Smith not sure yet where Peppers will play

[balta1701-A]

Kevin Siefert from ESPN sat down with Lovie Smith over breakfast today. He suggests there's an Olsen article coming up later, here's some talk on the makeup of their lines.

One of the primary areas is at offensive line, where Smith would name only three starters: Left tackle Chris Williams, center Olin Kreutz and right guard Roberto Garza. I left Wednesday's breakfast feeling strongly that Frank Omiyale will be moved to right tackle, while a number of young players will battle for the left guard position.

 

Officially, Smith said the Bears still have multiple options and that he's going to "let it all play out." But when we asked about Omiyale, he said: "Right now, if he ends up being our right tackle, it's a good thing. But going into it, we're not going to say he is for sure the right tackle."

 

When pressed, Smith admitted he hasn't told Omiyale his plans and implied he didn't want to speak publicly about it before he does.

 

 

...

I think even Smith doesn't know where new defensive end Julius Peppers is going to end up -- right end or left end. Elite pass-rushers typically line up on the right side, capitalizing on a right-handed quarterback's blind side, but Peppers has played more frequently on the left in his career and Smith sounded intrigued by the possibility of playing a match-up game based on weekly opponents.

 

"We could just lock him in to the left and let him go against the right tackle," Smith said. "And he's had some success there, and that's good. But to answer your question, we're going to let him play both. He's done both, and we'll try to find ways to get him 1-on-1, which is important for us. ... He doesn't really have a preference. I've seen him be dominant from both sides. It's a lot of options that he's given us right now."

 

Most defensive linemen need more positional certainty, but Peppers has proved he can play both sides at an elite level. The only trick is having someone to play left end if Peppers is on the right side. Current right end Alex Brown hasn't done that in his career, but Smith also made a point about his excitement level for veteran Mark Anderson. He also said the Bears plan to install Israel Idonije as full-time defensive end rather than use him as a swing end/tackle.

 

"I'd like to see [idonije] lock in and be more of a defensive end and see exactly how good he can become," Smith said.

 

As for the reserves among their defensive linemen, Smith said he projects Henry Melton as a defensive end and Jarron Gilbert as a defensive tackle.

[nfoligno]

One of the primary areas is at offensive line, where Smith would name only three starters: Left tackle Chris Williams, center Olin Kreutz and right guard Roberto Garza. I left Wednesday's breakfast feeling strongly that Frank Omiyale will be moved to right tackle, while a number of young players will battle for the left guard position.

 

One player I don't hear us talk too much about, but I hear the staff talk about a lot is Louis. The staff often talks about how well he has developed. When Lovie mentions "a number of young players" battling for OG, I think Louis is a big part of that. So I guess his thinking is moving Omiyale to RT, and then allow Beekman, Louis and a rookie to compete inside. The way they talk about Loius, they likely see the competition as a situation where they have a lower ceiling but fair to solid guy in Beekman at worst, or a potential big upgrade in Loius if he continues to develop and wins the starting job.

 

"We could just lock him in to the left and let him go against the right tackle," Smith said. "And he's had some success there, and that's good. But to answer your question, we're going to let him play both. He's done both, and we'll try to find ways to get him 1-on-1, which is important for us. ... He doesn't really have a preference. I've seen him be dominant from both sides. It's a lot of options that he's given us right now."

 

I really like what I have read about our thoughts on Peppers. Too often our staff lacks imagination, but they have openly, and often talked about moving Peppers around. We can start Peppers at LDE and Brown at RDE, while moving Peppers to RDE at times due to matchups, while allowing Anderson to slide into the LDE spot.

 

"I'd like to see [idonije] lock in and be more of a defensive end and see exactly how good he can become," Smith said.

 

Um, Mr. Smith? Maybe Idonije could lock into a position if you didn't ask him to add or drop 30+ lbs every offseason while you change his position every year.

 

As for the reserves among their defensive linemen, Smith said he projects Henry Melton as a defensive end and Jarron Gilbert as a defensive tackle.

 

Glad to hear we are looking at Melton as a DE. I simply did not understand the thought process of trying to make him into a DT. Seemed too much like forcing a player to change to fit into a hole rather than develop them to be what they are best at. Even still, I see Melton as a long term project due to how raw he came to us, and then losing a year of development. As for Gilbert, I just want to see us commit to a position for this kid and develop him there.

[defiantgiant]

Glad to hear we are looking at Melton as a DE. I simply did not understand the thought process of trying to make him into a DT. Seemed too much like forcing a player to change to fit into a hole rather than develop them to be what they are best at. Even still, I see Melton as a long term project due to how raw he came to us, and then losing a year of development. As for Gilbert, I just want to see us commit to a position for this kid and develop him there.

I actually kind of liked the idea of putting Melton at DT. He's built pretty short and squatty for a DE, and I'm not an expert or anything, but to me he looks more like a guy who needs to add 20 pounds and be a rotational DT. I could see him being a player like Anthony Hargrove was for the Saints this season: maybe he gets some reps on the outside, but he makes his money as a nickel rusher on the interior line. Melton's quickness could be a big problem for your average guard.

 

I also sort of don't get Gilbert as a DT. I mean, I don't really understand his role in this defense anyway. They picked the guy based just on his sheer athleticism when some much less raw d-linemen were still on the board (like Matt Shaughnessy and Michael Johnson.) If he doesn't develop into one position, that was a pretty dumb pick.

[AZ54]

Shorter DEs are one of the latest trends in the NFL because they are finding it easier to get their shoulder underneath the OT and gain the leverage to get around the corner. I'm not banking on much from Melton but after seeing what guys like Freeney, Dumervil, and Harrison (Pitt) can do I can't say his height is a factor stopping him from being a good pass rusher especially since all we ask our DEs to do is get upfield and round the corner. It will be interesting to see if he's improved at all from last year under Marinelli's tutelage.

[bowlingtwig]

Shorter DEs are one of the latest trends in the NFL because they are finding it easier to get their shoulder underneath the OT and gain the leverage to get around the corner. I'm not banking on much from Melton but after seeing what guys like Freeney, Dumervil, and Harrison (Pitt) can do I can't say his height is a factor stopping him from being a good pass rusher especially since all we ask our DEs to do is get upfield and round the corner. It will be interesting to see if he's improved at all from last year under Marinelli's tutelage.

There is 1 thing that Freeney, Dumervil and Harrison all have in common though. Its called DRIVE. The have the Drive to be the best. Does Melton have this. I sure hope so.

[defiantgiant]

Shorter DEs are one of the latest trends in the NFL because they are finding it easier to get their shoulder underneath the OT and gain the leverage to get around the corner. I'm not banking on much from Melton but after seeing what guys like Freeney, Dumervil, and Harrison (Pitt) can do I can't say his height is a factor stopping him from being a good pass rusher especially since all we ask our DEs to do is get upfield and round the corner. It will be interesting to see if he's improved at all from last year under Marinelli's tutelage.

Two out of those three players aren't DEs, they're 3-4 outside linebackers. Harrison has never played DE that I know of, and Dumervil was a fairly limited player when the Broncos ran a 4-3 and played him on the line. He wasn't as one-dimensional as Mark Anderson, but he wasn't the prototype DE at all, and he was a much better fit once they moved him to OLB. Height and reach aren't as important for a 3-4 OLB as they are for a 4-3 DE - a lot of OLBs can make up for being short, as long as they're fast. Reach can be pretty important for a pass-rushing DE - look at Peppers' tape and how often he gets a sack or a TFL by laying out full-length or reaching around his blocker. With a guy Peppers' size, even when he's blocked, you have to stay out of his immediate area because of his height and reach.

 

Obviously, Freeney is an incredible player, but he's definitely the exception, rather than evidence of some kind of trend. I mean, I'm not going to point to Robert Mathis and say there's a trend in the NFL for DEs to weigh less than 250 pounds. Mathis is smaller than some fullbacks - the fact that he's successful as a defensive lineman doesn't mean that anyone else his size will be. The Colts have two very, very gifted players who are great all-around defensive ends despite having very nontypical frames for the position. Most guys in the NFL aren't Freeney or Mathis.

 

I'm not trying to say that I know enough about Melton to know whether he'll be a success at DE. Not by a long shot. But just looking at his frame, he looks more like a nickel DT to me.

[AZ54]

I am not comparing Melton to anyone else's ability just making a statement that his lack of height in and of itself does not mean he can't rush the passer. Does his body type fit more in line with the typical 3-4 LB, absolutely. Am I expecting anything out of Melton this coming year, nope.

[nfoligno]

I actually kind of liked the idea of putting Melton at DT. He's built pretty short and squatty for a DE, and I'm not an expert or anything, but to me he looks more like a guy who needs to add 20 pounds and be a rotational DT. I could see him being a player like Anthony Hargrove was for the Saints this season: maybe he gets some reps on the outside, but he makes his money as a nickel rusher on the interior line. Melton's quickness could be a big problem for your average guard.

 

I don't know. We are talking about a guy who was a RB in college. He was a big RB, but a RB just the same. Adding weight necessary to be a pass rushing DE is one thing, but to go from RB weight to DT weight is pretty extreme. You mention adding 20lbs, but how much would that zap his quickness? Also, the development factor. While pretty raw as a DE, he at least had about a year and a half, or something like that, of development at DE in college. As a DT, he would be starting from scratch.

 

I also sort of don't get Gilbert as a DT. I mean, I don't really understand his role in this defense anyway. They picked the guy based just on his sheer athleticism when some much less raw d-linemen were still on the board (like Matt Shaughnessy and Michael Johnson.) If he doesn't develop into one position, that was a pretty dumb pick.

 

That's been an argument of mine against Angelo for years. Too often he seems to fall in love with athletes over football player. I have heard so often the old adage that you can't teach speed. Regardless of that, too often those guys who look great in short on the track (or in a swimming pool in Gilberts case) just don't translate to the NFL. Have to wonder. Would Angelo have ever drafted Mike Brown, who was by no means a super athlete?

[azbearsfan]

I actually kind of liked the idea of putting Melton at DT. He's built pretty short and squatty for a DE, and I'm not an expert or anything, but to me he looks more like a guy who needs to add 20 pounds and be a rotational DT. I could see him being a player like Anthony Hargrove was for the Saints this season: maybe he gets some reps on the outside, but he makes his money as a nickel rusher on the interior line. Melton's quickness could be a big problem for your average guard.

 

I don't know. We are talking about a guy who was a RB in college. He was a big RB, but a RB just the same. Adding weight necessary to be a pass rushing DE is one thing, but to go from RB weight to DT weight is pretty extreme. You mention adding 20lbs, but how much would that zap his quickness? Also, the development factor. While pretty raw as a DE, he at least had about a year and a half, or something like that, of development at DE in college. As a DT, he would be starting from scratch.

 

I also sort of don't get Gilbert as a DT. I mean, I don't really understand his role in this defense anyway. They picked the guy based just on his sheer athleticism when some much less raw d-linemen were still on the board (like Matt Shaughnessy and Michael Johnson.) If he doesn't develop into one position, that was a pretty dumb pick.

 

That's been an argument of mine against Angelo for years. Too often he seems to fall in love with athletes over football player. I have heard so often the old adage that you can't teach speed. Regardless of that, too often those guys who look great in short on the track (or in a swimming pool in Gilberts case) just don't translate to the NFL. Have to wonder. Would Angelo have ever drafted Mike Brown, who was by no means a super athlete?

 

 

 

....he drafted Steltz.

[nfoligno]

Well, Steltz was a later 4th round pick. He also had just played for the National Championship team, and had an incredible season.

 

Look, I am not saying Angelo doesn't ever, or would never, draft players who are considered better football players than athletes. While not drafted by Angelo, Hunter Hillenmeyer would be the perfect example of a football player lacking ideal athleticism. My point is that we too often go after the athletes who look good in shorts rather than get the solid football players.

 

 

 

....he drafted Steltz.