| 20 June 2010
Most of the off-season activities and talk has surrounded things that need to be fixed, addressed, or adjusted to in order for the 2010 Chicago Bears to succeed. The secondary needs fixing, the offensive line, a return to form from Matt Forte and the running game, the defensive line, Jay Cutler and the receivers adjusting to the Mike Martz passing attack. It’s an overwhelming set of problems or challenges that the Chicago Bears must deal with in order to succeed in 2010. The main question is can things come together and the Bears succeed?
In order to answer that question I’m going to spend some time talking about the expectations I have for the 2010 Chicago Bears whether they’re high or whether they’re low. I’m going to be fair and reasonable with each group I address and then make the argument as to why this group will help the Bears win a lot of games or perhaps reasons why the group will contribute to the team’s overall struggles.
Fair and reasonable expectations for the 2010 Chicago Bears based on what we hear regarding the offensive line. Let’s face it the offense won’t be as good as it can be or should be if the offensive line can play at the level necessary for Matt Forte to rush for over 1,000 yards and Jay Cutler to stay off his back side, or for that matter stay healthy. Let’s take a look at the five positions and the expectations of success for each position.
Starting with the left tackle position and Chris Williams, reasonable expectations are that with Williams manning the blind side this will be the best LT we’ve had in place since 2006 when John Tait put together his best season in Chicago. Williams it can be argued fairly should play at a higher level than John Tait did that year. It’s not unreasonable to say that Williams may be the best LT the Bears have had since Jim Covert lined up for the Bears during the ‘85 Super Bowl team. This is a testament to not only Williams’ talent but more obviously just how bad the LT position has been in Chicago for the better part of 25 years.
Williams should be good if not great in 2010 and if things go really well he could be one of the top-five LT’s in the league. Within reason though Williams’ play should be at a level that is among the Top-10 LT’s in the NFL. Meaning this should be far and away a position of strength for the Bears in 2010. Williams looked like he was coming into his own once he took over the starting LT role from Orlando Pace in 2009. This is what the Bears drafted Williams for, he has the ability to play at that high of a level and shouldn’t have a problem achieving that in 2010. That alone should really help calm the nerves of Bears fans in 2010.
Moving inside we come to the left guard spot and Josh Beekman. Beekman is going to be the starter, that’s a safe assumption for any fan to make. For me though Beekman is the starter….PERIOD. There shouldn’t be any competition or debate regarding a seventh round draft pick and a guy who was on the practice squad in 2009. I don’t care what Johan Asiata is doing in his underwear and the fact that Lance Louis is losing out to Johan Asiata in his underwear when he should be taking his game to the next level only amplifies the argument for Beekman. Beekman was awful in 2009 as the starter, we don’t know why this regression happened but we do care. I’d like to say it was inexcusable but the fact of the matter is when Omiyale was anointed the starter merely because of his pay check this not only likely hurt Beekman’s confidence but also hurt the overall chemistry of the offensive line. 
Couple this with the disaster that was the old and washed up Orlando Pace and things on the left side were all the more complicated. However 2009 shouldn’t matter, what should matter is Beekman should see himself simply as the best left guard on the roster and prepare to perform like that in 2010. Beekman was decent in 2008 but his play was also hurt by the turnstile that was John St. Claire. 2008 in mind that is the level of play I expect from Josh Beekman in 2010, arguably improved depending how well Beekman takes to Mike Tice’s coaching and development. So already we’re two positions into the offensive line and the left side should be far and away stronger than it has been at any point since 2006. Meaning the players are expected to play at a consistent enough level to rival the play of the Super Bowl offensive line.
Things get a little more tricky as we get to the center spot however because of Olin Kreutz’s off-season surgery and recovery time. My expectations for Kreutz are low, not only because of the surgery, but because he’s the longest tenured veteran on the team and nearing the end of his career. Truth be told my expectations for Kreutz is that his play could suffer a lot more than anyone is willing to state with a straight face. This could be the weak spot of the offensive line and it likely represents Kreutz’s last year in Chicago playing for the Bears. Kreutz has arguably put together a hall of fame level career given his consistency and his high level of play at the center position. Kreutz was at one time dominating, but more impressive he’s been playing a consistent level for 115 consecutive games. This combined with other resumes of hall of fame caliber men in the middle means Kreutz should have a bronze bust in Canton.
None of that talk really means anything for 2010 however, all we can hope for is for Kreutz to not show his age to the point that Beekman must take over the starting role and then Asiata somehow moves in as the starter at LG. If Kreutz pulls an Orlando Pace style regression then the offensive line is in severe trouble. I honestly don’t know what to expect from Kreutz, I just hope that we can put together one more solid season so that he isn’t the weak link on the offensive line.
Moving to the right guard slot and Roberto Garza we come to another position of question based solely on the signs that Garza’s play is starting to show signs of his age. Although Garza has been fairly consistent throughout his tenure in Chicago, he still isn’t a great offensive guard, not really even a good offensive guard. Garza is about as average as they come and the expectation is that he’ll maintain that same old song and dance mediocrity that he’s played at since his arrival in Chicago. Garza’s play should maintain, and that should be enough for there to be a higher level of success on the offensive line than has been witnessed since 2006. Garza should simply be Garza and if Kreutz plays well four fifths of the offensive line will be as good or better than anything we’ve seen since 2006.
Now we come to the enigma on the offensive line, right tackle and the man I love to hate Frank Omiyale. I have no idea what the hell to expect from Frank Omiyale. He’s not young and he’s never played the right tackle spot at any point in his career. He was a bad left guard, but apparently was a good left tackle, good enough for Angelo to cough up an absurd level of guaranteed money to bring him here to Chicago in 2009.
The only thing I can do is base my expectations on what I’ve heard out of the mouth of Jerry Angelo and Mike Tice, that Omiyale will be much more comfortable out at offensive tackle than he ever was at guard. Truth be told though my expectation is that he will compete with Kreutz as to who the weak link of the offensive line should be. Omiyale is not strong, didn’t appear to be very athletic and unless he’s given a lot of help from Brandon Manumaleuna, he will likely struggle.
So as we wrap up the discussion surrounding our pre-training camp look at the offensive line this much is clear as far as expectations, three fifths of the offensive line should be good, and the other two starters are questionable. Exceeding my expectations means this could be the best offensive line we’ve witnessed in quite a number of years in Chicago. That’s not out of the realm of possibility given the Bears have had offensive line problems for the last 25 years in one form or another.
What has to happen for this offensive line to succeed at a level not seen in the last 25 years is relatively simple, Olin Kreutz plays at a level that we didn’t see last year because he was severely bothered by the bone spurs in his heel. Frank Omiyale is as good as the money Jerry Angelo paid him, Williams plays up to the level he’s capable and Josh Beekman plays like he did in 2008. If all that comes together then the 2010 offense as a whole will be one of the best offensive unit’s the Chicago Bears have ever fielded in the history of the franchise, simple as that.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
