Bears Blitz

Published by Timothy Hockemeyer on August 16, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

This article is a counterpoint to my esteemed college Bob Warja’s Column “Why 2011 Will Prove the Mike Martz System Isn’t Right for Chicago Bears Offense.”  Be sure to take a look at his article to get both sides of the argument and make up your mind for yourself.

The Bears have done quite a bit this offseason to mold the personnel roster in Mike Martz’s image. 

Gone is TE Greg Olsen, whose fantastic receiving ability was a nice addition, but whose lackluster blocking doesn’t fit with Mike Martz’s system.

Gone is Olin Kreutz, the venerable leader of the Bears offense who was often called the most athletic center to play the game. Martz and Mike Tice want to trend upwards in size on the line, and while Olin was valuable, ultimately, he was less valuable than previous years because of that desire.

Gone is WR Devin Aromashodu, who had tons of potential, but couldn’t run crisp routes and had trouble learning certain receiver spots.

The Bears replaced these players with more Martz-friendly men.  

WR Roy Williams is added to give Martz a big receiver who can run his routes and knows his system. And Chris Spencer is added to an inch of height and 17 lbs of weight to the center position.  

The Bears added TE Matt Spaeth to the mix to give the bears additional blocking power on the edge and a huge redzone target, along with fellow 6’7″ TE Kellen Davis, who was already on the roster.

The Bears changed every player on the line except G Chris Williams, moving Roberto Garza to center and T J’Marcus Webb to the Left side while adding RT Gabe Carimi via the draft and inserting Lance Louis in at Garza’s RG position.

The line wasn’t instilling any confidence Saturday when they allowed nine sacks in their preseason game against the Bills, but the Bears got enough push to rush for 164 yards which showed great improvement in their run blocking.  

Caution should be used in judging this line’s abilities by the first game they have ever played together in, especially considering it was a preseason game.

But the offense will hinge on that line.

Quarterback Jay Cutler‘s abilities are said to be misused in Martz’s scheme. But to be fair, I think that sells Cutler short. Here’s something to think about.

When Joe Montana ran San Francisco‘s offense he was a pocket passer, which is exactly what Walsh wanted. Montana could scramble if need be, but it wasn’t his strength or the best use of his skills.  

When Steve young took over that spot, it looked like the 49’ers got a scrambler. But because of Young’s tremendous abilities on the run, people forget that he only used those abilities to get out of trouble. 

He wasn’t generally a roll-out quarterback. He was a pocket passer who could get outside and make something happen with his feet if the play devolved.

This is exactly why Cutler is perfect for Martz’s offense. The system requires a QB to hang around and hold onto the ball to let the play develop. But that also creates a lot of sack opportunities for defenses. A quarterback who can take off and extend the play when it hasn’t had time to develop is a boon for this type off offense. 

Especially given the possible line problems that Martz and his scheme will see again this year, having a quarterback who can escape the rush and give the play time to develop or make something happen when the play breaks down might be the difference between 6-10 and 10-6 records.

The perceived difference in philosophy between Head Coach Lovie Smith and Offensive Coordinator Mike Martz is a point of contention as well.

Remember that Smith worked in St Louis for Martz as his defensive coordinator. Smith knows what this offense is capable of.  

Yes, Lovie has been known to say that the Bears “get off the bus running.” But this shouldn’t be considered a bad thing.  

Lovie Smith provides a checks and balances option if Martz goes too pass happy and forgets that George McCaskey has stated the Bears mission as “win now.”

Lovie gave Martz plenty of time to work out his offense before the bye last year. The switch to the run shouldn’t be viewed as a vote of concern by Smith in his coordinator’s abilities, but an acknowledgement of the failings of the offensive line.

Smith will give the offense all the opportunities he can to succeed. His job might depend on it. And so might Martz’s. Both will be mindful of that. Especially Mad Mike, who knows that if the Bears’ offense fails, it might be his last hurrah in the league. 

Martz has a quarterback who is more capable of bailing him out of the line situation than he has ever had before. He also has a complete group of receivers whose skill set matches his offense to a tee.

Williams will be the cornerstone, but Hester will be the most dangerous part of that group. That will be because he has Williams on the field to take pressure (and the top coverage threats) away from him. 

And with Olsen gone, the Bears will use more two and three wide receiver sets, allowing guys like Hester, Johnny Knox and Earl Bennett to create mismatches that they were never in a position to create before.

The addition of Marion Barber will also make a world of difference to this offense. Matt Forte is a fantastic all-around back. But he is not good in short yardage where the Bears need the tough yards. Chester Taylor fell flat trying to fill that role, but “The Barbarian” will not.

A year in Martz’s system will allow a lot more of his playbook to be used. It is often forgotten that the playbook was limited last year due to the lack of knowledge in the system from the wide receivers and the quarterback. That won’t be the case this year.

That will allow the system to better exploit opposing defenses weaknesses and to ultimately score more points. And that only spells good things for the Bears and for their offense.

Martz’s offense will run full throttle this year, regardless of the offensive line’s progress or stagnation. How far it gets may ultimately rely on the line’s performance, though. But consider this. The Bears offense did enough to make the NFC Championship game last year, showing up big in games against the Jets and Eagles in the regular season and against the Seahawks in the playoffs and the line couldn’t be any worse this year.  

So the chances of the offense improving in its second year under Martz should be viewed as good to great.

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