Bears Presason Week 1 Buffalo @ Chicago 8/13 7pm CST

[Careless]

First Impressions - Bills @ Bears

 

I know it’s far too early to say this but I do have concerns that Chicago over-performed last year and could be in line for a hard season. I was disappointed that (Carimi aside) they didn’t address the o-line and I’m not sure one rookie can turn around the worst group we’ve seen in three years of grading.

 

It's true.

But hey, they got to play the worst team in the history of the playoffs in Chicago, so they can point to their playoff win last season

[BigSlick]

I'm still flabbergasted that the team can have so much cap room and Angelo basically completely neglects the offensive line.

 

Is it pride? You can't watch last night's game and believe that that can work.

[Guest]

Watching the NFL Network replay on DVR now. First drive and this o-line is just ugly. Carimi looked nice but both guards and Webb were brutal on the first drive. Didn't really notice Garza which is probably a good thing.

[Guest]

Major Wright looks really active. Stay healthy.

 

Second drive: First sack by Hanie was all on Webb. He can't handle Merriman. Just move Carimi over already. On the 3rd down sack, it's Louis. Webb passes off Merriman to Louis who totally whiffed. The PBP says it's a coverage sack but I disagree.

[Guest]

Well, the Bears OL is decent against the Bills' second team defensive line.

 

I don't think Webb and Williams should be starting period.

[rawaction]

Well, the Bears OL is decent against the Bills' second team defensive line.

 

I don't think Webb and Williams should be starting period.

 

Williams was fine in the game. I didn't see him make any terrible mistakes. He got out on the 2nd level in the run game also. Garza was the one who whiffed on Merriman when he stunted inside from Webb. Louis was terrible. On the Webb holding play, Louis gave up pressure right up the middle and Cutler couldn't step up. He also gave up 2 sacks on Hanie.

[Banedon]

First Impressions - Bills @ Bears

 

Does that site pay you to advertise for them? ;)

[Banedon]

They've only had 2 weeks of practice so far guys, and only one player on the line is starting at the same position they did last year. I don't think they're very good at the moment, but I do think (hope) they'll improve.

[Guest]

The line wasn't as horrible as it was originally portrayed in this thread. Chester Taylor has to be feeling quite a bit of pressure after good games by Barber and Bell. The safety play was very good. Wright showed some really good bursting speed to get to the ball. Special teams was wonderful. It was really good to see Cutler comfortable enough to take off and make sharp cuts when the line broke down.

 

Some memorable things from the game, but the highlight for me was Okoye and Melton making statements on the D line. With the quickness that Melton showed even with the amount of pounds he added this offseason, a front four of Izzy, Melton, Akoye and Peppers could be pretty exciting this year.

 

I loved how the cameraman clearly had a mancrush with Akoye's arms.

[jersey cubs fan]

The line wasn't as horrible as it was originally portrayed in this thread.

 

Weren't there 9 sacks?

[Banedon]

The line wasn't as horrible as it was originally portrayed in this thread.

 

Weren't there 9 sacks?

 

I think it was 4 (5?) allowed by the starting OL, and 2 of those were arguably Hanie holding onto the ball too long. Also they didn't do any chip blocking with the TE or RB. They did run block pretty darn well...obviously pass protection is a work in progress, to say the least.

[jersey cubs fan]

From KSK:

 

Factoid of the Week That May Interest Only Me

 

Passcode for the wireless network at Bears training camp in Bourbonnais, Ill.: Sweetness34

Yep, that’s Peter compromising the entire wireless network of a major North American sports franchise. So cute! By the way, the passcode for Peter’s NetGear router is FallFoliageville2011

[UMFan83]

The line wasn't as horrible as it was originally portrayed in this thread.

 

Weren't there 9 sacks?

 

I think it was 4 (5?) allowed by the starting OL, and 2 of those were arguably Hanie holding onto the ball too long. Also they didn't do any chip blocking with the TE or RB. They did run block pretty darn well...obviously pass protection is a work in progress, to say the least.

 

I mean they cleaned it up a bit by the 3rd possession, but the 1st two offensive possessions were about the worst you could possibly see an o-line play. It would have been more effective if there was no o-line and the defense had to count three mississippi's before rushing. Off the top of my head, this was the first 2 possessions

 

1st possession:

-End around to Hester for 2 yards

-Drop back to pass, coverage collapses within 2 seconds causing Cutler out of the pocket where he underhands a pass to Forte for no gain.

-Drop back to pass, again the pocket collapses quickly, causing Cutler to scramble for a first down.

-Handoff to Taylor for 1-2 yard gain

-Handoff to Taylor for 1-2 yard gain

-Drop back to pass, rusher immediately blows by Louis, while another rusher has to be noticably held by Webb to not get to Cutler. End result is both a sack and a holding penalty on Webb.

 

2nd possession:

-1 yard loss by Taylor

-Hanie sacked

-Hanie sacked

 

Yes Hanie held onto the ball too long but at the same time, the blocking broke down rather quickly in both cases. It took until the third possession, and the 6th drop back to pass before the Bears were able to successfully get off a pass beyond the LOS.

 

I've give them credit for picking it up in that 3rd possession which led to a few nice runs, and allowed Hanie some time to drop back. And its no doubt with 4/5th of the line being either new players or a new position for returning players, with 2 weeks of practice, it wasn't expected to be perfect, but I don't think I can excuse that bad of a performance. It looks really bad considering 4/5ths of that line is returning from a o-line that was almost historically bad last year. People all wanted to see some money spent in upgrading that line, and it was ignored despite still having plenty of money to spend. So the last thing people wanted to see was that type of performance.

 

The other thing that bothers me is that they've done all this stuff to implement the Martz offense, including trading Olsen and going with blocking TEs, but they don't seem to want to adjust for one of the most important part of the Martz offense, which is allowing the QB to consistently use a 5 step drop. If we're forced to limit Cutler to a 3 step drop, then it's not the Martz offense, its some modified hybrid that may or may not have the same effectiveness as the offense he ran in St. Louis.

[Banedon]

You can't excuse a line with only one guy in the same position as last year, with no offseason and 2 weeks of practice struggling in the first 2 possessions of a preseason game? I mean, I want them to do better too, but you're pretty demanding.

[jersey cubs fan]

You can't excuse a line with only one guy in the same position as last year, with no offseason and 2 weeks of practice struggling in the first 2 possessions of a preseason game? I mean, I want them to do better too, but you're pretty demanding.

 

All those issues are simply built in excuses for playing poorly based on how poorly they put the line together. No, you can't excuse it. The line playing poorly should not be acceptable even if it is inevitable.

[Guest]

This same offensive line gave the offense somewhere in the vicinity of 150 yards rushing between Cutler, Barber, Bell and Unga. While the pass defense was not where it needs to be, I thought they did a great job on run blocking. Cutler's probably shouldn't count since his came from having to scramble in the first place. but the backs feasted on lead blocking and big holes. One of the sacks was actually just a one yard loss as the QB took off and got tackled just a yard from scrimmage.

[UMFan83]

You can't excuse a line with only one guy in the same position as last year, with no offseason and 2 weeks of practice struggling in the first 2 possessions of a preseason game? I mean, I want them to do better too, but you're pretty demanding.

 

That wasn't struggling, that was flat out embarrassing. As I said, struggling is ok and understandable, and who knows ultimately it might just be some preseason footnote on the way to a much improved season.

 

Most of the angst is that I like many Bears fans desperately wanted to see upgrades on the line, and while Carimi was a nice pick, I'm dumbfounded why we have money just sitting there waiting to be spent, while we try to create a line where you are starting a 7th round 2nd year player who was really bad at times last year at the most important line position, a 2nd year 5th round pick that only played 2-3 games last year, a Center who has played almost his entire career at guard, a rookie 1st rounder, and a 4th year 1st round pick that is only mediocre to poor season away from unanimously being declared a bust. So while I was holding out hope that this crazy plan to have Mike Tice magically assemble a passable line out of mostly scraps, I wasn't exactly expecting it.

 

Yeah I'm probably putting too much emphasis on 2 measily preseason possessions, but man did that not look like a flashback to last year's O-line? It's not like I have any sort of past performances to look back on to reassure me that the line will be anything but awful. I mean I guess I could believe in Mike Tice or something. But maybe I'm wrong but I don't seem to remember him taking marginal talent and turing them into a cohesive line in his previous stops. I don't know why all the sudden Angelo is giving him very few of his plentily available resources and asking him to do just that.

Edited August 15, 2011 by UMFan83

[Banedon]

You can't excuse a line with only one guy in the same position as last year, with no offseason and 2 weeks of practice struggling in the first 2 possessions of a preseason game? I mean, I want them to do better too, but you're pretty demanding.

 

All those issues are simply built in excuses for playing poorly based on how poorly they put the line together. No, you can't excuse it. The line playing poorly should not be acceptable even if it is inevitable.

 

It's the first preseason game, they weren't giving additional help to the line...they were trying to see where their guys were at. I understand that frustration at the OL. There's a lot of at best questionable players on that line. But I just can't condemn them based on the first preseason game. I'm sure I'll join the chorus beating them up later on, but I'm not gonna [expletive] on them just yet.

[UMFan83]

This same offensive line gave the offense somewhere in the vicinity of 150 yards rushing between Cutler, Barber, Bell and Unga. While the pass defense was not where it needs to be, I thought they did a great job on run blocking. Cutler's probably shouldn't count since his came from having to scramble in the first place. but the backs feasted on lead blocking and big holes. One of the sacks was actually just a one yard loss as the QB took off and got tackled just a yard from scrimmage.

 

Again, they picked it up a bit after first 2 possessions (strangely enough, right when the bills started taking our their starting defense....), but in the first 2 possessions with the first team D out there, you got about 5 yards on 4 carries, if you include the Hester end around, and not the Cutler scramble.

[Guest]

Sure, the OL was better on the 3rd drive and on but Buffalo's starters were out by then.

[UMFan83]

Sure, the OL was better on the 3rd drive and on but Buffalo's starters were out by then.

 

Exactly. And while the run blocking did a lot better, how many extra yards did Barber earn from breaking tackles on his rushes? He did a really really good job of that. That said, the run blocking did a good job of opening up enough of a hole to get up to speed to make those moves possible.

[jersey cubs fan]

You can't excuse a line with only one guy in the same position as last year, with no offseason and 2 weeks of practice struggling in the first 2 possessions of a preseason game? I mean, I want them to do better too, but you're pretty demanding.

 

All those issues are simply built in excuses for playing poorly based on how poorly they put the line together. No, you can't excuse it. The line playing poorly should not be acceptable even if it is inevitable.

 

It's the first preseason game, they weren't giving additional help to the line...they were trying to see where their guys were at. I understand that frustration at the OL. There's a lot of at best questionable players on that line. But I just can't condemn them based on the first preseason game. I'm sure I'll join the chorus beating them up later on, but I'm not gonna [expletive] on them just yet.

 

I'm condemning them based on several seasons in a row of poor play, a horrible 2010 when they nearly got Cutler killed, an offseason where they essentially ignored the problem, and yet another game where they played poorly. You are acting as though that showing was the first we've seen of the line and therefore cannot judge.

[Banedon]

The Bears intended to have less money left. They came up short in their pursuit of offensive tackle

Willie Colon from the Pittsburgh Steelers, but Angelo insisted the Bears are pleased with the offensive linemen they have on their roster. He did hedge just a bit, though.

 

Asked whether the Bears are done addressing that unit, Angelo said, ‘‘We would revisit it if we don’t like what we see.’’

 

‘‘At some point, you have to let these young guys develop,’’ Angelo said. ‘‘You bring in [a veteran], and he takes reps away from Lance Louis. So you know what? This young guy is on the shelf again. At some point, you have to believe in his traits, and then you have to let it play itself out.

 

‘‘You can’t just continue to grab Band-Aids because the guys you have are unknown.’’

[UMFan83]

The Bears intended to have less money left. They came up short in their pursuit of offensive tackle

Willie Colon from the Pittsburgh Steelers, but Angelo insisted the Bears are pleased with the offensive linemen they have on their roster. He did hedge just a bit, though.

 

Asked whether the Bears are done addressing that unit, Angelo said, ‘‘We would revisit it if we don’t like what we see.’’

 

‘‘At some point, you have to let these young guys develop,’’ Angelo said. ‘‘You bring in [a veteran], and he takes reps away from Lance Louis. So you know what? This young guy is on the shelf again. At some point, you have to believe in his traits, and then you have to let it play itself out.

 

‘‘You can’t just continue to grab Band-Aids because the guys you have are unknown.’’

 

Yeah you can afford to let 1-2 players at a time on your line develop. What the Bears are trying to do is develop 4/5ths of their offensive line, 2 of them being late round picks noted for their rawness when drafted. And the 5th guy is mediocre and playing out of position.

[Banedon]

http://www.csnchicago.com/08/14/11/Moon-Changes-in-order-for-the-O-line-/landing_moon_v3.html?blockID=548962&feedID=9399

 

A bit of O-line analysis from Moon Mullin, and what O-line changes could take place.