Chicago Bears O-Line troubles

[815Sox]

I am a Bears fan but am also a rare rational Bears fan. I am not a homer, and I do not buy into all the old "Monsters of Midway" BS. That was a long time ago, and the team has been up and down since than (mostly down). The news about the Offensive Line is simply not good. The only player of quality is Gabe Carimi. Plays like Webb are routinely getting blown by. It sounds as if the offensive line has gotten worse since last year. One thing to watch out for is if Carimi gets moves to the left side. His talent all comes from the right, and the Bears staff have been stating that he has to stay on the right side. If he does move to the left it is a signal that something is very very wrong.

The other problem is that it appears the Bears are going to try a traditional Martz style again. Lots of passing, very little rushing. Martz has an ego as big as the money. Last year, it took a closed door meeting to get him to start calling for more running plays and short yardage stuff. Jay Cutler has recently said "this team is built to pass", which sends up lots of warning flags. Cutler has a very high chance that he will be hurt this year.

Last year the Bears allowed to most sacks in the league. I think they will be worse. I would take caution betting the team early, because Cutler is going to be running all over the field. You can have all the tools in the world to pass too, but if you are unable to get the pass off that means nothing. The offensive line is full of younger guys and guys that just suck.

The defense should be very good, but I don't think it is enough to overcome the problems on the offensive side. Later in the year, I think the Bears will be figuring some things out so they might become a hot team than.

There is alot of hype about this team and lots of Bears fans. You know that is going to be taken advantage off. They might be a good team to bet against early.

[tad0matic]

I hope cuntler catches a REAL injury this year, and doesn't just limp off the field because he knows the bears suck, and he's the poster child.

[815Sox]

He tore his MCL last year, he couldn't play. He can be a real jerk but I am not faulting him for not playing on that. Could have ended his career.

This does bring up another point about the Bears.. first the team is one of the worst when it comes to hiding injuries. Everyone hides them, they will actively deny them though. Second, the Bears lack depth in some areas (but have great depth in others) so they are a key injury away from having no chance. They are great on special teams and have lots of depth there, however the new kicking rule is going to hurt them. I do hate that new rules though,

[PlatinumBerg]

What do you think the Bears record will be this year? Additionally, I agree that Cutler a useless and overpaid piece of trash.

[Donkwin47]

Couldn't agree more man. All my bets tomorrow will be derived from my belief that the O-line SUCKS. Low scoring for bears, and since their defense is solid, I'm liking the under. Already have Giants in a teaser at +0.5 GL.

[Cougar Bait]

You live in Rockford?

I agree, to a point. Yeah their o-line could be worse than last year but you need to give these guys some time to gel. One thing about lines is they work very much as a unit. You have a guard playing center, a right tackle playing left tackle, and a left tackle playing right tackle. I wouldn't assume a Carimi move to left would be anything but the Bears trying to put him in the spot he has the most experience at. Wouldn't surprise me at all if the line plays poorly to see some changes. That's what these games are for. I do think the Bears are overrated.

[slacker00]

Great thread, 815sox! I appreciate the objectivity, especially dealing with your home team which can be difficult to seperate the sentimentality from the actuality.

What can you tell us about Bear's longtime Center Olin Kreutz leaving Chicago? I read that he turned down more money to leave the Bears after 13 years and go play for the Saints. Depending on how the incentives work out, it sounds like he walked away from at least $1 million. Also, how will this affect the Bears? I see mixed opinions, that he was too old and wasn't as good as his pro bowl days and doesn't fit Martz's system which has more shotgun, which was his weakness. But he was also a fiery locker room leader and team captain, which will be missed on such a young offensive line.

Otherwise, I agree with all of your points, this Bears' season will in large part be affected by how the offensive line performs.

[cant call it]

I also hope that cutler gets replaced. I have an ongoing bet with another poster that says he will not be the starter come week 8

[slacker00]

I also hope that cutler gets replaced. I have an ongoing bet with another poster that says he will not be the starter come week 8

Wow, you're betting on an injury? What were the odds?

Cutler definitely won't be benched for his play by week 8, he's the franchise QB not to mention his most recent track record and performances have been his best since coming to Chicago. His playoff win against Seattle was stellar as well as key late season wins over the Eagles, Jets and several other games. I don't get why people hate on Cutler so much, he has continued to improve throughout his career despite tough circumstances. He's also had some setbacks, but name me one NFL QB who hasn't.

[Jedi Mind Picks]

bears season total........UNDER!!!!!

[Cougar Bait]

I think people in Chicago give Cutler a hard time because of his attitude. He needs to step up and be a leader. And really needs to get rid of that permenant jerkface he walks around with if things don't go his way. Sometimes being a leader is more about how your teammates see you deal with adversity than how you deal with success.

[Pivotpoint]

Offensive line is a weak point, but give them time to gel. It's preseason. All the respect in the world for Kreutz. Guy was a warrior and played hard every snap. Time catches up and NFC North has some massive nose tackles that he struggled with. I don't know the stats, but he had many drive killing holding penalties when beat in pass protection.
Tice is a good line coach and hopefully he can patch this unit up and develop some young guys. No fan of Martz. If the line starts out weak, I can only hope that he doesn't put them in a bad position. You can really slow down the rush with misdirection, traps, counters, draws and a screen or two thrown in.
Forte is a stud and really came back ready to play this season. I've always liked Barber and how he will explode into tacklers. Hope he works out as a strong sub for Forte.
Nice improvement with receiving core. Knox came back stronger and addition of Williams is a positive. Hester continues to improve and is dangerous with a little daylight. Nothing better than receivers fighting for playing time.
Bears Defensive line has potential to be awesome this year. Peppers is a stud. Okoye looks real good and they have tons of depth. Not much needs to be said about Urlacher and Briggs. Defensive secondary can get you a little nervous with that damn cover 2, that I'm not a big fan of. They will need to count on rotation and strong presure of Defensive line and blitzing linebackers to cover some soft spots in secondary. Major Wright has some nice potential and loves to hit. Wright and Harris will be looking to punish receivers, but are vulnerable if the qb has time. Looking forward to the exhibition tonight and hope to see some improvement on the "O" line.

[bigsmitty]

I personally think Cutler is still having nightmares from the last time these two teams met up. NYG -4.5 gets my vote tonight. Cheers