Bears Blitz

Published by Bryan Dietzler on July 12, 2010
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

The Bears thought that they had struck gold last season with the acquisition of Jay Cutler and (on that same day) the signing of legendary Pro Bowl offensive tackle Orlando Pace. Pace was supposed to be a stop gap just in case the team couldn’t get Chris Williams groomed in time (to take over the spot).

The whole thing turned out to be a disaster, as not only did Pace not make it through the season without getting injured but he clearly failed to live up to expectations and really showed his age. Another problem that this created was that it didn’t allow second year (now third) tackle Chris Williams to develop in that spot. However, after Pace finally went out, Williams filled in at the left tackle position and did very well. That is where he will line up in training camp and will remain throughout the entire season.  Hopefully, Williams will be able to stay healthy and perform well at this critical offensive position.

The right tackle position will be manned by Frank Omiyale unless something goes wrong in training camp this summer. Omiyale will battle Kevin Shaffer for the position but there shouldn’t be any problem seeing Omiyale in there as the starter. He was shuffled around a bit last season and played the guard position but didn’t do well there. The Bears hope that he will be much better suited at the offensive tackle position and feel that he can thrive there. He must, or the Bears line will fail next season.

Shaffer is a serviceable but not spectacular backup, and can step into the lineup in a pinch as needed. Hopefully it won’t come to that, but the Bears at least have a solid temporary fix should something happen at the position next season.

Omiyale played guard last season and rotated at times with Josh Beekman. Beekman, as we head into training camp, is slated to be the starter at one guard position and he looks to be a serviceable player at that position. He won’t have to worry about being replaced as easily as he did last year so look for Beekman to have a pretty good year at that position.

Veteran (and long time Bear) Roberto Garza will play in the other guard spot this season, and once again he represents what the Bears have all along the offensive line. He’s a serviceable player but nothing spectacular, and he started to show his age in 2009. The Bears will have to start thinking about replacing him next season and probably should have been thinking about it already.

The Bears aren’t going to bring a lot of solid depth with them into training camp (or the 2010) season. Right now, at the guard position the Bears have (as backups) Johan Asiata, Vincent Vance, and Lance Louis. Louis and Asiata appear to have the edge heading into training camp, and Louis may even battle with Beekman for the starting spot. At any rate, Louis could turn out to be quite a surprise for the Bears this summer.

At the tackle position, the Bears are bringing in James Marten, Levi Horn, and draft pick J’Marcus Webb. Early indications are that Webb is the real deal and could make the roster next season as could Horn. It appears that Martens may have to fight to earn a roster spot in 2010.

The Bears will take just one backup center into training camp this summer, with Tim Walter giving Kreutz a rest from time to time. While Walter isn’t a threat to take over at the center position, he does have some talent, and if he can prove that he could play another position (perhaps guard) he could stick with the team.

Chicago’s offense line has been a bit of wreck for the past couple of seasons and it doesn’t look like things are getting too much better. The line is one injury away from being in a serious state of disarray, as the backup talent on this squad is very poor. 

The Bears know how critical it is to get good line play, especially with the kind of offense that they will be running. Look for offensive line coach Mike Tice, along with offensive coordinator Mike Martz, to get things together and make this unit play well.
If they can’t do this, then it’s going to be a long and difficult year for the Bears.

NOTE: Team insiders state that Asiata may press for starting guard job before it’s all said and done. He has really impressed the coaching staff and may give the Bears what they need at that position.

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