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Former Chicago Bears general manager Jerry Angelo and head coach Lovie Smith were primarily defensive guys-- and they did a fantastic job of building a defense in Chicago-- but always seemed to lend much less focus on the offensive side of the ball, specifically the offensive line.
There was always a 'plug-and-play' mentality, and if needed, just shuffle the players around to try and find the right combination. An average OL would be fine... just throw some guys in there, and hope they don't screw anything up.
Unfortunately, with that mentality, they did screw up. A lot.
Fast-forward to new GM Phil Emery, and suddenly, an offensive line appears. And a pretty good one, too.
Like their predecessors, Emery and head coach Marc Trestman will be heavily-focused on the defensive side of the football as the 2014 NFL Combine kicks off, but not because the OL is being overlooked or under-valued. It's an odd shift in paradigm in Chicago, but very much a welcome one.
Today is officially Day 1 of the Combine, and the arrivals list includes the offensive linemen, tight ends, and special teamers. The players today will go through registration, some medical exams, orientation, and interviews, followed tomorrow by measurements, more medical, and more interviews. Their physical exams will begin Friday.
A quick list of players arriving today:
Must Reads
OL Joel Bitonio, Nevada
OL Russell Bodine, North Carolina
OL Conor Boffeli, Iowa
OL Justin Britt, Missouri
OL Dakota Dozier, Furman
OL Kadeem Edwards, Tennessee State
OL Matt Feiler, Bloomsburg
OL Cameron Fleming, Stanford
OL Zach Fulton, Tennessee
OL Ryan Groy, Wisconsin
OL Jon Halapio, Florida
OL Jonotthan Harrison, Florida
OL Seantrel Henderson, Miami (FL)
OL James Hurst, North Carolina
OL Gabe Ikard, Oklahoma
OL Gabriel Jackson, Mississippi State
OL Ja'Wuan James, Tennessee
OL Wesley Johnson, Vanderbilt
OL Cyrus Kouandijo, Alabama
OL Tyler Larsen, Utah State
OL Charles Leno, Boise State
OL Taylor Lewan, Michigan
OL Brandon Linder, Miami (FL)
OL Corey Linsley, Ohio State
OL Spencer Long, Nebraska
OL Luke Lucas, Kansas State
OL Marcus Martin, USC
OL Zack Martin, Notre Dame
OL Jake Matthews, Texas A&M
OL Jack Mewhort, Ohio State
OL Morgan Moses, Virginia
OL Matt Paradis, Boise State
OL Matt Patchan, Boston College
OL Antonio Richardson, Tennessee
OL Cyril Richardson, Baylor
OL Weston Richburg, Colorado State
OL Greg Robinson, Auburn
OL Michael Schofield, Michigan
OL Anthony Steen, Alabama
OL James Stone, Tennessee
OL Bryan Stork, Florida State
OL Xavier Su'a-Filo, UCLA
OL Travis Swanson, Arkansas
OL Brandon Thomas, Clemson
OL Trai Turner, LSU
OL Billy Turner, North Dakota State
OL John Urschel, Penn State
OL Chris Watt, Notre Dame
OL David Yankey, Stanford
TE Jace Amaro, Texas Tech
TE Rob Blanchflower, Massachusetts
TE Trey Burton, Florida
TE A.D. Denham, Utah
TE Joe Don Duncan, Dixie State
TE Eric Ebron North, Carolina
TE C.J. Fedorowicz, Iowa
TE Crockett Gillmore, Colorado State
TE Xavier Grimble, USC
TE Nic Jacobs, McNeese State
TE Marcel Jensen, Fresno State
TE Reggie Jordan, Missouri Western State
TE A.C. Leonard, Tennessee State
TE Colt Lyerla, Oregon
TE Arthur Lynch, Georgia
TE Jake Murphy, Utah
TE Jordan Najvar, Baylor
TE Troy Niklas, Notre Dame
TE Jake Pedersen, Wisconsin
TE Richard Rodgers, California
TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Washington
TE D.J. Tialavea, Utah State
LS Marcus Heit, Kansas State
P Steven Clark, Auburn
P Zach Hocker, Arkansas
P Tom Hornsey, Memphis
P Richie Leone, Houston
P Cody Mandell, Alabama
P Pat O'Donnell, Miami (FL)
K Chris Boswell, Rice
K Anthony Fera, Texas
K Cairo Santos, Tulane
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For full Combine information, including interview schedules, list of invites, and workout schedules, click HERE.
This is your NFL Combine Day 1 Open Thread... Have fun!
