T-Minus Four Days Until Chicago Bears Training Camp
OK, things are starting to get exciting around here. We can almost taste the start of football season. Yesterday, I started highlighting story lines for training camp.
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.
Chicago Bears Player Profile…Greg Olsen
Ah Jonathan’s favorite Bear (cough cough). Can you spell overrated? But I must take off my Greg Olsen hater glasses for a moment and give an unbiased look at the dude. So here we go…
What will his role be???
Even with my hater glasses off, Greg Olsen cannot block. In order to work within the Mike Martz offense a tight end needs to block. But, Olsen can catch passes and has shown some moves in the red zone. So, does this mean that Martz will find a role for the Blond Bomber or will Olsen be a high paid third tight end?
The Verdict…
My guess is that Olsen will be used as a sort of H Back, or a hybrid tight end/full back that is able to get open in shorter underneath routes and once in a while get into the ten to fifteen yard range. He will be a sneaky little third target for Jay Cutler to use when needed. Olsen will be helped by not having to worry about blocking, so perhaps this will allow him to do the things he is good at…making catches. But Olsen is soft and will certainly drop his share of passes and fumble in crucial times in games…crap, my hater glasses are back. It is time for Olsen to stop talking like Tony Gonzalez and play like him. Gee, I am really sorry linebackers are kicking your tail all over the field. I am sorry safeties are all over you on a regular basis…but the great tight ends are able to make plays. So it is enough of the hype…play like your talent indicates!!!
Terrell Owens to the Chicago Bears???
Over the weekend, reports have Terrell Owens out clubbing with Greg Olsen and Jay Cutler. On Terrell Owen’s Twitter page, he indicated that he would like to play with Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears. While beggars cannot be choosers, would Owens be a good fit with this team? Here are my thoughts…
The Good
T.O. has proven to be a play maker in the past. He will get open and make great catches. He also is a good blocker and will give Cutler a legit target at wide receiver. He basically took a year off last season in Buffalo, so there may be some thread left on the tires. He can be a huge difference maker on offense.
The Bad
Teams love getting rid of Owens. He has been considered a cancer to a ball club by many executives and usually leaves teams in worse shape than they were before he got there. He is older and certainly his skills have diminished. Is T.O. at 85% worth the downside?
My Thoughts
This guy is a piece of crap. He always has been and always will be. It is everyone else’s fault but his own. Considering he is a great talent but could only land in Buffalo last season, that should tell people everything he or she needs to know. Now all of this being said, perhaps Owens will have something to prove. He may be willing to keep his mouth shut and play football considering he is at the end of a long and frankly disappointing career. Is it worth it to the Bears??? Well maybe. Give him a contract where he can make a boatload of money for his playing talents and this may be the move of the century. Include in his contract the ability to fine him for every stupid thing he does and that may help too. I am a character guy, and T.O. appears to be anything but that…
Chicago Bears OTAs
The Chicago Bears got a taste of the Mike Martz offense during OTAs, or Organized Team Activities to us common folks.
The feedback from Jay Cutler and other Bears was quite positive. “Mike (Martz) does a great job of mixing things up and keeping the defense off balance, putting guys in match-ups where they can win.” Cutler said. “It’s exciting. It’s changing. It’s always different.”
It should be noted that Cutler was picked off twice Friday by Brian Urlacher and Zach Bowman, but he also completed some passes to several players including Greg Olsen. I mention this because it has been reported that the Bears were shopping Olsen in the off-season and Martz has not liked tight ends that do not block well in his past positions.
Much has been made about issues of a working relationship between Martz and Cutler. According the coach Lovie Smith, the relationship is solid. “What I hope to see is exactly how it’s been from Day 1,” Smith said. “They have mutual respect for each other. Of course being in the middle, I knew both of the guys, knew that it would be a good fit.”
I know two things for sure. Jay Cutler is a talented quarterback and Mike Martz is a talented coach. If both can work together, this will be an exciting offense. Both guys have bad reputations, so the opportunity for both to prove critics wrong may be strong motivation. Look, going from Ron Turner to Mike Martz is like going from a ham sandwich to a filet mignon. This will only help the Bear’s offense.
Your thoughts please!!!
Ten Most Overrated Chicago Bears of My Lifetime
I always have fun with this. I really think that the Chicago Bears bring meatheaded fans to a new level. So here we go…
1. Kevin Butler
How many big kicks did he miss as a Bear? Sure, he got a lot of love because of his tackles on special teams, but for my money Kevin Butler sucked. Plus, his kickoffs were not good.
2. Dave Duerson
Being a Golden Domer and a Chicago Bear usually adds up to someone overrating your talents, and presto…meet Dave Duerson. He was at the right place at the right time, and if Todd Bell would have played in 1985, Duerson would have been a footnote on the history of the Bears.
3. James “Robocop” Thornton
Guy looked like a million bucks and played like a wuss. He could never extend those awesome biceps out to catch passes, and opposing defenders used to love watching his attempts at blocks.
4. Greg Olsen
I know I know, he catches TD passes. But have you seen this pretty boy block? Really…For all the good things he has done he also does plenty of bad ones. To even compare him to Tony Gonzalez is a joke. At least Mike Martz recognized his lack of blocking.
5. Muhsin Mohammed
Man did I hate him…but others picked up on this too…I would scream Moose Sh!t from the stands. He loved blaming everyone else but himself for dropped passes.
6. Thomas Jones
OK, let me preface this by saying that I think he was a good running back. But he was not a great running back. The problem with Jones was that the Bears kept Cedric Benson around instead, and Benson’s lack of development with the team made this move seem like a disaster.
7. Olin Kreutz
He has some positive qualities, but blocking defensive tackles ain’t one of ‘em. Last season, it was scary watching him screw up snaps and miss defenders trying to kill Cutler. Seriously, how hard is it to snap the darn ball…
8. Tom Thayer & Keith Van Horn
Hilgenberg, Bortz and Covert were awesome linemen, which made up for the two weak links on the offensive line. Thayer has turned a lack of talent in football to a crappy career as a broadcaster. I would love to put Jeff Joniak on this list, but its for players only. Man, it is like listening to Niles North High School (a shout out to my old school) students broadcasting the game.
9. Steve McMichael
Good player, not a great player. Since he has retired, people have built him up to be a superstar, but he is anything but that. Not taking away from his contributions, but come on, at best a good player.
10. Adewale Ogunleye
Man, for a guy that talked a lot he really never backed it up on the field. Again, good player but nothing to write home about. Since the has not been resigned by the Bears, he is out of the game.
OK your thoughts please…
