Cutler's Mechanics...

[selection7]

Let's see: our OL sucks now more then ever, therefore our run game is nonexistent thus our QB is being forced to carry the whole offense on his back + our WR's aren't getting open which is forcing turnovers.

 

I wouldn't say our offense is better then last year's.

I didn't even think about last year actually. Based on our play recently we're not better than last year.

 

I was thinking of those years where a sub-10 point offensive effort was common (but then defensive shutouts were too). Obviously we have different expectations now with what is supposed to be some talent ready to blossom with Hester, Oslon, Cutler, and Forte at each skill position. The shamewas not being able to get a capable offense together before our killer defense faded away.

[defiantgiant]

Yeah, nfo, you're way right. Cutler is under pressure nearly every snap, and more often than not, it's pressure coming from a 3-man or 4-man rush. Nobody's blitzing him, because they don't have to. Look at the series in the Vikings game after Johnny Knox got them the ball on the 8-yard line:

1st Down - Forte tackled for a loss; defender was in the backfield practically before the handoff.

2nd Down - Cutler sacked

3rd Down - Cutler sacked; Orlando Pace's false start makes it a no-play

Repeat 3rd Down - Cutler sacked

4th Down - Field Goal

 

The line this year has been atrocious - it's way, WAY worse than last year's. I went and looked up the numbers on Pro Football Focus, which tallies pressures/hits/sacks allowed by each o-lineman. Last season, the Bears' line allowed 101 pressures, 36 QB hits, and 24 sacks. Through the first 9 games this season, the Bears line allowed 88/27/9. That means the Bears' line is on pace to allow 156 pressures, 48 QB hits, and 16 sacks this season.

 

Cutler's getting pressured 50% more and hit 33% more than Orton did, but he's only taking two-thirds the sacks that Orton took. That pattern (pressured more, hit more, sacked less) usually means the QB is making the line look better than it really is by getting away from unblocked rushers and getting the ball out. Tom Brady in 2007 had a similar pattern: he got pressured and hit a ton behind a not-so-great Patriots line, but he hardly ever got sacked because he was so good at sliding in the pocket and getting rid of the ball. Think about that for a minute: our line is actually worse than what we're seeing on Sundays and on the stat sheet. Cutler's running for his life out there. Put a less-mobile QB like Orton behind the same line, and he'd be getting the David Carr treatment.

 

As for Part B, you don't need any complicated stats to see that the run-blocking is worse than last year: the Bears are 32nd in the league in rushing yards per game. Dead last. And the run-blocking has been so ineffective that we don't even try to establish the run any more, which means that everybody knows Cutler's throwing on every down. And when teams know you're going to pass it AND they know they can consistently get major pressure with just 3 or 4 rushers, you're going to have a ton of interceptions. If we don't fix the line immediately, we're going to waste a premier talent at QB.

[Connorbear]

Yeah, nfo, you're way right. Cutler is under pressure nearly every snap, and more often than not, it's pressure coming from a 3-man or 4-man rush. Nobody's blitzing him, because they don't have to. Look at the series in the Vikings game after Johnny Knox got them the ball on the 8-yard line:

1st Down - Forte tackled for a loss; defender was in the backfield practically before the handoff.

2nd Down - Cutler sacked

3rd Down - Cutler sacked; Orlando Pace's false start makes it a no-play

Repeat 3rd Down - Cutler sacked

4th Down - Field Goal

 

The line this year has been atrocious - it's way, WAY worse than last year's. I went and looked up the numbers on Pro Football Focus, which tallies pressures/hits/sacks allowed by each o-lineman. Last season, the Bears' line allowed 101 pressures, 36 QB hits, and 24 sacks. Through the first 9 games this season, the Bears line allowed 88/27/9. That means the Bears' line is on pace to allow 156 pressures, 48 QB hits, and 16 sacks this season.

 

Cutler's getting pressured 50% more and hit 33% more than Orton did, but he's only taking two-thirds the sacks that Orton took. That pattern (pressured more, hit more, sacked less) usually means the QB is making the line look better than it really is by getting away from unblocked rushers and getting the ball out. Tom Brady in 2007 had a similar pattern: he got pressured and hit a ton behind a not-so-great Patriots line, but he hardly ever got sacked because he was so good at sliding in the pocket and getting rid of the ball. Think about that for a minute: our line is actually worse than what we're seeing on Sundays and on the stat sheet. Cutler's running for his life out there. Put a less-mobile QB like Orton behind the same line, and he'd be getting the David Carr treatment.

 

As for Part B, you don't need any complicated stats to see that the run-blocking is worse than last year: the Bears are 32nd in the league in rushing yards per game. Dead last. And the run-blocking has been so ineffective that we don't even try to establish the run any more, which means that everybody knows Cutler's throwing on every down. And when teams know you're going to pass it AND they know they can consistently get major pressure with just 3 or 4 rushers, you're going to have a ton of interceptions. If we don't fix the line immediately, we're going to waste a premier talent at QB.

Great post - thanks!!

 

Peace

[nfoligno]

Great use of stats to back up what we see every Sunday.

 

Our OL is just pathetic. You mention NE and Brady, and that shows IMHO that our problems are not just the OL. The OL is a HUGE part of this, but our weakness at WR also plays a part. W/ the NE example, Brady had Welker, who I believe had a monster year that year, at least in regard to catches. Welker is incredible getting quick separation, and that really helped bail Brady out. Also, playcalling. NE did a lot more that year to compensate for the weak OL w/ a ton of slant and quick release passes. It took us half the season to start looking underneath more rather than deep.

 

Working through your reads takes time. If you 1st read is downfield, which ours often is, you need time to look at that read, then move on to the next. Our OL is so bad that our 1st read doesn't have time to work his route, but at the same time, by the time Cutler starts to look to his 2nd read, he is already having to run for his life. That is a big difference in playcalling between use and NE that year. That year, Brady's first read would often be Welker. If he had time, he could look downfield to Moss, but if the OL broke down, it didn't hurt so much as he just went w/ his first read. For us, that first read is downfield, and too often, so is the 2nd. Cutler doesn't have time to work through his reads.

 

The OL is a huge part of the problem, but only part of it. Right now, the whole thing is a bomb, from OL to WRs to playcalling.

 

Yeah, nfo, you're way right. Cutler is under pressure nearly every snap, and more often than not, it's pressure coming from a 3-man or 4-man rush. Nobody's blitzing him, because they don't have to. Look at the series in the Vikings game after Johnny Knox got them the ball on the 8-yard line:

1st Down - Forte tackled for a loss; defender was in the backfield practically before the handoff.

2nd Down - Cutler sacked

3rd Down - Cutler sacked; Orlando Pace's false start makes it a no-play

Repeat 3rd Down - Cutler sacked

4th Down - Field Goal

 

The line this year has been atrocious - it's way, WAY worse than last year's. I went and looked up the numbers on Pro Football Focus, which tallies pressures/hits/sacks allowed by each o-lineman. Last season, the Bears' line allowed 101 pressures, 36 QB hits, and 24 sacks. Through the first 9 games this season, the Bears line allowed 88/27/9. That means the Bears' line is on pace to allow 156 pressures, 48 QB hits, and 16 sacks this season.

 

Cutler's getting pressured 50% more and hit 33% more than Orton did, but he's only taking two-thirds the sacks that Orton took. That pattern (pressured more, hit more, sacked less) usually means the QB is making the line look better than it really is by getting away from unblocked rushers and getting the ball out. Tom Brady in 2007 had a similar pattern: he got pressured and hit a ton behind a not-so-great Patriots line, but he hardly ever got sacked because he was so good at sliding in the pocket and getting rid of the ball. Think about that for a minute: our line is actually worse than what we're seeing on Sundays and on the stat sheet. Cutler's running for his life out there. Put a less-mobile QB like Orton behind the same line, and he'd be getting the David Carr treatment.

 

As for Part B, you don't need any complicated stats to see that the run-blocking is worse than last year: the Bears are 32nd in the league in rushing yards per game. Dead last. And the run-blocking has been so ineffective that we don't even try to establish the run any more, which means that everybody knows Cutler's throwing on every down. And when teams know you're going to pass it AND they know they can consistently get major pressure with just 3 or 4 rushers, you're going to have a ton of interceptions. If we don't fix the line immediately, we're going to waste a premier talent at QB.

 

[defiantgiant]

Great use of stats to back up what we see every Sunday.

 

Our OL is just pathetic. You mention NE and Brady, and that shows IMHO that our problems are not just the OL. The OL is a HUGE part of this, but our weakness at WR also plays a part. W/ the NE example, Brady had Welker, who I believe had a monster year that year, at least in regard to catches. Welker is incredible getting quick separation, and that really helped bail Brady out. Also, playcalling. NE did a lot more that year to compensate for the weak OL w/ a ton of slant and quick release passes. It took us half the season to start looking underneath more rather than deep.

 

Working through your reads takes time. If you 1st read is downfield, which ours often is, you need time to look at that read, then move on to the next. Our OL is so bad that our 1st read doesn't have time to work his route, but at the same time, by the time Cutler starts to look to his 2nd read, he is already having to run for his life. That is a big difference in playcalling between use and NE that year. That year, Brady's first read would often be Welker. If he had time, he could look downfield to Moss, but if the OL broke down, it didn't hurt so much as he just went w/ his first read. For us, that first read is downfield, and too often, so is the 2nd. Cutler doesn't have time to work through his reads.

 

The OL is a huge part of the problem, but only part of it. Right now, the whole thing is a bomb, from OL to WRs to playcalling.

You're 100% right. The Patriots compensated for a subpar o-line with an offense that involves a lot of short drops and quick underneath passes, plus they had a great dumpoff target in Welker. The Bears' O-line is much worse, but they don't have anybody nearly as reliable as Welker, and Turner still calls a lot of pass plays that take much longer to develop.

 

Every quarterback needs a safety valve: Cutler especially so, since he tends to lock in on one guy and make some risky throws. Olsen was supposed to be Cutler's go-to guy, but he just isn't reliable enough. He can be totally shut down by most teams' top CB (like when the Packers had Woodson shadow him all game) or with bracket coverage, and he still makes some bonehead drops.

 

This is why the screens to Forte are such a good idea: they're short passes that get the ball out of Cutler's hands in a hurry, and Forte's our most dependable target in the passing game. That's how you compensate for a bad o-line, not by asking Cutler to chuck it 40 yards downfield to Knox or Hester when he's got 3 d-linemen in his face every time. The problem is that we only throw it to Forte on these designed RB screen plays. If we started using more standard pass plays that include halfback drag routes, circle routes, stop flares, etc. we could take a lot of the pressure off Cutler.

[nfoligno]

Its really just depressing. There are many ways to compensate for a poor OL. At some points, I have seen us do things to compensate, only to for whatever reason, get away from that.

 

In the Minny game, Pace, and then Shaffer, were getting destroyed by Allen, yet what did we do to compensate. All game Aikman was questioning why we left our LT on an island against one of (if not the) league's premier pass rusher.

 

Against SF, we used the RB screen very effectively, but how much have we seen it since?

 

We have all year been calling for Cutler to roll out, as have many, yet have we seen it? I have seen other QBs do this against us so well. When the QB rolls out, you are forcing DL to chase, and the QB simply has more time, which means WRs have more time to run their routes. Yet instead, we keep Cutler confined to the pocket, even though he is considered one of the best QBs throwing while rolling out. Especially w/ a poor OL, does it make sense to keep the QB in the pocket? All you are doing is making sure the DL knows exactly where the QB will be, making their job a lot easier.

 

As you said, Forte is a great receiver, and yet rather than use him as a safety net for Cutler, he really only catches the ball on designed plays. Cutler really doesn't have a safety net. His safety net is usually Olsen, who is often covered by opponents #1 CB. That isn't a great safety net.

 

One other thing I have noticed is, while we have started to have Cutler use more 3 step drops, at the same time, we are still having our WRs run deeper routes. Further, based on who Cutler first looks at, his first reads are still downfield. That just doesn't make sense.

 

We are not the first team to field a poor OL, yet usually, OCs do more to try and compensate. As has been the case on this team for years, we seem to try and compensate by simply telling players to play better. Rather than give, for example, Pace help, we tell him to play better and block Allen on an island. It doesn't matter that he simply can't do it. We just ask him to try harder.

 

This group of coaches has had their head in the sand for years, and my only hope at this point is that this will be the final year we have to watch Lovie and Co.

 

You're 100% right. The Patriots compensated for a subpar o-line with an offense that involves a lot of short drops and quick underneath passes, plus they had a great dumpoff target in Welker. The Bears' O-line is much worse, but they don't have anybody nearly as reliable as Welker, and Turner still calls a lot of pass plays that take much longer to develop.

 

Every quarterback needs a safety valve: Cutler especially so, since he tends to lock in on one guy and make some risky throws. Olsen was supposed to be Cutler's go-to guy, but he just isn't reliable enough. He can be totally shut down by most teams' top CB (like when the Packers had Woodson shadow him all game) or with bracket coverage, and he still makes some bonehead drops.

 

This is why the screens to Forte are such a good idea: they're short passes that get the ball out of Cutler's hands in a hurry, and Forte's our most dependable target in the passing game. That's how you compensate for a bad o-line, not by asking Cutler to chuck it 40 yards downfield to Knox or Hester when he's got 3 d-linemen in his face every time. The problem is that we only throw it to Forte on these designed RB screen plays. If we started using more standard pass plays that include halfback drag routes, circle routes, stop flares, etc. we could take a lot of the pressure off Cutler.

 

[defiantgiant]

This group of coaches has had their head in the sand for years, and my only hope at this point is that this will be the final year we have to watch Lovie and Co.

Yeah, I can't figure it out: both Lovie and Turner seem perfectly happy to make adjustments to capitalize on the other team's weaknesses, but they NEVER make adjustments to cover their own. If somebody's beating us (like Allen torching Pace or Griese hitting that 6-yard slant all day) it takes at least 3 quarters before they make any adjustments to stop it. It seems like they're doing exactly what you said: just asking guys to "play better" and leaving it at that.

 

If they'd just admitted that Orlando Pace can't stop Jared Allen one-on-one and left a TE in to block or assigned a back to chip him, maybe Cutler could have hit some of those passes. Literally EVERY TEAM IN THE NFL doubles Allen or at LEAST chips him, but the Bears think their 34-year-old retread LT is going to stop him solo? Even the 31-year-old version of Pace gave up 2 or 3 sacks to Allen; do the coaches think he's gotten better since then?

 

When the coaches won't admit that one of our guys is outclassed by a guy on the other team, they're just giving him license to beat us all day. If they can't see that, they should go find some tape of Super Bowl XXXI and watch what happened when the Patriots decided that Max Lane could handle Reggie White by himself, after he'd been needing help from a TE for the whole game. If your guy isn't good enough to block his man, then you need to get him some help. Worry about getting him to play better when you start practice on Monday, but don't leave it all up to him on Sunday.

[nfoligno]

Yeah, I can't figure it out: both Lovie and Turner seem perfectly happy to make adjustments to capitalize on the other team's weaknesses, but they NEVER make adjustments to cover their own. If somebody's beating us (like Allen torching Pace or Griese hitting that 6-yard slant all day) it takes at least 3 quarters before they make any adjustments to stop it. It seems like they're doing exactly what you said: just asking guys to "play better" and leaving it at that.

 

Only aspect here I disagree w/ is when you say our staff is happy to make adjustments to capitalize on opponent's weaknesses. Honestly, that is something I have never felt we did well. Turner often seems to out-thing himself. He enters a game against a team that is elite against the run, but weak against the pass. Most teams look at that and throw the ball. Turner? He thinks to himself that the opponent will expect him to do that, so instead, he will run the ball and outsmart them. Oops. We just talked ourselves into attacking their strength, rather than their weakness.

 

No different on defense. Do we really do anything different based on the opponent. Hell, even Farve talked about how we really do the same thing game in and game out. Lovie believes his scheme is such that it can shut down an opponent, regardless what that opponents strengths are.

 

If they'd just admitted that Orlando Pace can't stop Jared Allen one-on-one and left a TE in to block or assigned a back to chip him, maybe Cutler could have hit some of those passes. Literally EVERY TEAM IN THE NFL doubles Allen or at LEAST chips him, but the Bears think their 34-year-old retread LT is going to stop him solo? Even the 31-year-old version of Pace gave up 2 or 3 sacks to Allen; do the coaches think he's gotten better since then?

 

Honestly, this one just goes being baffling. One, how the hell, when game planning, do you prepare for this game and not think Allen is the sort of player who warrants help. Pace has been getting destroyed all year, and frankly, at times by some pretty mediocre DEs. Entering this game, why the hell would we think Pace could handle Allen. Two, as bad as it is to think about the pre game planning aspect here, it is truly confounding that, as we watch Allen consistently destroy Pace, and thus Cutler, we do nothing to adjust. Toward the end of the game, on a couple plays, we did put a TE over there, but only after Pace left the game and Shaffer entered. So Turner thought Shaffer may need some help (but even then, only a couple times) but didn't feel Pace ever needed assistance. Wow!

 

When the coaches won't admit that one of our guys is outclassed by a guy on the other team, they're just giving him license to beat us all day. If they can't see that, they should go find some tape of Super Bowl XXXI and watch what happened when the Patriots decided that Max Lane could handle Reggie White by himself, after he'd been needing help from a TE for the whole game. If your guy isn't good enough to block his man, then you need to get him some help. Worry about getting him to play better when you start practice on Monday, but don't leave it all up to him on Sunday.

 

Remember some years ago when we were facing Carolina in the playoffs? Steve Smith came into that game w/ 103 catches, over 1,500 yards and 12 scores. He was having the best season of his career, by far. He was a player teams double teamed, and he was still productive. But everyone said. When facing him, you have to jam him early, and get a safety to help over the top. Did we? Nope. We put Tillman on him, often on an island. Or we played our hole filled zone and expected our Safety to cover him solo deep. Result? 12 catches, 218 yards and 2 scores. Smith destroyed us. No one could understand the thinking/game plan entering the game, but more confusing was our lack of adjustment while watching him destroy our DBs.

 

The years have gone by, and yet so much is still the same. Whether talking about game planning or in-game adjustments, this staff just has no clue.

[jason]

Yeah, nfo, you're way right. Cutler is under pressure nearly every snap, and more often than not, it's pressure coming from a 3-man or 4-man rush. Nobody's blitzing him, because they don't have to. Look at the series in the Vikings game after Johnny Knox got them the ball on the 8-yard line:

1st Down - Forte tackled for a loss; defender was in the backfield practically before the handoff.

2nd Down - Cutler sacked

3rd Down - Cutler sacked; Orlando Pace's false start makes it a no-play

Repeat 3rd Down - Cutler sacked

4th Down - Field Goal

 

The line this year has been atrocious - it's way, WAY worse than last year's. I went and looked up the numbers on Pro Football Focus, which tallies pressures/hits/sacks allowed by each o-lineman. Last season, the Bears' line allowed 101 pressures, 36 QB hits, and 24 sacks. Through the first 9 games this season, the Bears line allowed 88/27/9. That means the Bears' line is on pace to allow 156 pressures, 48 QB hits, and 16 sacks this season.

 

Cutler's getting pressured 50% more and hit 33% more than Orton did, but he's only taking two-thirds the sacks that Orton took. That pattern (pressured more, hit more, sacked less) usually means the QB is making the line look better than it really is by getting away from unblocked rushers and getting the ball out. Tom Brady in 2007 had a similar pattern: he got pressured and hit a ton behind a not-so-great Patriots line, but he hardly ever got sacked because he was so good at sliding in the pocket and getting rid of the ball. Think about that for a minute: our line is actually worse than what we're seeing on Sundays and on the stat sheet. Cutler's running for his life out there. Put a less-mobile QB like Orton behind the same line, and he'd be getting the David Carr treatment.

 

As for Part B, you don't need any complicated stats to see that the run-blocking is worse than last year: the Bears are 32nd in the league in rushing yards per game. Dead last. And the run-blocking has been so ineffective that we don't even try to establish the run any more, which means that everybody knows Cutler's throwing on every down. And when teams know you're going to pass it AND they know they can consistently get major pressure with just 3 or 4 rushers, you're going to have a ton of interceptions. If we don't fix the line immediately, we're going to waste a premier talent at QB.

 

Awesome post! Great to see stats confirming that the Bears' have five bums on the OL.

[jason]

Yeah, I can't figure it out: both Lovie and Turner seem perfectly happy to make adjustments to capitalize on the other team's weaknesses, but they NEVER make adjustments to cover their own. If somebody's beating us (like Allen torching Pace or Griese hitting that 6-yard slant all day) it takes at least 3 quarters before they make any adjustments to stop it. It seems like they're doing exactly what you said: just asking guys to "play better" and leaving it at that.

 

Only aspect here I disagree w/ is when you say our staff is happy to make adjustments to capitalize on opponent's weaknesses. Honestly, that is something I have never felt we did well. Turner often seems to out-thing himself. He enters a game against a team that is elite against the run, but weak against the pass. Most teams look at that and throw the ball. Turner? He thinks to himself that the opponent will expect him to do that, so instead, he will run the ball and outsmart them. Oops. We just talked ourselves into attacking their strength, rather than their weakness.

 

No different on defense. Do we really do anything different based on the opponent. Hell, even Farve talked about how we really do the same thing game in and game out. Lovie believes his scheme is such that it can shut down an opponent, regardless what that opponents strengths are.

 

If they'd just admitted that Orlando Pace can't stop Jared Allen one-on-one and left a TE in to block or assigned a back to chip him, maybe Cutler could have hit some of those passes. Literally EVERY TEAM IN THE NFL doubles Allen or at LEAST chips him, but the Bears think their 34-year-old retread LT is going to stop him solo? Even the 31-year-old version of Pace gave up 2 or 3 sacks to Allen; do the coaches think he's gotten better since then?

 

Honestly, this one just goes being baffling. One, how the hell, when game planning, do you prepare for this game and not think Allen is the sort of player who warrants help. Pace has been getting destroyed all year, and frankly, at times by some pretty mediocre DEs. Entering this game, why the hell would we think Pace could handle Allen. Two, as bad as it is to think about the pre game planning aspect here, it is truly confounding that, as we watch Allen consistently destroy Pace, and thus Cutler, we do nothing to adjust. Toward the end of the game, on a couple plays, we did put a TE over there, but only after Pace left the game and Shaffer entered. So Turner thought Shaffer may need some help (but even then, only a couple times) but didn't feel Pace ever needed assistance. Wow!

 

When the coaches won't admit that one of our guys is outclassed by a guy on the other team, they're just giving him license to beat us all day. If they can't see that, they should go find some tape of Super Bowl XXXI and watch what happened when the Patriots decided that Max Lane could handle Reggie White by himself, after he'd been needing help from a TE for the whole game. If your guy isn't good enough to block his man, then you need to get him some help. Worry about getting him to play better when you start practice on Monday, but don't leave it all up to him on Sunday.

 

Remember some years ago when we were facing Carolina in the playoffs? Steve Smith came into that game w/ 103 catches, over 1,500 yards and 12 scores. He was having the best season of his career, by far. He was a player teams double teamed, and he was still productive. But everyone said. When facing him, you have to jam him early, and get a safety to help over the top. Did we? Nope. We put Tillman on him, often on an island. Or we played our hole filled zone and expected our Safety to cover him solo deep. Result? 12 catches, 218 yards and 2 scores. Smith destroyed us. No one could understand the thinking/game plan entering the game, but more confusing was our lack of adjustment while watching him destroy our DBs.

 

The years have gone by, and yet so much is still the same. Whether talking about game planning or in-game adjustments, this staff just has no clue.

 

I nodded in agreement throughout this entire post. God I hate the Bears' coaches.

[nfoligno]

The questions are (a) are any of the current players salvagable and ( how do we fix this ship.

 

Regarding the first part,

 

Players who deserve, or should, remain:

 

Williams - It isn't that he has earned it so much, but he was a top 15, 1st round pick last year and is still early in terms of development. Needs to be moved back to the left side and given an opportunity to play the position he was drafted to play.

 

Garza - Just can't explain how much it kills me to put him here, but he has been at least decent this year. I am not saying he is an automatic starter, but I think his play this year at least earns him the right to be on the roster next year, and be in the mix to start.

 

Beekman - He did quite well last year, and has been better than Omiyale when given a chance this year. Still projects at C too.

 

Omiyale - Likely shocking to see him on this list, but when you factor his contract, age and that we played him out of position, I just can't see the reason to cut him. That doesn't mean he starts, but he does get an opportunity to make the roster and potentially more. Its up to him.

 

Mannelly - Doesn't really play OL, but is deep depth and simply a solid long snapper, which no one realizes the value until you see snap going over the punters head.

 

Players who may not deserve it, but will likely be kept anyway:

 

Kreutz - The old war captain has lost more than a step, but I just can't see the staff letting him go.

 

Lance Louis - He could stay or go, but was drafted as a raw developmental player, and I thought I read some good things. Kid gets a chance to make the 53 man roster.

 

Shaffer - I am not a fan, but you can only turnover so much, and you still need depth. We don't have enough draft picks for a complete overhaul, so Shaffer gets to return for depth.

 

Gone:

 

Pace - Should have retired already.

 

Reed - If he hasn't developed by now, I doubt we should expect much more.

 

That may not be as much turnover as most want, but understand, players like Louis and Shaffer are just being allowed back to camp to compete for a roster spot. I am just saying there is no need to cut players like that out-right.

 

Second part, what do we do to fix this.

 

With our top pick, which unfortunately is only a 3rd, look for OL. Preferably a big OT to play on the right side. And enough with looking for versatile OL. Either draft an OT or an OG, but stop trying to find guys who are capable of playing anywhere on the OL, but who are not great at any one spot.

 

Draft at least 1 more OL in either the 4th or 5th round. I would love to say draft OL all the way through, but the reality is, we have so many needs, that just isn't realistic. Still, OL is a great enough need to warrant taking OL twice in our first 3 picks.

 

Sign the best RG we can in FA. If we intent to play Williams on the left side, I think we need a solid veteran next to him. That will help sure up the RG position, as well as the right side in general, and should also benefit the development of Williams.

 

Really, that is about it. We are not going to "fix" the OL in one year. I am looking at this as a two year process, with hopes of seeing enough of an upgrade by next season to have at least an average OL.

 

So, by 2010, our OL would be:

 

Williams - FA Veteran - Kreutz - Garza (w/ competition from Beekman and likely a rookie) - Rookie, Omiyale or Shaffer, whoever wins in camp.

 

By 2010, our OL would be:

 

Williams - Veteran from prior season - Beekman - 2011 rookie - 2010 rookie

Awesome post! Great to see stats confirming that the Bears' have five bums on the OL.

 

[defiantgiant]

I don't think we're going to find anybody worth starting in FA this year: the guys who are going to be UFAs are mostly old and washed up, and there aren't very many of them. I don't want to see another Pace signing. I think we need to start drafting linemen and resign ourselves to 2010 being a developmental year and not having the line together and gelled until 2011. If we draft Asamoah and Calloway (like I hope we can,) then here's what I see:

 

Start of 2010: Williams-Beekman-Kreutz-Garza-Shaffer

Midseason 2010: Williams-Asamoah-Kreutz-Garza-Shaffer

End of 2010: Williams-Asamoah-Kreutz-Garza-Calloway

Start of 2011: Williams-Asamoah-Beekman-Garza-Calloway

 

There might be some growing pains in 2010, but the run game should benefit immediately: Williams is a better run-blocker than Pace, Shaffer is better than Williams, Beekman is better than Omiyale, and Asamoah would probably be much better than Beekman once he's ready. We can stick Lance Louis behind Garza as the eventual successor at RG, let him back up both guard spots, and let Shaffer and Omiyale compete to be the swing tackle. That gives us our 7 guys who'll dress on game day.