Weekend Discussion: Tice talks Chicago Bears Offensive Line

by Kev H on Jul 16, 2010 4:40 PM CDT in Notes

New Chicago Bears Offensive Line Coach Mike Tice sat down with chicagobears.com writer Larry Mayer, and had a lot of interesting things to say about how the offensive line is progressing.

Let's go past the jump to take a look at some of the quick highlights, and see what you have to think about this crucial component to the Bears offensive success.

The quick highlights:

He noticed that they got better as the season went on.
While Chris Williams wasn't twice as good at LT than RT, Tice definitely noticed that he looked and felt more natural there.
They've worked hard, and he thinks that'll transfer over. They're picking the system up quickly, and run some practices similar to game situations.
Asiata is currently in the lead for the left guard position, due to a very strong off-season. Beekman is in the number 2 slot.
Again, Chris Williams is getting better.
Kruetz and Shaffer graded out highest from last season, and he's confident he's got enough left in the tank to go.
Garza is molding himself to fit in with everyone, and it's going pretty well.
Lance Louis can play four positions, if necessary. After a starting line of Williams, Asiata, Kreutz, Garza, Omiyale, the top three backups currently rank Beekman, Shaffer, Louis.

So what do you think? I like the way the line is shaping up...and I can't wait to see how they do in camp. Bearbonnais, here we come!

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I think...

that I am a proud follower of WCG on Twitter so that I get the latest, up to the minute " news/ analysis for the best Bears website on the planet!"

"More cowbell" - Bruce Dickinson
"More bell cow" - Lovie Smith

by Pete Dixon on Jul 16, 2010 4:45 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs

LG

Asiata in the lead for LG!? Hopefully he turns-out to be a nice suprise for us. Though, I think once the pads come on Beekman will prove to be the most ready of the LG candidates (all of the other LG contenders are extremely raw).

by MakeHalasProud on Jul 16, 2010 4:52 PM CDT reply actions

or maybe Beekman

is destined to be a serviceable backup his entire career

In the 8th grade Mike Ditka won his school's Science Fair with a model of a working volcano. There were 17 other working volcano's made that day, but only one named Mount Ditka.

by Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. on Jul 20, 2010 9:23 AM CDT up reply actions

Glad Tice seems to like Shaffer.

I thought he did pretty decent last year.

by oripunk3485 on Jul 16, 2010 6:14 PM CDT reply actions

Ditto

Probably our most valuable reserve at swing tackle.
He indeed did a good job after Williams moved over to LT.
If Omaiyale doesn’t live up to his billing, we will be well served having Shaffer there to take over.

by pbanachi on Jul 17, 2010 2:17 PM CDT up reply actions

A lot of questions regarding the offensive line

Is Chris Williams as good as he showed towards the end of last year? Is Omiyale worth what we’re paying him, or any good at all? Who will win the LG spot and will they be any good? Can Kreutz rebound from a disappointing ’09 campaign?

Seems the only sure thing is Garza, but bringing in Tice makes be pretty optimistic. Pretty excited to see how it all pans out. If the OL can be solid at the least this offense has a chance to be dominant.

WILDCARD BITCHES!!! YEEEEHHHAAAAA!!!!!

by Acreman20 on Jul 16, 2010 7:42 PM CDT reply actions

What are you smokin?

Kruetz graded out the highest out of all our OL. Garza didn’t grade well .
Saying Kruetz 09 season was disappointin is a load of bull

by suckmyditka on Jul 17, 2010 1:21 PM CDT up reply actions

shhhhh

people have been complaining about Kruetz for a few years now… regardless of his actual play on the field

In the 8th grade Mike Ditka won his school's Science Fair with a model of a working volcano. There were 17 other working volcano's made that day, but only one named Mount Ditka.

by Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. on Jul 20, 2010 9:25 AM CDT up reply actions

Agree with Acreman20

Kreutz season last year was a disappointment and that he graded out highest on a poor offensive line isn’t saying much, not to mention that he didn’t take up his leadership role like he has in past seasons. Garza has been rock steady at his position. I hope Tice isn’t all talk and can really make a difference. If the O line hasn’t improved on the field of play over last year, Cutler will be running for his life all season long. Looking forward to seeing how things play out in training camp.

"Do or do not... there is no try." - Yoda

by Maelvampyre on Jul 17, 2010 2:23 PM CDT up reply actions

Agreed

Tice really likes Kreutz a lot. But I thought his play dropped off a bit last year – while playing with bone spurs in his foot, or whatever.

by JimmyMack on Jul 17, 2010 6:33 PM CDT up reply actions

Garza is soft

by suckmyditka on Jul 18, 2010 12:59 PM CDT up reply actions

You're kidding, right?

How many games has Garza missed in the past 3 seasons?

Semper Fi

by ChicagoMarine on Jul 18, 2010 6:53 PM CDT up reply actions

Exactly

He’s not an all-pro but he’s a solid starter.

WILDCARD BITCHES!!! YEEEEHHHAAAAA!!!!!

by Acreman20 on Jul 19, 2010 3:22 AM CDT up reply actions

~~Garza~~ Olsen is soft

Think you got confused on that one.

If Mike Ditka punched you in the face, you'd have to fight off the urge to thank him.

by Ditkavsworld on Jul 19, 2010 7:00 AM CDT up reply actions

so is the thinking that went into your post

I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures.
~Earl Warren

by lookingdeadred on Jul 19, 2010 8:32 AM CDT up reply actions

Change the batteries in your sarcasm meter.

by Dane Noble on Jul 19, 2010 9:31 AM CDT up reply actions

the sarcasm was not as obvious as you think

if it even was sarcasm

I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures.
~Earl Warren

by lookingdeadred on Jul 20, 2010 8:50 AM CDT up reply actions

I heard Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan on Sirius

and they said they don’t know how good the line will be but they said the one thing they can gaurantee is that they will all play with a nasty mean streak. That to me sounds great.

Adrian Pedestrian!! Now that's funny Mr. Bayless...

by Syndor on Jul 16, 2010 9:26 PM CDT reply actions

frank omiyale

He is our best bet at RT I guess. When they got him why did they move him to guard? From the little I saw he looks better at tackle. Is Schaffer just a backup or will he get a look to start at look at RT?

Since the face been revealed the game got real

by BL3ACH on Jul 16, 2010 11:04 PM CDT reply actions

Two reasons Omiyale played LG last season: Pace and CWilliams

He was not going to start at either OT spot as Pace had the LT spot from day one and CWilliams had the RT spot. No way Omiyale was going to bump out either of those two, so his only chance to play was at LG.

Let Shaffer and Omiyale fight it out for the RT job, let the best man win.

I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures.
~Earl Warren

by lookingdeadred on Jul 17, 2010 10:17 AM CDT up reply actions

I anxious to see Asiata...

he seems like the raw physical talent the Bears love to take chances on. He’s not played much organized American football, but he’s got Martz and Tice to mentor him, so whatever he shows will be his best. It would be nice to see Asiata take the LG spot and solidify it. I think Beeks is adequate at LG, but he’s better suited to C and with Kreutz winding down, having a proven back-up at C is vital. The interior line has a lot to prove this season, so hopefully Tice has brought out their best. On a related note, the o-line will have one less vet DE to contend with.

IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO FIRE LOVIE!

by LostInSTL on Jul 17, 2010 9:02 AM CDT reply actions

Mike Tice

Awesome move to hire him….He’ll have this line playing the way they’re supposed to, and with the 1-2 punch we have at HB, we’ll be able to close alot of games out in the 4th qtr.

by walterfan34 on Jul 17, 2010 2:31 PM CDT reply actions

7th Round OT

Does anybody think the 7th Round OT, Webb, will make the roster also? He’s another guy who seems underrated to me and who might be picked up by someone else if we tried to put him on the PS.

by walterfan34 on Jul 17, 2010 2:34 PM CDT reply actions

There's always a risk...

that a prospect can get picked off the practice squad but remember, the team that picks him up will need to give him a roster spot. Considering that the Bears are not particularly deep or loaded with talent at OL in general, I can’t imagine there are many teams who will take a flyer on giving a roster spot to a 7th round pick who couldn’t crack the Bears roster.

Nope. I think Webb is a perfect PS candidate.

by The Kaiser on Jul 18, 2010 2:11 AM CDT up reply actions

PS it is

Webb is a development project, just like Jerry and Lovie like them. He is massive and if they can help his technique he could be a good player. But not right now

by tommite622 on Jul 18, 2010 3:40 PM CDT up reply actions

He might go the Asiata route

and barely play in preseason, so he can quietly go to the PS

In the 8th grade Mike Ditka won his school's Science Fair with a model of a working volcano. There were 17 other working volcano's made that day, but only one named Mount Ditka.

by Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. on Jul 20, 2010 9:26 AM CDT up reply actions

Offesive line is offensive

What was our biggest need in the off season? An improved offensive line. Who did we add that we know for sure is a stud? Nobody. Late round drat picks, unwanted free agents, aging veterans and wishfull thinking do not make a offensive line better. Martz, Tice and Smith can’t talk negative about our lineman because that would harm the indvidual players and team. The truth is our offensive line for the most part sucked last year and with a solid off season and a lot of hard work this year they should suck a little less.

by e-rabs on Jul 18, 2010 3:05 AM CDT reply actions

Or a lot less...

Yes, the should suck a little less or a lot less; which is what I’m banking on.

And to this notion that the Bears did not make changes to the line they started last year with— that’s poppycock. Either you don’t follow the Bears very well or you’re spewing dis-information.

We dumped Orlando Pace who was probably the biggest cause of our poor line play last year.
We put C Will in his natural position and he did very well there at the end of the season against some very good players.
We moved OMG to his natural position.
We got Olin a surgery to fix is Achilles which was a major issue if you listen to Olin and the coaches.
We brought in a new O Line coach who is one of the most respected O Line coaches in the league.
We developed two rookies from last year—Asiata and Louis— both are showing flashes and one will likely start at LG.
We brought in the best blocking TE in the league to support the O line.
We drafted a large and athletic T who may be a two year project but who could deliver for us down the road.

So, if you think that hard work and a lot off season means that they will automatically suck a little less then don’t you think all of these other factors might mean they could possibly suck a lot less?

by The Kaiser on Jul 18, 2010 6:20 AM CDT up reply actions

This line is going to be average

Everyone says the same thing, we got much better by getting rid of Pace – addition by subtraction. This line should be more consistent than last year, but I really don’t think they’ll be dominant – unless a guy like Asiata or Omiyale really surprises us and steps up to play at a Pro Bowl level.

Last year, the line was definitely below average. So I don’t see us being as bad or worse than we were last year.

by JimmyMack on Jul 18, 2010 8:11 AM CDT up reply actions

I think that Average...

is a fair assessment for the OL.

Hopefully, with an above average QB, RB tandem, TE unit and a speedy and promising WR corps along with a good system and good coaches the offense will be above average enough to find their way into the playoffs.

by The Kaiser on Jul 18, 2010 2:19 PM CDT up reply actions

After last season, average sounds good to me.

Hopefully the line stays basically intact for a few seasons. With offensive lines, the longer they play together the more effective they are. You don’t need a bunch of All Pros to be very effective, though one or two rising to All Pro level would be nice (C Williams).

by BigGeorgeTX on Jul 19, 2010 8:05 AM CDT up reply actions

I'll be happy with an average OL

At the end of last season the OL seemed to click. We got a glimpse of the potential that this line can do. I’m just hoping that Tice can bring out everyone’s best.

by chigrl on Jul 18, 2010 2:44 PM CDT reply actions

Its what he does best

and thats what good coaches do. They rarely make a player better, they just bring out the best that that player can be. I look forward to a good line, it makes the whole game better to watch

by tommite622 on Jul 18, 2010 3:39 PM CDT up reply actions

Seriously? What are you? A union rep??

Happy with average play?? I bet you’re “C” student too.

I will not be happy until and unless this squad dominates. IF not, WTF are they practicing for?

All the off season work, the OTAs, the coaching is designed to make our line elite. OK, maybe not elite, but not average either.

This group WILL excel, mark it down. These guys will dominate – with their “nasty streak”.

by Suffering from Chicago Sports on Jul 19, 2010 12:25 PM CDT up reply actions

Well, tlet's take a few things into account:

- Cutler + WRs with a year of jelling/ learning together
- New dynamic OC
- Addition of Chester and Manu
- Forte healed up from his surgery

In my opinion, all of the above will help our passing and running games tremendously. As long as our OL can perform at an average level (instead of last year’s below-average garbage) we should see significant success on offense.

That being said, the addition of Tice should help tons, and placing OLinemen in their natural positions (WIlliams/ Omiyale) should reap some benefits. Hopefully, we can be above average. But, with the exception of maybe Williams, we don’t really have any “above average” talent on our OL. We should be good with average this season.

Also, I bet you’re "C" student too. Please don’t get personal with someone just because you disagree with their opinion.

by Dane Noble on Jul 19, 2010 12:40 PM CDT up reply actions 3 recs