My Annual Trip To TC

[lemonej]

Yesterday I spent my annual trip to Bear's TC on my B-day. I have just a few points to make and I'll keep it short.

 

1. It was hot as Hell yesterday and I was wondering how these guys could practice in this intense heat for 2 hours.

 

2. The most intense groups working out at camp are the offensive and defensive lines where the only skirmish of the day occurred and the sound of the pads hitting was the loudest from these groups.

 

3. Julius Peppers is a very huge man and looks bigger in person than he does on TV.

 

4.Greg Olsen worked out with the WRs when the offense was working on running drills 7 on 7 while Clark, Davis and Angulo worked in the running drll.

 

5 The running plays all looked to be between the tackles and Kahlil Bell looked the best of thr RBs to me.

 

6. Jay Cutler was throwing high on most of his short throws but looked good on his deep passes. Caleb Hanie was okay making some perfect throws and then some that were a little off target. La Fevour looked like a rookie with his timing but had much more zip on the ball than Teel who IMO is just a TC arm and not a veteran backup.

 

7. The Bear's Wildcat formation featured Devin Hester at QB and Cutler at a WR spot.

 

8. The formation I saw the most from the offense was 3 WRs 1TE and 1 RB.

 

9. Even though I mentioned earlier that Cutler was throwing high on some of his throws, the only reason I can say that is because of the way that all the WRs jumped up to make catches on his throws. The veterans all looked good to me including Rashied Davis and rookies Robinson and Matthews struggled.

 

10. Quite a few of us were pulling for the local kid from the south suburbs named Freddie Barnes, who happens to be a former teammate of my son's( Who was with me) at Homewood -Flossmoor HS and set NCAA records for receptions at Bowling Green but, I didn't like his body language yesterday. He seemed like he was not as into the workout as much as the other WRs but he did catch the ball when it came his way.

 

Aside from the intense heat and the couple of thunder showers I drove home through I enjoyed my 51 B-day and I'm looking forward to doing it again.

[madlithuanian]

Thanks for the post!

[nfoligno]

First, thanks for the report. Really great to read fans perspectives.

 

4.Greg Olsen worked out with the WRs when the offense was working on running drills 7 on 7 while Clark, Davis and Angulo worked in the running drll.

 

While it is good to hear was may be maximizing Olsen's receiving ability, I do have to ask, how is he going to improve his blocking, which is a must for Martz, if he isn't working on it in camp. Yes, I am sure he is working on it, but if he is working on receiving while the other TEs are working on blocking, is Olsen's really getting the practice reps needed?

 

5 The running plays all looked to be between the tackles and Kahlil Bell looked the best of thr RBs to me.

 

I don't know if this is simply due to being early in camp, but I have to believe this will change. I read that Wolfe has mostly been running inside, which is really a disappointment as so many expected Martz to better utilize Wolfe. I am sure things will open up, but you have to wonder if Wolfe isn't going to have a lot of ground to make up if Bell and the rest are getting favorite early impressions based on their ability to run inside.

 

6. Jay Cutler was throwing high on most of his short throws but looked good on his deep passes. Caleb Hanie was okay making some perfect throws and then some that were a little off target. La Fevour looked like a rookie with his timing but had much more zip on the ball than Teel who IMO is just a TC arm and not a veteran backup.

 

The key I am curious about here is, does it seem Cutler is throwing to a space which the WR runs into, or is Cutler throwing directly to the receiver. That is the key for this offense, and the aspect of Cutler/WRs I am most concerned with.

 

7. The Bear's Wildcat formation featured Devin Hester at QB and Cutler at a WR spot.

 

Personally, I would just as soon dump the wildcat. While it may have potential, I think a typical Martz offense has enough rinkles to not need such a play. The playbook is confusing enough, with enough for the offense to learn, w/o spending much time (or any at all) working on something like the Wildcat.

 

8. The formation I saw the most from the offense was 3 WRs 1TE and 1 RB.

 

And who were the players most often lining up in this formation? I am sure the receivers are really rotating, but curious especially about the TE. We paid Manu a lot to be a minor piece, and yet Olsen has so much talent. I just really have no clue how we are going to use all our TEs.

 

9. Even though I mentioned earlier that Cutler was throwing high on some of his throws, the only reason I can say that is because of the way that all the WRs jumped up to make catches on his throws. The veterans all looked good to me including Rashied Davis and rookies Robinson and Matthews struggled.

 

Just curious, but do you think it was necessary to leap to make the grap. So often I have seen WRs make relatively easy catches look complicated. I think Moose was always leaping to make a catch, which he would then haul in (or drop) chest high.

 

Again, good stuff. Thanks for giving us the report.

[Connorbear]

Thanks for the post and happy birthday!

 

Peace

[LT2_3]

First, thanks for the report. Really great to read fans perspectives.

 

4.Greg Olsen worked out with the WRs when the offense was working on running drills 7 on 7 while Clark, Davis and Angulo worked in the running drll.

 

While it is good to hear was may be maximizing Olsen's receiving ability, I do have to ask, how is he going to improve his blocking, which is a must for Martz, if he isn't working on it in camp. Yes, I am sure he is working on it, but if he is working on receiving while the other TEs are working on blocking, is Olsen's really getting the practice reps needed?

 

I read somewhere that Olsen gets split out wide more often than not when he's on the field. That leads me to believe that he's going to be a TE/WR hybrid.

 

8. The formation I saw the most from the offense was 3 WRs 1TE and 1 RB.

 

And who were the players most often lining up in this formation? I am sure the receivers are really rotating, but curious especially about the TE. We paid Manu a lot to be a minor piece, and yet Olsen has so much talent. I just really have no clue how we are going to use all our TEs.

 

I'm guessing at this, but I think that when Olsen is on the field, it will start as a 2 TE set, and then Olsen will split out to get coverage from a DB - turning it into a 3 WR set of sorts with Olsen as the 3rd.

 

 

[bradjock]

While it is good to hear was may be maximizing Olsen's receiving ability, I do have to ask, how is he going to improve his blocking, which is a must for Martz, if he isn't working on it in camp. Yes, I am sure he is working on it, but if he is working on receiving while the other TEs are working on blocking, is Olsen's really getting the practice reps needed?

 

I saw a bunch of two TE sets when I was there. Turner often lined Olsen up as a WR so it'd make sense that Martz would do the same. There's no way Olsen can overtake Manu or Clark in the blocking department so why try? I've always thought that we'd utilize Olsen as a hybrid WR, much the same way Antonio Gates is used.

 

The key I am curious about here is, does it seem Cutler is throwing to a space which the WR runs into, or is Cutler throwing directly to the receiver. That is the key for this offense, and the aspect of Cutler/WRs I am most concerned with.

 

I'd also throw out they might have been practicing putting it in a place where nobody else could get it.

 

Personally, I would just as soon dump the wildcat. While it may have potential, I think a typical Martz offense has enough rinkles to not need such a play. The playbook is confusing enough, with enough for the offense to learn, w/o spending much time (or any at all) working on something like the Wildcat.

 

Agreed. I always thought this looked clumsy or forced. This works with teams that use it consistently. For teams that use it as a gimmick, it typically blows up in their face.

 

 

 

[AZ54]

The highlight video of training camp on the Bears website showed Olsen lining up next to the LT and then slipping outside the pass protection into a screen pass. I can't say I've seen that play in Martz' offense in the past, maybe others have seen it? If not, it's some evidence that Martz is tweaking his playbook to take advantage of our TEs strengths.

[nfoligno]

I have no issue with this, but it is interesting as it would seem to fly in the face of what Martz previously said. Martz essentially said if a TE can't block, he would play a WR, implying that as good as a TE may be, he isn't as good as a WR.

 

I do agree with you though that it may be different if we start out in a 2 TE formation, forcing the D to use an extra S or LB, and then to split out Olsen creating a mismatch, rather than simply lining him up as a 3rd WR when the D can play nickel.

 

I read somewhere that Olsen gets split out wide more often than not when he's on the field. That leads me to believe that he's going to be a TE/WR hybrid.

 

 

 

I'm guessing at this, but I think that when Olsen is on the field, it will start as a 2 TE set, and then Olsen will split out to get coverage from a DB - turning it into a 3 WR set of sorts with Olsen as the 3rd.

 

[nfoligno]

I saw a bunch of two TE sets when I was there. Turner often lined Olsen up as a WR so it'd make sense that Martz would do the same. There's no way Olsen can overtake Manu or Clark in the blocking department so why try? I've always thought that we'd utilize Olsen as a hybrid WR, much the same way Antonio Gates is used.

 

I agree, I just didn't think Martz (based on his previous comments) felt this way. One thing I love is talk of how we have been sending Olsen downfield. That is what we drafted him to do, but Turner liked him in shorter range, which was just a waste.

 

Agreed (Wildcat). I always thought this looked clumsy or forced. This works with teams that use it consistently. For teams that use it as a gimmick, it typically blows up in their face.

 

Also, you block very different for the wildcat, and I think our OL has enough on their plate. Especially now with the RBs we have, and players like Hester, Manu and some others, I see the reason why we may like it. At the same time, I don't think we have the OL to do this and with our offense struggling to learn a new/complicated scheme, I think they have enough work to do without complicating it more or taking time away from learning the actual offense, rather than the gimmicks.

[lemonej]

First, thanks for the report. Really great to read fans perspectives.

 

4.Greg Olsen worked out with the WRs when the offense was working on running drills 7 on 7 while Clark, Davis and Angulo worked in the running drll.

 

While it is good to hear was may be maximizing Olsen's receiving ability, I do have to ask, how is he going to improve his blocking, which is a must for Martz, if he isn't working on it in camp. Yes, I am sure he is working on it, but if he is working on receiving while the other TEs are working on blocking, is Olsen's really getting the practice reps needed?

 

5 The running plays all looked to be between the tackles and Kahlil Bell looked the best of thr RBs to me.

 

I don't know if this is simply due to being early in camp, but I have to believe this will change. I read that Wolfe has mostly been running inside, which is really a disappointment as so many expected Martz to better utilize Wolfe. I am sure things will open up, but you have to wonder if Wolfe isn't going to have a lot of ground to make up if Bell and the rest are getting favorite early impressions based on their ability to run inside.

 

6. Jay Cutler was throwing high on most of his short throws but looked good on his deep passes. Caleb Hanie was okay making some perfect throws and then some that were a little off target. La Fevour looked like a rookie with his timing but had much more zip on the ball than Teel who IMO is just a TC arm and not a veteran backup.

 

The key I am curious about here is, does it seem Cutler is throwing to a space which the WR runs into, or is Cutler throwing directly to the receiver. That is the key for this offense, and the aspect of Cutler/WRs I am most concerned with.

 

7. The Bear's Wildcat formation featured Devin Hester at QB and Cutler at a WR spot.

 

Personally, I would just as soon dump the wildcat. While it may have potential, I think a typical Martz offense has enough rinkles to not need such a play. The playbook is confusing enough, with enough for the offense to learn, w/o spending much time (or any at all) working on something like the Wildcat.

 

8. The formation I saw the most from the offense was 3 WRs 1TE and 1 RB.

 

And who were the players most often lining up in this formation? I am sure the receivers are really rotating, but curious especially about the TE. We paid Manu a lot to be a minor piece, and yet Olsen has so much talent. I just really have no clue how we are going to use all our TEs.

 

9. Even though I mentioned earlier that Cutler was throwing high on some of his throws, the only reason I can say that is because of the way that all the WRs jumped up to make catches on his throws. The veterans all looked good to me including Rashied Davis and rookies Robinson and Matthews struggled.

 

Just curious, but do you think it was necessary to leap to make the grap. So often I have seen WRs make relatively easy catches look complicated. I think Moose was always leaping to make a catch, which he would then haul in (or drop) chest high.

 

Again, good stuff. Thanks for giving us the report.

The formation featured DA,Knox and Hester at WR and Olsen at TE. Hester was in the slot some and motioned out. There was WRs going in motion a lot even when it was simple passing drills with just WRs and DBs. As for the WRs jumping to make the catch, yes it was necessary because Cutler was releasing the ball high and these timing routes that they are running has the ball coming at WRs before they make their breaks.

One other note that was interesting was I saw the Bears run some crossing routes which look like they were intended to rub or pick DBs off a receiver.

[lemonej]

I read somewhere that Olsen gets split out wide more often than not when he's on the field. That leads me to believe that he's going to be a TE/WR hybrid.

 

 

 

I'm guessing at this, but I think that when Olsen is on the field, it will start as a 2 TE set, and then Olsen will split out to get coverage from a DB - turning it into a 3 WR set of sorts with Olsen as the 3rd.

One formation I saw LT was an empty backfield one with the RB lined up right next to Olsen in the slot and they threw a couple of screen plays off of this look also one going to the TE one going to the RB and one going to a WR. IMO the key to the success of this offense is going to be when Cutler realizes that nothing is there and checks down to either Taylor or Forte. I believe both of these guys are going to catch a lot of passes this year.