Grading the Chicago Bears…Tight Ends
For those of you that know me, you know I’m am not a card carrying member of the Greg Olsen Fan Club. In fact, while in Green Bay, Packers fans accused me of actually being too hard on him. Wow, even the enemy thinks I’m too rough.
But I’ve got my reasons for not thinking Olsen is very good. He runs poor routes, fails to get open, cannot block and drops/fumbles the football way too often. I know he’s had some solid games, but I can point to numerous occasions where he’s been a non-factor or even a minus.
Brandon Manumaleuna was brought in to be a bad-ass blocking tight end. He was given big money and expected to be an important part of protecting Jay Cutler and opening holes for Matt Forte. While he got better towards the end of the season, he didn’t exactly blow up opposing defenders the way we expected him to do so. He did catch some big passes during the season, but his primary responsibility was to block. Frankly, Manumaleuna didn’t live up to expectations. It was announced today he’s having a procedure done on his right knee. This could be an indication of why he wasn’t as good as expected.
Desmond Clark dropped a touchdown pass in week three against the Packers. From that point forward, he was banished to football Siberia. He became a non-factor the rest of the season and will be taking his talents elsewhere.
I think Kellen Davis may potentially be their best tight end. He got much more involved late in the season and has the size and speed to create match-up problems for opposing teams.
Overall, I give this unit a generous C-. I cannot ignore Olsen’s big games and Manumaleuna did block better in the second half. Davis had some huge catches as well. But, the negatives from this group just made it barely functional.
Follow me on Twitter at BearsHQ.
Chicago Bears Monday Morning Quarterback
The Chicago Bears won yesterday 24-20 over a Detroit Lions team that I felt they should have dominated.
So does this mean it’s a bad win? Not at all…but I wouldn’t be fair if I said it was impressive.
In the first half, the Chicago Bears forgot how to tackle. Lions players were gaining way too many yards after contact. At the end of the first half, the Chicago Bears gave up two long plays leading to a touchdown. The scoring play was an exploited mismatch with DJ Moore covering Calvin Johnson.
While Moore has been solid this year, he isn’t the defensive player I want on Johnson. For those that don’t think Lovie Smith doesn’t show emotions on the sideline, he looked as if he wanted to kill somebody. Moore, to his credit, made some huge plays in the game including a sack of Drew Stanton, a pass break-up on fourth down and several key tackles.
Football is a game of adjustments, and credit needs to go to the coaches. The defense shored things up in the second half. When Jay Cutler fumbled on his own nine yard line on the second play of the half, the defense held the Lions to a field goal. This was the turning point for the defense. From that point forward, they held the Lions scoreless.
Offensively, the line had issues once again. While they were able to move the ball, Cutler took way too many hits. The play selection was consistently even between running and pass, so the commitment to the run didn’t waiver even when playing from behind. I’m a fan of running the damn football.
Earl Bennett is becoming a player. Not only is he catching passes, his blocking is as good as any receiver in the league. Kudos also go to my target Greg Olsen. His blocking was much better yesterday. Once again, Jay Cutler did a solid job of taking what the defense gave him. He made some good throws and was a solid field general. Brandon Manumaleuna finally is showing his value as a blocker. In a new twist he’s becoming a reliable short-yardage guy.
On special teams, kudos to the Lions for containing kickoffs. However, they decided to punt to Devin Hester. He almost broke it. While he just missed setting the all-time punt return for touchdown mark, he gave the Bears good enough field position for Robbie Gould to nail a 54-yard field goal. It was a thing of beauty.
Brad Maynard continued his strong season and consistently put the Lions deep in their own territory. The Chicago Bears had some lapses in tackling on returns, but shored things up as the game moved along.
With the Green Bay Packers winning, the Chicago Bears maintain a one-game lead in the division. The Detroit Lions proved to everyone they’re hoping to play spoiler. With the New England Patriots coming to town this week and the Packers heading to Detroit, this is the week the Packers are hoping to make their move. The Patriots have an emotional game tonight with the Jets, so we’ll know more about the boys from the Boston area tomorrow.
Follow me on Twitter at BearsHq and BlueDemonsLair. For the latest DePaul Blue Demons new s and more, check out www.bluedemonslair.com. Please show me the love for the Big East’s Biggest Fan at www.mybigeastvolvo.com.
Chicago Bears Chester Taylor Receives Praise from Coaches and Brett Favre
One of the big off-season acquisitions was Chester Taylor. Not only was he helping improve the depth of the Chicago Bears at running back, but weakening a division foe in the Minnesota Vikings. As my pals with Packers blogs will point out, Chester Taylor always finds a way to get big yards on a regular basis.
[picappgallerysingle id="10138862"]For those of you that know me and have read my work in the past, I am not a fan of current Chicago Bear Matt Forte. I think he’s a lot of sizzle and very little steak. Taylor, on the other hand, is a tough north and south runner that can fight his way for the tough yards. I do not see the same from Forte, who also doesn’t enjoy blocking or holding onto the football.
The Chicago Bears coaches need to use Taylor more in this offense. Mike Martz was understands Taylor’s value and plans on using him more as the season moves along. Lovie Smith also expressed how valuable Taylor is to this team with his style of play.
Even Brett Favre had good things to say about Taylor. Despite only playing with him for one season in Minnesota, he felt that Taylor was an all-around back that was under-utlilized last season. Perhaps there is some truth to this, or perhaps this is another shot at coach Brad Childress. Either way, Taylor was a valuable member of the Vikings. Taylor is still close with some of his old teammates and has some extra incentive to play for this Sunday at Soldier Field.
With all of this being said, why does Taylor not play more often? While Forte does have more speed, he isn’t a great runner between the tackles. Taylor can do that…so here’s a concept…play both? With Greg Olsen not blocking anyone as an H-Back, why not let Taylor take on that roll? Plus, Taylor might be enough of an inside running threat to open up the outside for Forte. With the offensive line being a weak link, doesn’t it seem logical to have better blocking from the skill positions? While Brandon Manumaleuna has finally began to learn the art of blocking again, perhaps Taylor can help as well.
Follow me on Twitter at BearsHQ and BlueDemonsLair. For the latest DePaul news, check out my blog at www.bluedemonslair.com. Please vote for me as the Big East Biggest Fan at www.mybigeastvolvo.com.
Grading the Chicago Bears
At 4-3, the Chicago Bears find themselves in a tie with Green Bay atop the NFC North. While on paper this looks pretty good, the Chicago Bears have managed to look pretty bad in losing three of four games. Two of those losses came to teams they should have beaten. Without any further buildup, here are my grades for the 2010 Chicago Bears…
Quarterbacks (C-)
Jay Cutler has made some good throws and some bad ones. Todd Collins made no good throws and Caleb Hanie hasn’t done much of anything. While the line hasn’t been good, the quarterbacks haven’t been either.
Running Backs (C)
Matt Forte isn’t very good at blocking of holding onto the football. Chester Taylor is the consummate professional. While Forte has had some spectacular plays and a good game against Carolina, he allows his quarterback to get killed. Taylor is consistently above-average. This needs to improve.
Offensive Line (D)
They’ve been bad, but the running backs and tight ends haven’t helped. Does Olin Kruetz actually block anyone? So a “D” is given out of my frustration to other people not helping a weak unit.
Tight Ends (F)
This has been the most disappointing group. Greg Olsen may make a play once in a while, but his lack of blocking and inconsistent play make him a bad player. Brandon Manumaleuna for a guy that supposedly can block…hasn’t. Desmond Clark and Kellen Davis ain’t worth hot either.
Wide Receivers (C+)
Johnny Knox is coming into his own. Earl Bennett has been solid and Devin Hester has made some plays. Devin Aromashodu is a non-factor.
Defensive Line (B)
Julius Peppers is a dominant football player. Israel Idonije has played well since being slotted as a starter. Tommie Harris isn’t any good and the others are just there.
Linebackers (A)
The best unit on this team and maybe in football. Enough said.
Secondary (B)
Receivers haven’t been going crazy and they cause turnovers. I wish they had a shut-down corner, but this unit has been solid.
Special Teams (B+)
Devin Hester is back. Robbie Gould is awesome and Brad Maynard is solid. Good coverage and Early Bennett’s block on the Seattle punter was one of the best I’ve ever seen.
Coaching (C)
Lovie Smith not challenging Jay Cutler’s TD last week along with Mike Martz’s inability to stop a blitzing corner are bad. Rod Marinelli has done a good job with the defense. At 4-3 this team is still in it, but things have to change next week or we will be in for a crappy final nine games.
Overall (B-)
As of this morning, the Chicago Bears are a first place team. Doesn’t mean there a good one, but who in the NFC really is that good?
Chicago Bears…What’s Exactly Wrong?
Folks, the feelings around the Chicago Bears have changed. Before the debacle in New York, the Bears were considered a contender.
So, who’s to blame for this loss? Why did the karma with this team change. I’m throwing this one to Jerry Angelo.
Angelo loves to make splash moves, but overlooks the building blocks for a successful team. Obviously, he will get his biggest kudos for the Jay Cutler trade. But, with his failure to address the offensive line through free agency and the draft, was getting Cutler a mistake? Compounding the issue is that Kyle Orton is playing well in Denver. So could the picks gone towards strengthening the offensive line? We will never know.
Adding Julius Peppers was also a fine and obvious move along with bringing in Chester Taylor. But Brandon Manumaleuna may be up for a suck award. Could this money have been invested in an offensive lineman?
Moving away from the offensive line, what about him not addressing the backup quarterback position? Todd Collins should be calling college games and Caleb Hanie really is an unknown. So what happens during the preseason? Hanie gets hurt and the Bears primary play Dan LeFevour. Collins is signed late and LeFevour is released and signed by Cincinnati. In a nut shell, the preseason was used to develop a quarterback for the Bengals. Once Hanie went down and LeFevour was your leading candidate to be the number two quarterback, isn’t it obvious that something needed to be done immediately? Signing Matt Gutierrez doesn’t count.
Yes the Chicago Bears are still 3-1, but on a wet fall evening in New Jersey, we saw how the general manager’s failure to address two areas may ultimately be the downfall of the Chicago Bears.
Follow me on Twitter at bearshq.
