jason Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 Team MVP: Lance Briggs. Makes plays all over the field, shown leadership, helping as best he can where Urlacher is missing. Biggest Surprise: Johnny Knox. Everyone knew he could fly, but nobody expected this. Biggest Disappointment: OL. Their writeup: An offensive line that was expected to be significantly upgraded with the free-agent additions of Orlando Pace, Frank Omiyale, and Kevin Shaffer could be worse than last year's unit based on its uneven performance in the first half of the season. Pace has been a bust at left tackle, Omilaye is a pure tackle who struggled at left guard before being replaced in Week Eight by Josh Beekman, and Shaffer has been a nonfactor. Player to Watch: Jay Cutler. Basically, the burden falls on his arm since the OL and the running game is nonexistent. Key to second half: Cutler needs to cut down on INTs, Forte & Olsen need to step up, and the defense needs to do a better job of getting to the quarterback. ------------------------ So, my questions about this article are as follows: A] If the OL is such a disappointment, why isn't their improvement a key to the second half? B] How much do these clowns get paid to write this obvious drivel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 So, my questions about this article are as follows: A] If the OL is such a disappointment, why isn't their improvement a key to the second half? B] How much do these clowns get paid to write this obvious drivel? A] Yes B] Too much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyhigh697 Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 Well what i think he is trying to say is that our oline improving is beyond anything we have on our roster at the moment. The rest of the team just needs to realize our oline sucks and will suck for the rest of the year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason Posted November 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 Well what i think he is trying to say is that our oline improving is beyond anything we have on our roster at the moment. The rest of the team just needs to realize our oline sucks and will suck for the rest of the year Well, at least it's a logical take on things. Not very comforting, but logical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfoligno Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 Team MVP: Lance Briggs. Makes plays all over the field, shown leadership, helping as best he can where Urlacher is missing. Not sure I can go along with this one. Makes plays all over the field? He is a tackle machine, but we needed a playmaker, and I just do not think he has provided that. He blitzes a ton, yet has one sack. I have seen more balls bounce off his hands than he has caught (one). He has zero FFs, and I am not sure I would say 3 TFL is that impressive. Look, I am not taking away from him. He is a great LB, and a pure tackle machine, but is that enough? Leadership? How the heck can they say this? Our defense looks like it has quit. Whoever we play at MLB seems to be the playcaller, whether that be Hunter or Roach. Briggis is a damn good LB, but I just question calling him a leader. I get that there are really few candidates for the MVP position of a crap team like ours, but to me, the only one who I can think of would be Cutler. We have no run game, and no OL, and yet Cutler has managed to still give us some semblence of an offense. Further, w/ Cutler under center, despite all the rest of the crap, our receivers have appeared to develop more than at any previous point in as long as I can remember. Cutler is a big part of that. I am not saying he is perfect. FAR from it. But he has kept the offenses head above water when attached to a 10,000 lb anchor (the OL) and still somehow managed to do more to assist the development of a unit we have been lacking in for years. Biggest Surprise: Johnny Knox. Everyone knew he could fly, but nobody expected this. Not even close. Other surprises we might think of are minor. W/o question, Know has been the biggest (positive) surprise. Biggest Disappointment: OL. Their writeup: An offensive line that was expected to be significantly upgraded with the free-agent additions of Orlando Pace, Frank Omiyale, and Kevin Shaffer could be worse than last year's unit based on its uneven performance in the first half of the season. Pace has been a bust at left tackle, Omilaye is a pure tackle who struggled at left guard before being replaced in Week Eight by Josh Beekman, and Shaffer has been a nonfactor. Just sucks how many candidates there are for this award. DL? Forte? Olsen? But I have to agree w/ OL. Forte is a greater personal surprise, but only because my expectations for the OL were never that high, but aside from my personal perspective, OL has to be #1, though DL might be pretty dang close. Player to Watch: Jay Cutler. Basically, the burden falls on his arm since the OL and the running game is nonexistent. I think the player to watch is Forte. He has shown more promise in the last few weeks. I am not sure how much more Cutler can really do, so what more is there to watch for. If Forte however can start getting more production despite the OL woes (like he did last year) then it could really have a ripple effect. Key to second half: Cutler needs to cut down on INTs, Forte & Olsen need to step up, and the defense needs to do a better job of getting to the quarterback. While I agree Cutler needs to cut down on the picks, I also think that is a big product of his having to carry the offense. Forte and Olsen I would have to agree with, as w/ the pass rush comment. So, my questions about this article are as follows: A] If the OL is such a disappointment, why isn't their improvement a key to the second half? B] How much do these clowns get paid to write this obvious drivel? A - As I believe Sky said, I think it is the writer not having any belief this is an area that could really change. To say they need to improve is obvious, but if there isn't the belief that it is possible, then there isn't much point is saying that is a key. The better "key" I think would be for Turner to find more and better ways to run the offense despite the poor play of the OL, rather than the key being for an OL to improve when there simply isn't much reason to think that possible. B - Everyone gets paid too much, but take a step back and look at pieces like this this way. For a casual fan who doesn't that closely follow the bears, or another teams fan simply reading about every team in the league, this piece may have a tad bit of insight. Lets be honest for a moment. How often anymore do you read any pieces that provide you info or anaylsis you were not already aware of, and which we had not already discussed to death on this board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madlithuanian Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 Great counterpoints! MVP - I think is Cutler Surprise - Definitley Knox Disappointment - Marinelli. We were sold on this guy bringing out the best out of a D line. I don't htink anyone really expected our O Line to rock, we just didn't expect it to suck so bad. However, i truly think, many felt the D line would be vastly improved. Player watch; I definiltey agree w/ Forte being it... Key to second half: The Bears D actually needs to stop decent teams at least 50% of the time before the 3trd quarter starts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DABEARSDABOMB Posted November 11, 2009 Report Share Posted November 11, 2009 They say Omilaye is a tackle. So why the hell don't we move Williams and try Omilaye at tackle since Pace is clearly done? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madlithuanian Posted November 11, 2009 Report Share Posted November 11, 2009 Works for me... They say Omilaye is a tackle. So why the hell don't we move Williams and try Omilaye at tackle since Pace is clearly done? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hochuli 3:16 Posted November 11, 2009 Report Share Posted November 11, 2009 Cutler B+ Forte D+ Hester A Bennett A- Knox B+ Olsen C Omiyale F Pace F Williams F Kreutz D Garza C- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flea Posted November 11, 2009 Report Share Posted November 11, 2009 Cutler B+ Forte D+ Hester A Bennett A- Knox B+ Olsen C Omiyale F Pace F Williams F Kreutz D Garza C- Very few of us thought that before the season started Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madlithuanian Posted November 11, 2009 Report Share Posted November 11, 2009 I think those WR grade are a bit high. hester still isn't getting serperation and Bennett & Knox haven't shown enough that they know what to do when Cutler is in trouble. I'd give Bester a B+, Knox a B, and Bennett a C+ Very few of us thought that before the season started Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfoligno Posted November 11, 2009 Report Share Posted November 11, 2009 I assume you are based these grades on expectations. Hester, for example, might get a high grade if you factor expectations, but I am not sure I would give him an A grade otherwise. So, assuming these are expectation based grades... Cutler B+ I would go w/ a B. While there are a tremendous number of factors, the simple of it is he has really made some poor decisions. Make no mistake, I love what he has brought to the table, but I simply believe (OL or not) more was expected from Cutler. Forte D+ I will go a tad higher with a C minus. The only reason is, the OL has simply been so bad that I have a hard time giving a D grade to a player who relies on that unit for production. Hester A I would give him a B+. That isn't a knock on Hester. He has done more to develop in a WR than I believe most expected, including myself. But to give out an A grade simply (IMHO) implies playing at a higher level than I believe any on this team have. Bennett A- I'll go w/ a B. He is on pace for 64-850-0. I think the catches and yards are fairly in line w/ what many were expecting, though his zero scores have to count against him a bit. But while he gets credit for living up to expectations, and looking good in doing so, I am not sure I can handout much higher of a grade at this point. A- and above grades should be handed out for those who really go above expectations, and I think if you did projections prior to the start of the season, both Hester and Bennett are in line w/ those early projections. I think we as Bear fans are simply surprised WRs are actually living up to those projections/expectations. Knox B+ I'll go w/ a solid B. While he was the talk of the town early on, the reality is, he hasn't topped 50 yards in the last 6 games. No question he has gone above expectations (which were near non-existant) as a 5th round pick rookie. At the same time, his role seems to be diminishing more than advancing, and he appears at the moment to be little more than a 3-30 type WR. That he is on the field at all is above expectations, and thus a nice solid grade, but has he really done so much as to warrant higher? Olsen C C minus, and I might be generous at the moment due to the 3 score game he is coming off. Entering the season, he was expected to be our #1 option, and was expected to be in the Witten, Gates, Gonzalez tier. He is currently on pace for catch/yard stats nearly identical to last year, when he was not even starting. Add in some horendous blocking, and I think C minus may be generous. Omiyale F As I have said in other posts, I am not sure an F, or even F minus, does justice to how poorly he has played. Pace F The only thing that makes me not want to give him an F is, he has been better than Omiyale, so unless we start using numeric grades, it is hard to otherwise explain the difference. Pace has not been as bad as Omiyale, but an F is still the right grade. If this were a numeric grade scale, Omiyale would likely get around a 10 (give him credit for a couple good run blocks) while Pace would get maybe a 50. Williams F I'll give him a D+. He has been better than Pace, and I would argue expectations for Williams on the right were less than Pace on the left. He has been bad, and I think a D+ reflects that, but I also feel he has done "some" good things. Maybe he deserves an F, but (a) I believe he is out of position, ( I think expectations were lower for him playing his first season at a new position and © I think he has been better than Pace, and that needs to be reflected. Kreutz D I might have gone w/ a D+, but it isn't even worth the argument. We need to find a LG because Beekman will be moving to center sooner rather than later. Garza C- Absolutely drives me nuts that Garza is our best player on the OL. C minis is fair IMHO. If reflects a fair bit higher of a grade then the rest have received. Garza has been average (at best) in pass protection while fairly ineffective in run blocking, thus a slightly below average grade sounds about right. Entering the season, how many would have predicted the unit that looks the best would be the WRs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hochuli 3:16 Posted November 11, 2009 Report Share Posted November 11, 2009 Bennett has made some very nice catches. I think he's the only one on this team that could've made those too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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