WCG Match-Up Post: Grades and Reviews
by Dominique Blanton on Aug 24, 2010 7:00 PM CDT
in Game Recap
Email
PrintInconsistent is one word I will describe the Bears O-line with after reviewing last Saturday's game against the Raiders. The good news is that the line looked much improved in their running blocking; the bad news is that they failed to capitalize on their pass blocking performance from preseason game #1. Fans got an idea what the Martz offense looks like if you block well and what it looks like when you don’t block well. The hope is that last Saturday's putrid performance by the pass protection had a lot to do with the Bears not scheming rather than the fear that it has a lot to do with lack of talent.
Grades and Reviews
Left Tackle Chris Williams: Grade F
Kamerion Wimbley simply was too fast for Williams, but looking back at that match up you can chalk Williams' struggles on not being the aggressor. It seems like every time Wimbley went to the speed rush outside, after getting into his stance Williams would go into a retreat mode instead of initiating contact. Too many times Williams had his arms low or was to late on the hand punch and it allowed Wimbley to blow past him and destroy Cutler.
Hopefully this was just one of those bad games that most good tackles have during their playing career. The LT spot is critical in this offense, and Williams needs to establish that he can be left on an island against the Kamerion Wimbleys of the world (not saying he's a scrub, but he's not one of the elite pass rushers of the league). We need a far better effort from Chris in this 3rd pivotal preseason game.
Left Guard Roberto Garza: Grade C
The grade speaks for itself. Garza wasn't bad, but at the same time he didn't stand out either. He was at the fault of one of Wimbley's 4 sacks when he missed on a Wimbley stunt on the inside. At times it looked like Garza was still trying to get comfortable at the LG position, but judging from these past two preseason games I can only draw up the conclusion that he will soon reach that state of comfort at LG.
Center Olin Kreutz: Grade B
Kreutz did a great job in both the run and pass blocking department and was the key guy pulling on that 89-yard run by Forte. In pass protection, Kreutz spent most of the second half doubling Garza's guy on the left side and looking out for stunts and blitzes up the middle of the line. Kreutz was the best lineman on the field that night for the Bears which is encouraging to Bears fans moving forward.
Right Guard Lance Louis: Grade C-
Louis was good at run blocking last Saturday, but struggled against Tommy Kelly in pass protection. Looking back at the game, it looks like Louis' troubles at pass protection had a lot to do with his positioning and stance. The play where he got beat by Tommy Kelly had more to do with him being too stiff at the point of attack, making it easy for Kelly to shed the block and sack Cutler. We can't have plays like that from Louis this season because that play in particular could have been an 80-yard touchdown to Hester if Cutler had a few more seconds in the pocket. At run blocking, he was tremendous at pulling, often taking out a guy, but at the line of scrimmage he struggled a bit which comes back to his positioning. He needs to clean up on these things going forward to the next game.
Right Tackle Frank Omiyale: Grade A-
Frankie O slipped a little bit last week. He wasn't as impressive last Saturday against the Raiders in pass protection as he was in the Chargers game two weeks ago. I contribute his two mistakes to lack of concentration, as it looked on a couple plays that he didn't quickly recognize what his man was going to do. Other than that, Omiyale has been our best lineman through two games of the preseason so far and if he can consistently handle his guy one on one, it only helps this offense as it gives Martz more targets to put downfield (i.e. Greg Olsen, Clark, and Kellen Davis).
39 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
And to think that Frankie scared the hell out of me at training camp.
Let’s hope he keeps showing improvement. Not to make excuses for an absolutely putrid performance but I have often heard it said that it takes the offense longer to gel and come together than the defense so hopefully a little more time will help.
If you can't laugh at yourself you must not be very funny.
I remain a pessimistically hopeful Bears fan.
Mind you, it’s essentially the same defense that they’ve been playing for several years now. That should worry you.
"44 years of football history and nothing to show for it. I wish I wasn’t banned at the Norseman.." - tfrabotta
"Fellas, what are they, unblockable? Is that the '85 Bears over there?" - overheard at Giants' '06 training camp
~~~ Check my profile for links for SB20 and America's Game: '85 Bears ~~~
My gut feeling........
Tells me that the Bears oline will come around. They won’t be great, but they will be good.
by Dozjah on Aug 24, 2010 8:04 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
And good will do .
" Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth. " ~
Mike Tyson
by MidWayMonster54 on Aug 24, 2010 8:08 PM CDT up reply actions
Yeah after watching him play RT
I can safely say we can drop the “turnstyle” in his name now lol.
by Chitownproduct on Aug 24, 2010 9:11 PM CDT up reply actions
He's just a demonstration of what happens when you play a guy outside of his natural position.
Now that he’s playing the position he’s played his entire career, he’s doing fine. This team’s ability to succeed is hindered by Lovie’s insistance on trying to put square pegs in round holes.
Truest words ever spoken
It took an actual O-Line coach to lay the law down for Lovie. I wonder how much Ron Turner actually spoke up about stuff like that and didn’t just let everyone else tell him where they wanted people to play.
by Chitownproduct on Aug 26, 2010 10:35 PM CDT up reply actions
finally caught a replay of saturday
wow. their entire offense consisted of a big run by forte and a td on a broken play after getting a gift fumble on the oakland 20. thats it. great work on those three plays. terrible protection, bad throws, bad hands. defense got worked the whole half. we better hope like hell big changes come in the next two weeks.
Raiders Network broadcasting Team......
Grade Z-
There were several times, as I watched the replay on NFL network (I forgot to record the game on Saturday, so I had to record the replay…..) that I thought “Gee. These dudes are absolute, totally biased, incoherent, clueless, unprofessional idiots who make me want to jab sharpened pencils through my ear drums.”
Anyone else catch how bad these douches were? Calling them inaccurate would be an upgrade. Calling them entertaining (even if i was a Raiders fan) would be cause for ridicule.
in•san•i•ty \in-ˈsa-nə-tē\ noun
1 : The practice of repeating the same action while expecting different results.
by Timothy Hockemeyer on Aug 24, 2010 8:26 PM CDT reply actions
Not in my book......
They were horrible. I don’t mind the Raiders bias. You expect that from the home crew, and you get that from the Chicago crew, as well. But They were calling the wrong names all night, mis-calling the action, and even screwing up the replays.
How many times did they call Dez Clark out as Patrick Mannelly, even as they were calling the replays and you could clearly see Clark’s nameplate? And their commentary was just putridly bad. I spent a good portion of the time wondering why the Raiders would hire Beavis and Butthead to do commentary for games? Was Mike Judge the guest commentator?
in•san•i•ty \in-ˈsa-nə-tē\ noun
1 : The practice of repeating the same action while expecting different results.
by Timothy Hockemeyer on Aug 24, 2010 8:37 PM CDT up reply actions
Yo Train you just ....
….. insulted Beavis and Butthead . One of the talking heads was former Raiders QB Jim Plunkett ….. he may want to look for another job …… say one with no speech required .
" Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth. " ~
Mike Tyson
by MidWayMonster54 on Aug 24, 2010 9:43 PM CDT up reply actions
And here I thought part one of the announcing job was
“Learn team roster” with step 2 being “acquire injury report.”
by Steven Schweickert on Aug 24, 2010 10:00 PM CDT up reply actions
Greg Pappa and Jim Plunket...
are just banal and mind-numbing. I get your point about how they seem like they are high! There is an aura of distraction and disinterest that is reminiscent of Pat Sommerall (sp.) and later Madden. I lived in the bay area a few years back and these guys have been the local announcers for years. Throw in a visit from Tom Flores and a few other ‘70s Raiders and it’s a recipe for narcolepsy! I’m glad you got to share in that experience; even if you aren’t! ;>P
IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO FIRE LOVIE!
The bias is understandable, but they were flat out horrible.
I was going to make mention of it before, but I wasn’t sure how many would have seen it on NFLN rather than regular TV. I think it was George Atkinson who was on the sideline, and was possibly the worst I’ve ever seen/heard. He may have been a good player, but he had no more business calling a game than Ali would have calling a fight. And why does the name Santo keep popping into my head?
"The time has come to get deeply into Football. It is the only thing we have left that ain't fixed." - HST
I liked how the long snapper was everyone except Dez
At first it was Pat Mannely playing injured. Then it was Kevin Shaffer.
I’m like wow wtf
Yeah I noticed that too
They had some mis-information, but homerism is to be expected, but I like how the called Lance Briggs “The Bears speedy linebacker.”
Now this is where...
I’m GLAD I was at the game. ;-)
by Steven Schweickert on Aug 24, 2010 10:24 PM CDT up reply actions
They were Raider announcers I believe
Not sure why considering the Bears were at home, but whatever. They were very slow at realizing our starting long-snapper was not playing.
"In order to have a winner, the team must have a feeling of unity; every player must put the team first- ahead of personal glory" - motivational sign at Halas Hall.
Every team does separate....
Broadcasting for their home offense, even if they aren’t at home. I just wish NFL Network had used the Bears crew for the game at Soldier Field.
in•san•i•ty \in-ˈsa-nə-tē\ noun
1 : The practice of repeating the same action while expecting different results.
by Timothy Hockemeyer on Aug 25, 2010 6:37 PM CDT up reply actions
Hello?
Frank O, … an “A-” ?
What are ya doin?
Datin his sister???
Frank Omiyale looks much improve at RT...
and fans need to start giving him his props for his past two performances in this preseason instead of hanging on to his poor performance last year which clearly showed that he was out of position at LG. Even Jeff Dickerson and Zach Zaidman share my same feelings that Omiyale had one of his best nights last Saturday, but it got overshadow by Chris Williams struggles.
by Dominique Blanton on Aug 25, 2010 1:26 AM CDT up reply actions
Louis will always...
have trouble in the interior line because his strength is in his upper body. He really is more of a RT than a G, but if he can work on his footwork, he can be a great pulling G. He really has the skills like Frankie O when it comes to blocking on the move. C Williams was scary bad in that game. Let’s hope Tice can get him turned around (no pun intended) because the offense will be just awful if he doesn’t improve dramatically over last week!
IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO FIRE LOVIE!
Great write up
Good to see Kruetz getting some props!
My only disagreement is your reasoning for the “F” to C. Williams (he did deserve the F!).
When pass protecting on an island, like most left tackles are asked to do, being over aggressive can lead to mistakes, and retreating via the kick step is the proper technique. If the LT initiates contact in a pass block he can often get off balance by over extending.
As the defender approaches you have to deliver the punch (as you pointed out), and his was slow and soft. My problem with Williams that night was he played too high, and he didn’t move his feet well. Once Williams let the defender get into his chest it was over. He had no leverage. As the LT retreats he has to keep the defender at bay with a hard punch. Williams will hopefully learn from this, and play better next week.
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 Aug 25, 2010 10:15 AM CDT reply actions
I think that's what worries me most.
Williams was seen as a guy with good feet, technique, and quickness, but problems with playing strength and aggression, at least coming out of college. That means (if I’m thinking correctly) that guys like Wimbley are the guys he should be able to handle. It’s the strong, bull-rush type guys that should cause problems for him.
"The time has come to get deeply into Football. It is the only thing we have left that ain't fixed." - HST
He needs himself a woman that'll treat him bad. That should make him come to the games with an attitude.
Her headache Saturday night, = abundance of testosterone on Sunday.
I believe he got married shortly after he was drafted.
Give it another year or so, and he’ll embrace his anger. If he only knew the power of the dark side…
"The time has come to get deeply into Football. It is the only thing we have left that ain't fixed." - HST
OL
I’m very surprised Omiyale graded the best OL on Sat. What backups impressed you the most?? We might have to count on guys like Shaffer & Beekman at some point during the season. I like the Lance Louis move, at some point the young OL need to be developed and get extensive PT.
Nice write-up, but I'm a little unclear on the grades.
You gave Kreutz a B and Omiyale an A, but declared that Kreutz had the best game of all the linemen.
"The time has come to get deeply into Football. It is the only thing we have left that ain't fixed." - HST
I think Kreutz's B
is better than Omiyale’s A, meaning that even at less than 100%, Kreutz > Omiyale.
If I did what I love for a living, what would I do in my free time?
Writer at windycitygridiron.com {-/-} http://www.twitter.com/kdoggers
lol gotcha
So the grades are for how well they played within/up to their potential, rather than compared to everyone else.
"The time has come to get deeply into Football. It is the only thing we have left that ain't fixed." - HST
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Community Guidelines
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
