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Chicago Bears Position Breakdowns: Tight Ends

Olsen_medium

The tight end position has been the biggest and most consistent strength for the Chicago Bears offense of the past few years.

Desmond Clark has been an extremely consistent tight end for the past six years before and has shown to be a good workhorse when the Bears need him.

The addition of Greg Olsen through the draft two seasons ago has added a big passing threat. Not only that, but he became an alternate for the NFC in the Pro Bowl, a great feat for a second year player.

But what is the state of our TE's right now? Join me after the jump. 

Star-divide

How are we now?

The Bears have one of the better tight end tandems in the NFL.  Olsen and Clark combined for over 900 receiving yards and each had at least nine yards per catch.

Olsen stood out as he took over the starting job that Clark had the year before.  Here is a look at Olsen's last season stats.


Receiving Kickoff Returns Punt Returns
GRecYdsY/GAVGLngTDKRYDSAVGLngTDPRYdsAvgLngTD
15 54 574 38.3 10.6 52 5 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Olsen became a crutch for Kyle Orton at times throughout the season, with four games with at least five catches.

His best game was against the Detroit Lions (of course) where he had just three catches but still amassed 87 yards, averaging almost 30 yards a catch.

Olsen's big play ability has made him an almost receiver-like player only much bigger, making him more dangerous in the red zone.

I expect Olsen to be able to keep progressing and become a Pro Bowler this season, depending on what happens with the quarterback position.

Clark is going to stay consistent as a decent passing attack and one of the better back-up tight ends in the NFL.

Possible Free Agent Pick-ups

Note: After this article, this section will be intertwined with draft possibilities which will be new to the next article in the series.

I don't think that the Bears will do anything about the tight end position this offseason, as they are basically set and need to worry about other positions much more than this one.

Poll
Where do you think the Bears tight end tandem ranks among other NFL teams
Top 5
519 votes
Top 10
172 votes
Outside the Top 10
28 votes

719 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs  |  Comment 29 comments |

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Greg Olsen is going to get even better.

And Dez Clark is the sh1t. He has come up big in the clutch on many occasions. I’m also still excited about this Kellen Davis developing into a serious tight end.

Passion For The Game, Loyal To The Name, Chicago Bears, I Trust In Thee, Standing Strong Since 1983.

by Haightminow on Feb 27, 2009 5:23 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

Kellen Davis

Is a big dude, but I think he won’t get a chance to play until Clark starts to regress.

Make every play lead the way to victory

by BearsFan1 on Feb 27, 2009 5:31 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Or Kellen Davis starts to progress.

I really hope he does, he is a big target that we need.

Passion For The Game, Loyal To The Name, Chicago Bears, I Trust In Thee, Standing Strong Since 1983.

by Haightminow on Feb 27, 2009 5:33 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

I have high hopes

for Davis, but we already have two stellar TE’s and I don’t think Lovie will change something if it’s working, and tight end is the only thing on the offense that is working right now.

Make every play lead the way to victory

by BearsFan1 on Feb 27, 2009 5:37 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

so....

knowing what we all think olsen is, versus what he actually has been, he has to be considered a disappointment right? I know as wells allthat if the team overall was be better he would as well, but he definately hasn’t made as big an inpact as he should/could. even if i think it is more others fault than his own (although the fublitis didn’t help) i still think he’s been a disappointment overall so far. get him more touches.

by mike b on Feb 27, 2009 10:48 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

But

is that the fault of Olsen or the Bears? I don’t think the Bears have been using Olsen properly….they could be using him a lot more.

I'M A MAN! I'M 22!

by ChiFan13 on Feb 28, 2009 11:36 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Agreed

i do think however, that orton needs to develop some chemistry with him. i felt the Bears did use him a lot, but not the way Romo uses Witten

OH! STEWIE!! GET OUT THE WAY BOY! GET OUT THE WAY!
-Stacey King

by ifuwannacrownem on Feb 28, 2009 11:41 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

I agree...

Olson is really fast for a TE, the Bears should be using him on TE screens.

by chase17 on Mar 1, 2009 9:21 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Bears Can Learn From The jets

The jets go out and get there man, the Bears can not believe there fine at recever QB or O-line so why not grab a few big name free agents add in a great draft and do the right thing, losing sucks

http://blog.ppv-streams.com/

by LiveSportSteams on Feb 28, 2009 11:06 AM CST reply actions   0 recs

when was the last time the jets made it to the Superbowl?

when was the last time the Bears made it to the supebowl? Nuff said.

OH! STEWIE!! GET OUT THE WAY BOY! GET OUT THE WAY!
-Stacey King

by ifuwannacrownem on Feb 28, 2009 11:22 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Quick question LiveSportSteams...

I noticed in your profile that you run a sports streaming website… that’s cool.

So, is your user name supposed to be LiveSportsStreams?

Things will get better as they improve...

by Dane Noble on Feb 28, 2009 5:04 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Sorry... hit the wrong reply button...

Mulligan?

Things will get better as they improve...

by Dane Noble on Feb 28, 2009 5:04 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

hey Noob

Not funny.

OH! STEWIE!! GET OUT THE WAY BOY! GET OUT THE WAY!
-Stacey King

by ifuwannacrownem on Feb 28, 2009 5:08 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

got a screen name beofre this one?

otherwise i’m not sure you should be throwing noob around.

by mike b on Feb 28, 2009 6:55 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

pretty much

OH! STEWIE!! GET OUT THE WAY BOY! GET OUT THE WAY!
-Stacey King

by ifuwannacrownem on Feb 28, 2009 7:08 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

NOOBS UNITE!

First post ever BABY!!!

by KtownBear on Feb 28, 2009 7:32 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Don't worry

I’m not taking anybody’s lunch money so MYOB

OH! STEWIE!! GET OUT THE WAY BOY! GET OUT THE WAY!
-Stacey King

by ifuwannacrownem on Feb 28, 2009 10:37 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

cassel

Looks like the Chiefs got Matt Cassel, for #3 draft pick and probably some others. Maybe the bears could get Sanchez or Freeman if they slide. Either through draft or FA the bears will have to address the position.

by Bears-Bullsfan on Feb 28, 2009 1:11 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

question is

do you want either of them.

by mike b on Feb 28, 2009 6:55 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

No

"URLACHER IS GOD"

by Acreman20 on Feb 28, 2009 11:22 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

The Bears

are deep at WR, but nobody on their team is producing above a level of just above average. Whether that’s the players fault or coaches, I don’t see how the Bears as is have better TEs than the Chargers, Chiefs, Cowboys, Texans, Tampa, Indy, or Washington. So I cna’t call them top 5, but I’d put them top 10 with the arrow going up.

DEJESUS!!!

by tomas21 on Mar 1, 2009 7:45 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

dumbest thing I've heard in awhile

“The Bears are deep at WR”… um no. The Bears are deep at WR in the sense that you can drown in just one inch of water. If you really think this please enlighten us as to the Bears alleged depth at the WR position…

 not to mention the rest of the sentence “producing above a level of just above average” huh?? ESL obviously… and thats cool, but other posts not making sense to you is more likely than not on you, not the poster.

by No It All on Mar 1, 2009 9:11 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Seems to me like he meant to say TE...

If you read the post you can figure that out. Geez. Why is everyone so quick to bash mistakes around here? It’s not like you gets points or anything for it.

"You win because of the quarterback. We have to get that position stabilized. We're fixated on that.

We know it's the most valuable position on the football team. We've gone through so many scenarios at that position we can write a book, moreso on what not do."

-- Jerry Angelo (12.30.2008)
.

by SackMan on Mar 2, 2009 10:29 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

+1

OH! STEWIE!! GET OUT THE WAY BOY! GET OUT THE WAY!
-Stacey King

by ifuwannacrownem on Mar 2, 2009 12:20 PM CST up reply actions   0 recs

I meant

TE, not WR.

Also should have said “producing at a level of just above average”.

I apologize for the egregious errors.

DEJESUS!!!

by tomas21 on Mar 2, 2009 11:11 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

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