lemonej Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 Aside from the obvious concern over who will be the number one signal caller,I am a bit concerned about the O-line. With my visit to TC yesterday I couldn't help but feel a little concerned about the fact that our pro bowl center and our number one draft pick OT were not in pads even though its early in TC.This not only hurts the lines cohesiveness but also strains the depth with guys taking additional reps in some extremely humid conditions with last night being an exception as the temp seemed to be pretty comfortable once the sun went down. With that being said there were only 5 OTs on the roster to begin TC and now one is down.2 are 9 and 10 year veterans respectively leaving 3 rookies to handle the bulk of the reps during preseason games.As I stated already one of the rookies is down right now so that leaves 2 to take the bulk of the reps.Lets also facter in the fact that Tait will be moving back to the RT position and there will be a new LG this year.This totals 3 new starters on the O-line with two of them standing on the side right now.Of all the new starters on offense this is the group that cannot afford to have a slow start.They will be important to establishing the identity of this offense and will go a long way into determining how successful this team will be. Should I be concerned or am I just a worry wart? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connorbear Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 Aside from the obvious concern over who will be the number one signal caller,I am a bit concerned about the O-line. With my visit to TC yesterday I couldn't help but feel a little concerned about the fact that our pro bowl center and our number one draft pick OT were not in pads even though its early in TC.This not only hurts the lines cohesiveness but also strains the depth with guys taking additional reps in some extremely humid conditions with last night being an exception as the temp seemed to be pretty comfortable once the sun went down. With that being said there were only 5 OTs on the roster to begin TC and now one is down.2 are 9 and 10 year veterans respectively leaving 3 rookies to handle the bulk of the reps during preseason games.As I stated already one of the rookies is down right now so that leaves 2 to take the bulk of the reps.Lets also facter in the fact that Tait will be moving back to the RT position and there will be a new LG this year.This totals 3 new starters on the O-line with two of them standing on the side right now.Of all the new starters on offense this is the group that cannot afford to have a slow start.They will be important to establishing the identity of this offense and will go a long way into determining how successful this team will be. Should I be concerned or am I just a worry wart? I agree with you. I think the beginning of the season will be especially rough until they develop some cohesiveness. Cross your fingers that we don't see any injuries on the o-line when the season starts. Peace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfoligno Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 Yea, I think there is reason to worry. I am not as worried about Kreutz. Old time veteran who doesn't need every second of practice as much as some. And coaches tend to be overly conservative w/ veterans like him. Slight injuries that would not keep them out of games, or even regular season practices, will have them riding a bike on the side during early camp. Williams does worry me. I am not making a big deal about a back spasm, but (a) it was back issues which supposedly was hurting his stock draft day and ( more than any, he needs every second of camp. It was never certain he would start day one, as rookies starting at LT simply is not the norm. But w/ each missed practice, you have to think his chances of starting drop that much more. That means St. Clair starting at LT. How many years since he has lined up there? Had to be in St. Louis, right? Even then, it was not more than a couple games. He is not a very good LT, and I am not sure he would be an upgrade over Tait last year, which was not very good. Worse, while I am not sold on him as an OG, he is likely the best option we have, and if he has to start at LT, that means we drop in talent at OG too. So at OG, we have Metcalf? Yikes! I am not thrilled w/ the idea of a rookie starting at LT next to St. Clair at LG. But St. Clair at LG next to Metcalf? Our QB and RB don't have a chance. Worse is when you consider we are talking starters. Depth? Tait is not spring chicken, and plays next to an OG w/o an ACL. As I believe, so goes the OL, so goes the offense, I would easly say this is my biggest worry. If the OL sucks, the QB, RB and WRs will have no chance. If the OL plays well, that doesn't automatically mean the rest will play well, but it gives them a far better opportunity. If he is healthy, I really hope we sign R. Brown. A good, experienced LG would solve many of our problems IMHO. W/ Brown at LG, I would feel better about the learning curve w/ a rookie LT, or even a veteran like St. Clair who simply isn't a very good LT. Having such crap at LG only piles on our concerns at LT. Add a solid veteran LG, and the issues at LT do not seem to glow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrackerDog Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 My biggest worry is that nfoligno is starting to make sense. Seriously, I'll just second his post. If the line can't protect Gross/ton than we're going to get killed in week one. Anyone happen to notice who will be lining up opposite our LT that week? A demoralizing loss where our QB gets his ass kicked (or injured) that early in the season would be the start of the spiral. #2 is the injury bug biting the defense. If Urlacher and Mike Brown can stay close to 100% all season at their ages and with Brown's history, I'd be pleasantly surprised. If the line gels and we stay reasonably healthy, this team wins 10 games and we're in the playoffs. If not, we lose 10 games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradjock Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 I think we're all unanimous it's the o-line. St. Clair started one game at LT & filled in at least one other time when Tait was injured. I thought he was ok. Not great, but ok. He's someone you can get away with for 2 or 3 starts, but to rely on him for 16 games isn't a great option. I'm not concerned about Kreutz, and IMO, moving Tait to the right side will probably extend his career for two more years. NFO expressed concern about Garza's lack of an ACL, but he's been with the team for 3 years and hasn't missed. He's never going to be a pro-bowler, but Garza's a guy you can live with as long as you surround him with good players, and Kretz & Tait could both make the pro-bowl this year. That basically leaves Metcalf. Has anyone who's watched him ever been impressed with him? I'm ok with the Williams/St. Clair battling for the LT spot, and I'm ok with Metcalf/St. Clair batthling for the LG spot. But it's glaringly obvious we're missing one player. Is what's his name? (the center from Cleveland who had the staff infection) still available? I also would be happy wit bringing R Brown back. He never really liked training camp, & he was just a pro-bowler in 2006. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mongo3451 Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 I think we're all unanimous it's the o-line.Count me in as well. I'm hoping JA has one more trick up his sleave. With Hester signed, there should be intense scrutiny placed on finding an OG or another swing tackle. I'm worried about Williams for two reasons.(Unproven and unestablished durability) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixote Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 Count me in as well. I'm hoping JA has one more trick up his sleave. With Hester signed, there should be intense scrutiny placed on finding an OG or another swing tackle. I'm worried about Williams for two reasons.(Unproven and unestablished durability) I was hoping the same thing, now that we have finished extending 9 veteran contracts, signed 11 draft selections, several undrafted rookies, Booker & LLoyd, we should finally get around to some unfinished business on the OL. We need to bring in at least one serviceable veteran, if not 2, to solidify the OL and provide us some options in case of injury. Our depth on the OL worries me as much as the question marks we have as starters. I honestly believe Angelo will address this issue within the next two week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McGowan Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 My biggest worry is that the offense will struggle to score 10 PPG, and because of this, the defense is on the field 40 minutes every game, and injuries start to pile up on the defensive side, sending us into a downward spiral that leads to a 1-15 record. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChileBear Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 Yea, I think there is reason to worry. Depth? Tait is not spring chicken, and plays next to an OG w/o an ACL. As I believe, so goes the OL, so goes the offense, I would easly say this is my biggest worry. If the OL sucks, the QB, RB and WRs will have no chance. If the OL plays well, that doesn't automatically mean the rest will play well, but it gives them a far better opportunity. Yep. The OL is going to be key. There will be injuries and what is starting off as a haphazard group will be devestated when the injuries occur. JA has got to bring in some help before the season gets underway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradjock Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 I was hoping the same thing, now that we have finished extending 9 veteran contracts, signed 11 draft selections, several undrafted rookies, Booker & LLoyd, we should finally get around to some unfinished business on the OL. We need to bring in at least one serviceable veteran, if not 2, to solidify the OL and provide us some options in case of injury. Our depth on the OL worries me as much as the question marks we have as starters. On July 29th 2007 the Bears traded for Darwin Walker. http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=3631 Heck, that was when Dvoracek was still healthy. We traded for Ogunleye on the eve of our 3rd pre-season game. Granted, these are defense players, but it gives me hope & confidence that we will make an upgrade at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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