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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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?

[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.

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Derek Anderson has been tabbed the starter by Ken Whisenhunt. This replaces long-time project Matt Leinart. While the Cardinals are playing this as not a locked decision, it doesn’t look good for Leinart who is considered a bust after being a first round pick out of USC.

Isn’t it nice that a quarterback controversy has nothing to do with the Chicago Bears? See that league, we have our starter in place. Well, for the time being unless the offensive line decides that it is time to start protecting the franchise.

From a Chicago Bears perspective, I mentioned the issues with the offensive line above but there is one glaring concern with the defense. Brian Urlacher will miss this contest with a left calf injury. While not considered to be season threatening, it is still a concern because he missed all of last season. Tommie Harris and Julius Peppers showed a lot last week and hopefully will continue to mesh as teammates. If so, this could be quite a dominating combination.

[picappgallerysingle id="9580314"]I would like to see Johnny Knox and Devin Hester step up this week. Both have shown some flashes, but I think these two guys can be a strong NFL tandem, so it is time for these two to prove me right once again (see Garrett Wolfe and Al Afalava). If the offensive line can give Jay Cutler some time, it would be nice to see the Chicago Bears open up the offense created by Mike Martz. Knox and Hester provide blazing speed and play-making abilities possessed by very few teams. Now it is time for us to see this in action.

[picappgallerysingle id="1370169"]Finally, lets all hope that Patrick Mannelly plays tonight. While Desmond Clark is good at a lot of things, long-snapping isn’t one of ‘em. It was embarrassing watching him on some of his snaps, and he will be the first to admit it.

Once again, I will be tweeting from Soldier Field during the action. Please feel free to follow me at www.twitter.com/bearshq.

What Went Well…

Matt Forte finally showed his fans some of his talents from his rookie season breaking off an 89 yard run. The Chicago Bears blocked well on this play and he made one move and was gone. Quite a change from last season.

Tommie Harris was dominating the defensive line at points. While he didn’t record any sacks, you could tell the Raiders were nervous. He seems to be getting some explosiveness back in his game. Julius Peppers also made some strong plays in the game including two stops on the goal line and recorded a sack.

Devin Hester had some nice plays tonight. On an end-around and middle route, he made plays. Bodes well if he continues to do so.

The Chicago Bears second unit on defense actually held its own despite being put into bad situations. There was some nice penetration on the pass-rush and guys flowed well to the ball.

What Didn’t Go So Well…

Chris Williams was being used pretty much the whole night by Kamerion Wimbley. Wimbley recorded four sacks and six tackles. Not good from the starting left tackle.

Tying into point one, Jay Cutler was running for his life at quarterback. He didn’t have any time to throw and was being thrown around like a rag-doll by the Raiders. In order for the Mike Martz offense to work, Cutler needs time to throw. Once again, not a great sign.

The starting defense lost Brian Urlacher early. While the team claims it was not a threatening injury, the Chicago Bears really need his services.

Dan LeFevour isn’t very good. Enough said…

Garrett Wolfe cannot catch, run or block. Why is he still around? Time to cut the cord.

Let’s pray that Patrick Mannelly never gets hurt. Desmond Clark is a good tight end, but a pretty crappy long snapper.

Eric Peterman is probably updating his resume at the moment. It is inexcusable to muff a punt within the 20 yard line or anywhere for that matter.

The Verdict

Chris Williams really sucked tonight. This does not bode well for the Chicago Bears’ chances. He needs to play a lot better or Jay Cutler will be killed. It isn’t like the rest of the offensive line was that great either, but if Williams cannot get the job done, this team is in trouble.

I will take the Chicago Bears at their word that Brian Urlacher isn’t that injured. But if he is, that sound you are hearing is the Chicago Bears chances falling off a cliff. Hunter Hillenmeyer is a good guy and hard worker, but hardly someone you want out there on a regular basis.

Finally, as my wife loves to point out at games, what is the deal with this 4th Phase nonsense? If you do not execute the other three, it really doesn’t matter how loud I cheer. So good catch by my lovely bride.

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.

The last two games have been a big disappointment to Bears fans everywhere. During the last two games against the Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Bears have managed to let a significant lead disappear late in the game. Week two was gut wrenching in week two, but to have the same outcome in week three was heartbreaking.

If the Bears hope to have any chance this Sunday, Kyle Orton can’t afford to make any careless turnovers and Matt forte will need to average over five yards a carry, as in week one. If Chicago can get the run game going, look for Orton to take some chances deep to his favorite receiver Brandon Lloyd and hopefully find his tight ends Greg Olsen and veteran Desmond Clark.

Bears fans should be nervous this week, but hope for a week four turnaround.