Frank Omiyale

[Wesson44]

Frank Omiyale with first team at left guard

By Vaughn McClure

 

As the Bears get deeper into team drills, the first team offensive line has Frank Omiyale at left guard alongside left tackle Orlando Pace. Josh Beekman, last year's starter at left tackle, is working behind Olin Kreutz at center

[azbearsfan]

Frank Omiyale with first team at left guard

By Vaughn McClure

 

As the Bears get deeper into team drills, the first team offensive line has Frank Omiyale at left guard alongside left tackle Orlando Pace. Josh Beekman, last year's starter at left tackle, is working behind Olin Kreutz at center

 

 

Kind of what we expected.

 

I would look for Beekman to replace Kruetz in the coming years.

[AZ54]

That didn't take long at all.

[defiantgiant]

Omiyale's being paid like a starter - there was no doubt in my mind that they'd work him into the 1st team lineup pretty quick. After all, he needs to get acclimated to his new linemates and all that before the season starts.

[nfoligno]

I think Beekman starting in the initial OTA was basically a show of respect for what he did last year.

 

That didn't take long at all.

[defiantgiant]

I think Beekman starting in the initial OTA was basically a show of respect for what he did last year.

 

Well, and the Bears have been making just about every FA acquisition start out with the second-team, except for obvious cornerstones like Cutler. Tinoisamoa and Bullocks are both running with the second team, but both should have every opportunity to beat the incumbents (Nick Roach and Kevin Payne, respectively) - Omiyale was the same. He started out on the second team, but it was clear that he was brought in because they thought he could start.

[ChileBear]

Frank Omiyale with first team at left guard

By Vaughn McClure

 

As the Bears get deeper into team drills, the first team offensive line has Frank Omiyale at left guard alongside left tackle Orlando Pace. Josh Beekman, last year's starter at left tackle, is working behind Olin Kreutz at center

Not surprised. And ain't it nice to have some depth on the OL?

[defiantgiant]

Not surprised. And ain't it nice to have some depth on the OL?

 

Depth and versatility. We've got four guys who can play left tackle now and four others who can play any of the three interior line positions (Kreutz, Beekman, Buenning, and Garza can all play center.) If a guy goes down, we have a ton of flexibility as to who replaces him.

[nfoligno]

I understand what you are saying. My point is that LG was never a position up for competition. It was Omiyale's job, plain and simple. Beekman getting the early look was little more than a show of respect to their returning players.

 

Bullock isn't a great example, IMHO. He will be in a very legit battle for the job. It is very conceivable that he could be a backup this year and not a starter.

 

Tino situation I think will be very similar. He may not be listed as the starter immediately, but by the next OTA, I bet he will be.

 

Well, and the Bears have been making just about every FA acquisition start out with the second-team, except for obvious cornerstones like Cutler. Tinoisamoa and Bullocks are both running with the second team, but both should have every opportunity to beat the incumbents (Nick Roach and Kevin Payne, respectively) - Omiyale was the same. He started out on the second team, but it was clear that he was brought in because they thought he could start.

[defiantgiant]

I understand what you are saying. My point is that LG was never a position up for competition. It was Omiyale's job, plain and simple. Beekman getting the early look was little more than a show of respect to their returning players.

 

Bullock isn't a great example, IMHO. He will be in a very legit battle for the job. It is very conceivable that he could be a backup this year and not a starter.

 

Tino situation I think will be very similar. He may not be listed as the starter immediately, but by the next OTA, I bet he will be.

 

Yeah, you're right, Bullocks is different. He could very well end up a backup. Tinoisamoa should be starting soon, although I'm a little worried about his weight. He reported to the Bears at 225, and he said he feels comfortable at that weight. I just don't know how a guy who's a biscuit bigger than a safety is going to man the strong side successfully. He's giving up 40 pounds to a tight end, to say nothing of a right tackle like Loadholt, who has nearly 120 pounds on him.

[nfoligno]

Well, that sort of gets into our entire scheme, doesn't it.

 

Our starting DTs are 260 lbs, and give up 50-75lbs against most OTs, and more against the big boys.

 

In our scheme, it is about speed over power. Our DEs (in theory) beat a far bigger OTs w/ quickness and speed. Even on run downs, our DEs are expected to use quickness to get into gaps and use leverage before an OT can get into position.

 

Not that different w/ our LBs. You have a 270 lb TE coming at you, you are not going to try to simply out-muscle him. You are going to try to use quickness to avoid him getting into position to get a clean block. Or you are going to use your size against him w/ leverage.

 

Heck, it isn't like he is replacing big LBs. Roach lists at 234lbs and Hunter 238. That is a bit more than Tino, but not that much.

 

As for Tino going against Loadholt, and giving up 120 (or more) pounds, would Tino weighing 10-15lbs more make a difference? Does it matter if you are giving up 100lbs or 120lbs?

 

Personally, I would expect the staff to try and get his weight up about 10lbs into the mid 230s. That would put him in the same range as our prior SLBs. Adding 10lbs isn't that difficult, and should not affect his speed much.

 

Yeah, you're right, Bullocks is different. He could very well end up a backup. Tinoisamoa should be starting soon, although I'm a little worried about his weight. He reported to the Bears at 225, and he said he feels comfortable at that weight. I just don't know how a guy who's a biscuit bigger than a safety is going to man the strong side successfully. He's giving up 40 pounds to a tight end, to say nothing of a right tackle like Loadholt, who has nearly 120 pounds on him.

[defiantgiant]

I won't have any concerns if Tinoisamoa adds 10 or 15 pounds, the thing that concerns me is that he said he was comfortable at his current weight. If he stays at 225, I just don't know how he can succeed on the strong side. It's one thing for the SLB to be able to shed a TE who's trying to block him - Pisa could maybe get that done with quickness and technique. But the bulk of his job, especially in the Tampa 2, is going to be coverage and run support, not blitzing. What I'm worried about is whether he can cover and tackle a tight end effectively when he's that small, not to mention whether he can bring down a power running back like Michael Turner, Beanie Wells, or Steven Jackson. He'll see all three of them this season.

 

For reference, look at Pisa standing next to Urlacher and Briggs - he's clearly a LOT smaller than they are. By contrast, look at Hillenmeyer next to those two: Hunter's close to Urlacher's size. Pisa's got much better range than Hillenmeyer, but I worry that there could be a dropoff in effective TE coverage and run support due to his lack of size.

[nfoligno]

Now this I mostly agree w/. I had questions over the stated concern of his size being a factor when looking at OL and TEs that would try to block him. You talked about Loadholt, and 100+ difference in weight. My point was, his adding 10 lbs is not really going to make a difference. Similar w/ regard to TEs. I am not sure his weighing 235 v 225 is that huge when you have a 270lb TE bearing down on you.

 

On the other hand, I do agree the weight becomes a bit of a factor when trying to bring down the ball carrier, whether that be a TE or a RB. While many blocking TEs are in the 270 range, most pass catching TEs are no where near that. At 235, he would be nearly as heavy as most pass catching TEs, and heavier than most RBs. At 225, not only is he giving up weight to TEs, but many RBs are also bigger than that.

 

I know what he said, but I have a feeling he will not be starting at 225. I honestly think the staff will get him to elevate his weight some. Don't expect much, as both Roach and Hunter were in the mid 230s, but I do think Tino will be above 230 by the time the season begins.

 

 

I won't have any concerns if Tinoisamoa adds 10 or 15 pounds, the thing that concerns me is that he said he was comfortable at his current weight. If he stays at 225, I just don't know how he can succeed on the strong side. It's one thing for the SLB to be able to shed a TE who's trying to block him - Pisa could maybe get that done with quickness and technique. But the bulk of his job, especially in the Tampa 2, is going to be coverage and run support, not blitzing. What I'm worried about is whether he can cover and tackle a tight end effectively when he's that small, not to mention whether he can bring down a power running back like Michael Turner, Beanie Wells, or Steven Jackson. He'll see all three of them this season.

 

For reference, look at Pisa standing next to Urlacher and Briggs - he's clearly a LOT smaller than they are. By contrast, look at Hillenmeyer next to those two: Hunter's close to Urlacher's size. Pisa's got much better range than Hillenmeyer, but I worry that there could be a dropoff in effective TE coverage and run support due to his lack of size.

[Wesson44]

I won't have any concerns if Tinoisamoa adds 10 or 15 pounds, the thing that concerns me is that he said he was comfortable at his current weight. If he stays at 225, I just don't know how he can succeed on the strong side. It's one thing for the SLB to be able to shed a TE who's trying to block him - Pisa could maybe get that done with quickness and technique. But the bulk of his job, especially in the Tampa 2, is going to be coverage and run support, not blitzing. What I'm worried about is whether he can cover and tackle a tight end effectively when he's that small, not to mention whether he can bring down a power running back like Michael Turner, Beanie Wells, or Steven Jackson. He'll see all three of them this season.

 

For reference, look at Pisa standing next to Urlacher and Briggs - he's clearly a LOT smaller than they are. By contrast, look at Hillenmeyer next to those two: Hunter's close to Urlacher's size. Pisa's got much better range than Hillenmeyer, but I worry that there could be a dropoff in effective TE coverage and run support due to his lack of size.

It.s not the size of the dog in the fight it's size of the fight in the dog. With him being smaller at 6'1 225 he will be harder to block for the linemen and TE because he is quicker to get out of the blocking angles and attacking the ball.

[defiantgiant]

It.s not the size of the dog in the fight it's size of the fight in the dog. With him being smaller at 6'1 225 he will be harder to block for the linemen and TE because he is quicker to get out of the blocking angles and attacking the ball.

 

Nfo's comments sum up what I'm talking about better than I can. I'm not worried about Pisa getting off blocks, I'm worried about him covering/bringing down ballcarriers. If Pisa's a kinda-rangy 6'1" 225, he's going to have a hard time bringing down Michael Turner, who's 5'9" and change, 245-250. Turner's got a low center of gravity and a huge amount of leg drive - he's going to bowl over a lot of guys his own size, let alone taller, skinner guys who he has 20 or 25 pounds on.

[Pixote]

From what I have read he was an extremely productive tackler in STL during his 6 years, some at a heavier weight, some at his current weight. I have no concerns at all about his ability to tackle. He had 20 PD and 7 INT over 6 years. I hope he proves to be effective in coverage. That is my concern, not his ability to tackle. If he is good in coverage, this guy with his speed and abilities proven in the past 6 years excites the hell out of me when playing beside URL & Briggs.

[AZ54]

How many RBs did John Lynch light up in his career? He was a safety but was also famous for his hard hits, and he was considered slow. I know what the ideal measurables are for SLBs but there have been players who were successful in this league that never fit the "numbers". London Fletcher stuck around for a long time as a MLB and he was never that big IIRC. http://deadspin.com/5113135/

 

I really don't know a thing about Pisa's ability since I can't recall ever watching him but it seems he's played most of his career on the lighter side and been successful. I listened to his interview on the Bears' website and he seems to be comfortable with who and what he is as a player. He knows he doesn't fit the traditional mold but he said he knows how to get his job done despite that and he doesn't try to do the things he can't do. I interpret that to mean if you know you can't take on a pulling guard don't do it, just use your speed to get around him to make the play.

 

While he might not have the ideal weight, keep in mind weight doesn't necessarily translate into strength. When considering tackling force, strength and leverage come into play but so does momentum and momentum is a factor of weight and speed. If Pisa plays faster at 225lbs maybe he can make up for the lack of weight. Maybe he will give up a bit in the running game due to this but maybe he gains that back and more in coverage. For me, it appears Pisa has been successful in the league at this weight. When drafted he was listed at 230 but this is one of the links I found that said he was 10lb lighter than that:

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/...yers/16881.html

 

Why does that matter? He had a pretty good year as a rookie in Lovie's scheme. Interestingly, the Bears' website lists him as being 240lbs.

[Mongo3451]

Our left side is going to be massive this year. Pace has at least 20# on St. Clair with 2x the athletic ability. Omiyale is a giant conpared to Beekman. Their weights are within 15#, but by looking at them Beekman had to struggle to make weight while Omiyale looks naturally big. Sometimes it's not much of a big deal, but I really think they'll demonstate a huge upgrade in power/leverage.

 

As far as Pisa is concerned; he's an instant upgrade to Hunter. Hunter may be bigger, but I really haven't seen a highlight where he has ever laid the wood on anyone. Pisa gets there fast and brings an attitude. That being said, I think Pisa getting there sooner prevents RB's from getting into their cuts a greater percent than Hunter.

[defiantgiant]

Our left side is going to be massive this year. Pace has at least 20# on St. Clair with 2x the athletic ability. Omiyale is a giant conpared to Beekman. Their weights are within 15#, but by looking at them Beekman had to struggle to make weight while Omiyale looks naturally big. Sometimes it's not much of a big deal, but I really think they'll demonstate a huge upgrade in power/leverage.

 

As far as Pisa is concerned; he's an instant upgrade to Hunter. Hunter may be bigger, but I really haven't seen a highlight where he has ever laid the wood on anyone. Pisa gets there fast and brings an attitude. That being said, I think Pisa getting there sooner prevents RB's from getting into their cuts a greater percent than Hunter.

 

Yeah, we've got a bunch more size on the line this year. When Beekman eventually takes over for Kreutz down the road, we'll get bigger at center as well. I'm definitely excited about our line play this year after how bad it was in 2008.