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.

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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.

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[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.

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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?

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.

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[picappgallerysingle id="9469343"]Speaking of Gates, the Chicago Bears signed his former teammate Brandon Manumaleuna as one of the big three with Julius Peppers and Chester Taylor. Manumaleuna is supposed to be a devastating blocker and will occasionally catch a pass when he’s open. Well this preseason, he hasn’t caught a pass or blocked very well. Now in his defense, he was hurt. For a guy that is considered by many to be such a great blocker, I ain’t seeing it. He was a key player for the Mike Martz offense in St. Louis, so let’s hope this is just him getting his legs back after an injury. But like with Marv Cook, the Chicago Bears haven’t had the best track record of bringing in tight ends from free agency.

[picappgallerysingle id="3196792"]Desmond Clark has been one of the more underrated Chicago Bears during his career. This season, he has made the transition to h-back as well as playing some tight end. H-back is a combination between the two positions, but one of the primary jobs of an h-back is to block for both the quarterback and running game. Clark has struggled with both of these tasks. In his defense, it is a new season and he is learning a new position. However, it better improve really quickly or this could be a disaster.

[picappgallerysingle id="9580886"]Kellen Davis isn’t a lock on this roster. He is used primarily as a special teams player and catches occasional short passes. Quite honestly, he has looked the best of the four this preseason (although I have to say that Olsen is a far superior pass catcher, but I think blocking is as big of a part of the tight end position as catching passes…unless you’re Jay Novecek). He seems to get a pad on someone and helped with the running game. That does not mean I think he is more talented than the other three (well more than Olsen in the blocking department, my two-year old son can block better), I just am giving him credit for being the best of the tight ends this preseason.

Closing Preseason Thoughts…

I think one of the dangers of the preseason is the ability of us fans to gripe about something. When teams play four games, fans want to see what his or her team can do. In the case of the Chicago Bears, we saw very little from this squad. If this team finishes 13-3, people will forget the preseason fairly quickly.

I have no issue with Lovie Smith holding out some of his star players. That being said, it would seem that learning a complicated offense like Martz’s one require a lot of practice. The lack of blocking really did not allow this group to find a rhythm. Maybe this is getting done at Halas Hall, but based on the results (and I am sure most of you would agree), we do not have much to feel good about at this point. This can all change a week from Sunday against the Detroit Lions.

Here are some of the low-lights…

-Jay Cutler played like Rex Grossman.

-The offensive line still cannot block.

-Missed tackles on defense.

-Two missed field goals.

-Lack of third-down stops.

-Lance Briggs injured his ankle.

-Matt Forte doesn’t play very much.

-Chris Harris missed two obvious tackles on consecutive plays.

-Brandon Manumaleuna forgot how to block.

What were the highlights???

-Dan LeFevour actually looked like he did in college…good (and he shut me up with some play-making abilities).

-Juaquin Iglesias made a tough catch in the end-zone.

-Pisa Tinoisamoa was all over the field making plays.

-Johnny Knox continues to grow before our very eyes.

-Julius Peppers is pretty good.

-Tommie Harris continues to show flashes of his former self.

Overall Recap

I really left Soldier Field tonight with a sour taste in my mouth and anger in my gut. How can this team be so bad? Are they not showing us anything or do they not have the ability to show us anything? Lovie Smith claimed that this game was going to be treated like a regular season game and even suggested that the Bears had a score to settle with the Cardinals from last season. If this is how the Chicago Bears settle a score, it may be time to start looking for another line of work.

OK, its only the preseason I keep telling myself. No one remembers what your record was during this time. However, glaring holes are still showing up on this team and there is little that may give us any hope.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am so glad that the days of Jason McKie are over. I was so sick and tired of watching him not gain yards or drop short passes. Now that Ron Turner is gone, so are the days of the boring fullback that does little but take up space. To this day, I am trying to understand exactly what McKie brought to the table, and I am still not quite sure. He really never seemed to block anyone and when he would actually catch a pass, it would be for very little yardage. This was one of many things that Turner seemed to do well…have eligable receivers that teams knew darn well were not getting the football. Or if that player did, bad things would probably happen.

Now let’s welcome Mike Martz. Martz’s offense specifically requires each eligable player to do a specific task on every play. Working within a cohesive unit, each receiver’s responsibilities opens up opportunities for a teammate.

One of the key’s to his offense is the use of the H-Back. What is an H-Back you might ask? Well an H-Back traditionally serves as a player with the combined skills of a fullback and tight end. The H-Back will line up in the backfield in a spot similar to where the fullback would line up or in support or on the line of scrimmage. The H-Back may also go in motion to the desired location. So the player is not exactly a fullback but can play that roll…he is also not a traditional tight end but can play that roll as well.

Don Coryell, who is considered by many to be the father of the modern passing game, in one of his many innovations identified that the tight end could be used as more than just a blocker. While Martz has varied this approach a little bit, it still comes from this general concept. In fairness to Ron Turner, he tried some of these things too, but seemed to favor McKie over more athletic type players that Martz has had a tendency to favor in this roll.

During the St. Louis Rams great runs, Ernie Conwell was that type of player. He would line up in the backfield and find his way into the short-to-immediate passing zone and create an option for Kurt Warner. This would open everything up for the “Greatest Show on Turf” to work its way downfield.

[picappgallerysingle id="3838048"]Based on this, the Chicago Bears have two great candidates for this type of player…Greg Olsen and Desmond Clark. Both are guys that have shown some receiving skills and in the case of Clark, a guy that can block when he has to do so. Brandon Manumaleuna will play the roll of tight end (that is known for blocking first in the Martz offense), but the other two guys will fill the roll nicely at H-Back.

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[picappgallerysingle id="1537698"]Please follow me on Twitter and Facebook. I also welcome your thoughts about my work. Please feel free to comment and I will be sure to respond.

[picappgallerysingle id="3258173"]What does Desmond Clark need to do to get respect around here? He has been one of the most productive Chicago Bears over the past few seasons, and yet all the organization wants to do is replace him. Greg Olsen may have better “pure” receiving skills and Brandon Manumaleuna is a better blocker, but Clark does everything pretty well.

During the first few days of training camp, he has been one of the top offensive players. He has made some impressive catches and found ways of getting open.

For a change, tight end has become a position of strength for the Chicago Bears.

Going forward this season, look for Clark to have a strong season in the red-zone due to his size and deceptive skills. Additionally, he is a strong blocker that will help Manumaleauna on the opposite side. Clark will be the unsung hero this season.

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Building to The Chicago Bears Strength

It is fairly easy to find the things the Chicago Bears do not do well. In fact, the pro-White Sox media (OK, had to throw this in here…) seems to find many things wrong that the Bears do. But, this is not the worst football team on Earth. Here are a few areas of strength for the Chicago Bears.

Special Teams

Brad Maynard and Robbie Gould are one of the premier kicking duos in football. Both kick in one of the toughest venues in football and do it at a high level. The Bears also have a strong group of returners. The best of all of these dudes is Devin Hester (will the old Devin Hester please stand up). Johnny Knox and Daniel Manning have both proven valuable in this roll as well. The Bears also cover kicks and block very well. Kudos to this group!

Starting Quarterback

Jay Cutler is a gifted quarterback. He has a cannon for an arm and can move out of the pocket. While he made some bad throws last year, he didn’t get much help. With a new system in place and more experience for his wide receivers, Cutler is due for a strong season.

Tight Ends

Finally the curse of Coach Ditka is gone. The Chicago Bears are blessed with good tight ends. While I am not the biggest Greg Olsen fan, he does bring some things to the table. Desmond Clark is a solid tight end and the most valuable of the group is Brandon Manumaleuna. Having this guy will help with the blocking on the offensive line. And when you are not looking, he will slip out and catch a pass.

Linebacker

You have one Hall-of-Famer (Brian Urlacher), one possible Hall-of-Famer (Lance Briggs), and a really solid player (Pisa Tinoisamoa) starting in this group. In addition, there is one solid backup (Nick Roach) and a veteran (Hunter Hillenmeyer) in this group.

In Closing…

I wanted to give us all some good thoughts for the day. It is easy to be negative, but today, its all about the love.