Bears Blitz

Published by Jake Perper on March 3, 2010
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

Greg Olsen was supposedly Jay Cutler’s go-to guy.

They clicked from day one of training camp, but last season Olsen didn’t play up to the level people thought he could have.

Fast forward to this offseason and the Bears have already made a lot of changes.

They hired a new offensive line coach, offensive coordinator, promoted Rod Marinelli to defensive coordinator, and released over-the-hill lineman Orlando Pace. They are said to be interested in Julius Peppers once free agency starts this Friday.

The new offensive coordinator Mike Martz replaced Ron Turner, who simply didn’t fit Cutler’s needs. Martz runs an offense that is very pass heavy when he coached the St. Louis Rams, who won a Super Bowl with him. 

By the way, they were called the “Greatest Show on Turf.”

Why?

Kurt Warner constantly threw the ball deep to his receivers behind a solid offensive line.

Martz’s offense demands a big-armed quarterback with many fast receivers, with a solid offensive line, and tight ends that can block.

The Bears have one tight end, who is a solid blocker, his name is Dez Clark.

Martz is reportedly interested in adding blocking tight end Brandon Manumaleuna, who is a free agent from the Chargers. This report has ticked off Olsen because he has already heard that he can’t fit in with Martz’s style of offense for a while now.

Peggy Kusinski of NBC Chicago reports that friends of Olsen say he was not happy about the hiring of Martz, and that he quietly sent his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, into “trade request” mode.

It seems like Olsen really wants out and with Rosenhaus being his agent, there’s a big chance he could get his wish.

It’s just a shame Olsen and the Bears might not work out because I think if you give him a couple more years, he could be one of the best tight ends in the league.

He reminds me of a Jason Witten-type tight end.

The reasons why I wouldn’t trade him are because what if the Martz experiment doesn’t work out and the Bears clean house next year with the coaching staff?

What if you can’t even get a second round pick for him?

If I was Bears management I would see what Olsen can do in Martz’s offense this season and if he doesn’t fit, then you trade him next year—unless the rumor about him being in “trade request” mode is true.

Greg Olsen’s Stats:

As the Bears first round pick in 2007, Olsen is only 24-years-old. I think the Bears should think about what there doing with Olsen before they just throw him away for basically nothing.

If your’re going to trade him, get value for him, but I still think it would be a horrible move by the Bears to trade a future star in Olsen.

I heard the Patriots are interested in Olsen, maybe because they have three second round picks this year.

Jake Perper is the creator of www.BearsBacker.com and also covers the Bears for www.NFLTouchdown.com.

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