John St. Clair and Offensive Linemen in the Draft

by Adam T on Jan 28, 2009 3:21 PM CST Comment 14 comments

Some days John St. Clair overachieved on other days he way underachieved or played how we thought he would depending on your viewpoint, but many think St. Clair has shown enough to warrant a new contract.

The question is where to put him. He had too many games where Kyle Orton was getting blasted all day, but he may have some value at left guard or as this article puts it:

Mayock had plenty to say about this year’s crop of offensive line talent, and the Bears could use another lineman. Williams should start at left tackle next season. If the Bears can re-sign John St. Clair, he’ll likely start at right tackle with aging veteran John Tait in the rotation. The Bears are happy with the progress of left guard Josh Beekman but need insurance behind declining Roberto Garza at right guard. Backup guard Terrence Metcalf might not be back next season.

We knew this would be coming eventually. Tait's skills have gone down little by little each year, maybe rotating St. Clari in can prolong his shelf life and give him a few more servicable years.

So far as an offensive linemen in the draft NFLN's Mike Mayock says this isn't the best year to pick up a guard.

``Andy Levitre (6-2, 306) was Oregon State’s left tackle. He will kick inside to play guard, and I believe he’s NFL-starting-guard caliber. Some teams like Duke Robinson (6-5, 335) from Oklahoma, a massive, tough guy. He struggles a little bit in space so he’s probably going to be a second-round pick. For the teams that like the real big, massive offensive lineman, he’s going to be a starter for them.’’

He is impressed with two of the bigger guys Herman Johnson out of LSU (6-7, 386) and Kraig Urbik (6-6, 332).

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Rotation?

As in, Tait plays some snaps at tackle, and St. Clair plays the rest?

I’ve never heard anyone suggest this as a viable maneuver for an offensive line. Continuity is generally regarded as the holy grail of OL play—if you want good play, you need the same guys playing the same position for every snap.

by TCBullfrog on Jan 28, 2009 6:17 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

St Clair

The Bears TEs aren’t known for their blocking, so I’m not sure moving St Clair to RT will help him THAT much. I think he led the league in sacks allowed last year, so he’s no great shakes.

I’d like to see the Bears draft another OT with their first pick (Oher would be my hope), and have two solid OTs for a long time to come. St Clair supposedly has some flexibility so he could back up the guards and tackles.

DEJESUS!!!

by tomas21 on Jan 28, 2009 9:17 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I just hope

that the Bears upper management and coaching staff read this website—they would be able to see that almost every Bear fan wants the O-line taken care of. With a few lineman aging and the line not expected to be that good last year, why not keep trying to upgrade it when we are a running football team?

by Stellarpete22 on Jan 29, 2009 5:41 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Huh?

No disrespect to you, Stellarpete, but the LAST thing I’d want is Bears upper management doing something because the fans want it. In fact I’d prefer they spend all of their time watching tape and attending workouts, and none reading fan blogs.

by garsky on Jan 29, 2009 1:55 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

At this point

their method isn’t working. They might actually learn something if they read WCG.

I'M A MAN! I'M 22!

by ChiFan13 on Jan 29, 2009 2:41 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

doubtful

Bringing moderation to a place I don't moderate.

visit the mindful mission

by big_lowitzki on Jan 29, 2009 3:13 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, you're right

I suppose Buenning was a good pick-up.

I'M A MAN! I'M 22!

by ChiFan13 on Jan 29, 2009 5:08 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

right...

… because the Bears’ management has made mistakes, that means they don’t know the things that WCG readers/commenters know?

Really?

I am pretty convinced that Bears management would learn very little from reading WCG, other than that there are some pretty obnoxious Bears fans. But actually, I am pretty sure that they already know that too.

Bringing moderation to a place I don't moderate.

visit the mindful mission

by big_lowitzki on Jan 30, 2009 4:05 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Well, if they do know the same things we do,

then they are definitely incompetent. Thanks for helpin me out.

I'M A MAN! I'M 22!

by ChiFan13 on Jan 30, 2009 5:09 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

No disrespect taken

More of the lines of just wishing they would do something that every fan REALIZES we need.
Can’t be a running team when there aren’t holes to run through
Can’t expect a good QB with no time to throw

by Stellarpete22 on Jan 30, 2009 1:30 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

This line needs a major talent upgrade

not just a patch here or there. I will be seriously disappointed if we don’t bring in a new starter (draft or FA).

by Hatchetm on Jan 29, 2009 7:24 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

I believe

Depending on what we do in FA we will pick Maclin or Oher at #18. I would prefer Oher and pick a taller WR in the 2nd.

by luckie815 on Jan 30, 2009 4:51 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Oher

Read “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game,” by the same writer who wrote “Moneyball,” and you’ll learn everything you need to know about Michael Oher. While I can empathize with his troubled upbringing, the guy is stone dumb. Dumber even that Devin Hester. I can’t see a guy like that being a huge success, unless he’s Leon Lett talented (and even Leon only had a short NFL career).

by garsky on Feb 2, 2009 2:24 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

We dont need a Rhodes Scholar

but if he misses too many assignments, someones likely to get hurt. Some frank discussions with his college coaches and film study should reveal if that is a problem. I think he has a good skill-set as a RT in the NFL, the biggest need for the Bears, IMO. Not much help at RT available in rounds 2-3, ( not high on Loadholt or that Ohio St. guy). Is there anyone else capable of upgrading over St. Clair(my choice of FAs) or Tait(cant drive block, should be cut or challenge Williams at LT) at RT? As for OGs, Robinson will likely be gone for the Bears 2nd pick. I don’t know what to make of Johnson, a 380lb. round 2-3 guy(the Bears seem to prefer lighter, quicker OGs); but I like Urbik if available in round3 to help beef up the line and perhaps improve the run/short yardage game.

by gillrowdy on Feb 3, 2009 11:40 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs