emery said, the Bears have to get better. But his focus begins with playmakers and that is something his predecessor Jerry Angelo never adequately addressed. Look for Emery to strike a balance this offseason with some moves up front for the line, which has been solid run blocking the last two seasons.

Ninth in a 10-part series. Coming Friday: Special teams

bmbiggs@tribune.com

**JustAnotherBearsFan99** · 02-14-2013, 10:16 AM

2012 season review:

It's clear the Bears can't continue to hold the play-caller responsible for the performance of the line. From Ron Turner to Mike Martz and then Mike Tice, the idea has been that the players would be made better by the scheme. It’s time to consider the personnel over the scheme.

Biggs "gets it"...

I realize some folks here, still believe we're "chicken littles" if we want the Chicago Bears to finally address the oline woes - by getting rock solid player talent. But call me "chicken little" all you want. I'm 100% convinced we will never be an elite team until we have a solid oline with decent talent.

This isn't rocket science. It's "football 101" in the NFL.

**omc1969** · 02-14-2013, 10:44 AM

Originally Posted by JustAnotherBearsFan99

Biggs "gets it"...

I realize some folks here, still believe we're "chicken littles" if we want the Chicago Bears to finally address the oline woes - by getting rock solid player talent. But call me "chicken little" all you want. I'm 100% convinced we will never be an elite team until we have a solid oline with decent talent.

This isn't rocket science. It's "football 101" in the NFL.

The only thing I don't agree with is his statement that the blocking in the run game was good. It was NOT good either. As for the rest
of the article ....... Pretty much what we all know anyway. Like you said ......... "Football 101".

**JustAnotherBearsFan99** · 02-14-2013, 10:50 AM

Originally Posted by omc1969

The only thing I don't agree with is his statement that the blocking in the run game was good. It was NOT good either. As for the rest
of the article ....... Pretty much what we all know anyway. Like you said ......... "Football 101".

That statement caught my eye too. Here's what I thought I saw in our games this year. It looked to me like our running was not consistently good between the tackles. The line just didn't open up much to run through there. The oline was a total failure in run blocking effectively in short yardage situations (3rd and a yard or less, and at the goal line with a foot or two). In those situations the Bears simply got pushed back, time and time again. I hated it.

But Forte seemed to break some nice runs around the edges. I suspect those runs helped the run-stats, and that's why the run blocking was rated (I think 16th). But I did think the run blocking wasn't so hot. When we had to run, we couldn't impose our will on defenses. We got stuffed.

**omc1969** · 02-14-2013, 10:56 AM

Originally Posted by JustAnotherBearsFan99

That statement caught my eye too. Here's what I thought I saw in our games this year. It looked to me like our running was not consistently good between the tackles. The line just didn't open up much to run through there. The oline was a total failure in run blocking effectively in short yardage situations (3rd and a yard or less, and at the goal line with a foot or two). In those situations the Bears simply got pushed back, time and time again. I hated it.

But Forte seemed to break some nice runs around the edges. I suspect those runs helped the run-stats, and that's why the run blocking was rated (I think 16th). But I did think the run blocking wasn't so hot. When we had to run, we couldn't impose our will on defenses. We got stuffed.

Especially Garza. He was simply horrible at run blocking.

**JustAnotherBearsFan99** · 02-14-2013, 11:16 AM

Originally Posted by omc1969

Especially Garza. He was simply horrible at run blocking.

That was so sickening to watch. He just got manhandled. The interior of our line also allowed the pocket to collapse on passing situations. There was no pocket for Cutler to step up into. Consequently he was throwing on the run. People rant about his poor form, but often he was running for his life out there.

Louis showed some promise at RT. Who knows what we'll have in him when he tries to return from this injury. Hopefully he'll still be solid, but that's not a given. Certainly he will not be in top shape if he can't attend training camp, and just tries to "pull an Urlacher" and play his way into shape during the regular season.

Other than Louis, I'm not impressed by any of the remaining interior linemen on our roster. I'm not saying they're all bums. But they don't look like they can step up and give us the starting interior line that we truly need.

If we had 3 stellar interior linemen, the we'd see a much more powerful offense. Cutler could step up in the pocket and I think you'd see him utilize more than that hail mary pass to Brandon Marshall. The passing game would be taken to another level. And we'd convert SO many more 3rd downs. Move the chains, win the time of possession war, punch in touchdowns on goal line situations. It would be beautiful.

But it will take a SERIOUS upgrade in talent. There's no pixie dust here. No free lunch. The Bears have to invest in rock solid players to have this kind of offense. It starts up front with the big boys.

**short faced bear** · 02-14-2013, 11:54 AM

Ranking #25 was a gift. Should have been at bottom but a soft first half of schedule helped that. I'm sick of seeing a lack of a goal line punch. Tougher schedule next year and I think Emery will get some bodies. Otherwise it's the same old same ol.

**soulman** · 02-14-2013, 01:52 PM

Originally Posted by omc1969

The only thing I don't agree with is his statement that the blocking in the run game was good. It was NOT good either. As for the rest
of the article ....... Pretty much what we all know anyway. Like you said ......... "Football 101".

The running game was actually better under Martz who's not known as a "run the ball down their throat" OC at all. Forte averaged a full half yard less per carry, broke far fewer longer runs, and was bottle up at the LOS or in the backfield more often. In this regard I do blame the scheme because it was the wrong one for the type of OL we had and for Forte who is a cutback style runner.

The OL play DID regress under Tice which is surprising since he was supposed to be a know-it-all OL coach. If he was that bright why did the line play end up worse in 2012? I don't disagree with the idea that we need to upgrade talent but the talent that exists isn't as bad at it sometimes seems. There's probably nothing more difficult to analyze statistically than OLineman and OL play. In this case the numbers don't tell the whole story. Only the film evaluations will.

Maybe the most appropriate word here in not "patience" but "relax". Trestman just hired one of the best OL coaches in the NFL as his OC/Run Game Specialist/Line Coach. I'm more than willing to let him figure out who goes, who stays, and who he needs for replacements. The guy turned a bunch of mid round picks, a 7th round pick, and an UDFA into a very good line in NOLA. I think he knows what he's doing much better than Tice ever did. How Tice ever got to be so well thought of is beyond me. The guy really doesn't know offensive football at all and it showed. His stint here as OC could be a "career killer".

Ya' gotta think that the first two things Emery and the coaching staff are looking at are how to fix Cutler's issue and how to rebuild that OLine. That's where the biggest improvements have to be made in order for the offense to work efficiently. It's great to discuss our ideas and theories about it all but the reality of it is that we aren't gonna see five new faces on that line this year. I think two is most likely but even one is possible. We do have time and money invested in a few of those guys and at the very least I think Kromer is gonna be expected to see what he can get out of them once he takes over. Right now all they have to go by is game film.

Overall the line play wasn't the worst in the NFL but there's no question that it needs to be greatly improved and Emery has said that. If we've learned anything about that man so far is that when he sees a problem he moves to correct it immediately. If he can get a better LT in FA he's gonna get one. If a good 2013 starter is on the board at #20 he's gonna draft him. If he can add second tier developmental talent anywhere along that line he gonna sign them and give Kromer better talent to work with.

It does take time to build a good OL but I still think we're closer to it than many others do. There are guys on this team who can play but almost all of them need to coached to play the correct way and that's where Kromer comes in. I don't believe it's "fairy dust" either. Tice always "talked" a good game but failed to deliver. Kromer isn't about talking he's about "doing" and in NOLA he did it.

So RELAX!

**JustAnotherBearsFan99** · 02-14-2013, 05:23 PM

It will add so much to our offense if we can have the blocking to convert those short yardage plays consistently. That's what I'm hoping we see this year. Not just pass protection improvement, but a OL that can impose its will on defenses to gain those 3rd and shorts, and goal line situations where we need a foot or two to punch the ball into the end zone.

**soulman** · 02-14-2013, 11:07 PM

Originally Posted by JustAnotherBearsFan99

It will add so much to our offense if we can have the blocking to convert those short yardage plays consistently. That's what I'm hoping we see this year. Not just pass protection improvement, but a OL that can impose its will on defenses to gain those 3rd and shorts, and goal line situations where we need a foot or two to punch the ball into the end zone.

We weren't doing to bad with that until Bush got hurt. The guy scored 5 tds from inside the 5 yard line on less than half the carries Forte had. He did pretty damn good on 3rd and one carries too. I don't remember his failing many and few he broke for some longer gains.

Where we fail on those short yardage plays more often than not is that Forter isn't a good short yardage back and he never has been which is why Emery signed Bush in the first place. Maybe Kromer will have the common sense not to keep using Forte is those situations. We can only hope.

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