Bears Blitz

Published by Bob Warja on April 29, 2012
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

While the Bears haven’t made any upgrades on the offensive line, they have added two starting wide receivers and a backup tight end to a roster badly in need of improvement.

Quarterback Jay Cutler must be happy with the addition of a legitimate No. 1 wideout. The first major move that GM Phil Emery made with the Bears is to send two third round draft picks to the Miami Dolphins for Brandon Marshall, who was Cutler’s primary go-to guy in Denver.

Then, they spent their second round draft pick on a receiver when they selected Alshon Jeffery of South Carolina. Jeffery’s numbers declined as a junior last season amid quarterback issues—South Carolina dismissed its starting quarterback Stephen Garcia early in the 2011 season and went to a more run-based attack on offense. 

As a sophomore in 2010, Jeffery led the SEC with 108.4 receiving yards per game, catching 88 passes for 1,517 yards and nine touchdowns. But Jeffery’s numbers fell off his junior season when he managed 49 receptions for 762 yards and eight touchdowns.

Despite the QB issues in South Carolina, some pointed to a poor work ethic, which included weight fluctuations as a reason for the downturn in performance by Jeffery. But his talent caused Chicago to move up five spots to nab him in the second round.

The Bears also used their fourth round pick to help the offense by drafting a tight end. Temple tight end Evan Rodriguez may lack size but he is that “tweener” type of back that teams are starting to look at as they use the position to spread the defense. Rodriguez has decent speed and can catch the ball, though he isn’t a good blocker at this point.

But the Bears didn’t need a blocker, they already have enough of that with guys like Matt Spaeth. What they needed were players who can go get the ball, and with Marshall, Jeffery and Rodriguez they have that. Kellen Davis can use his massive size to a greater advantage also now that Mike Martz is gone.

Speaking of Martz, the change at offensive coordinator is expected to be a boost to the offense as well in 2012. Mike Tice takes the reigns and is expected to use max protection more often, and will use his tight ends as receiving targets.

Perhaps that is why Emery decided they didn’t need to sign or draft help for the offensive line, especially at left tackle, where J’Marcus Webb was awful last year. They feel with no more seven step drops and more help for Webb, Cutler can remain upright without having added anyone.

Meanwhile, the top offensive linemen who were true left tackles—many, like Gabe Carimi last year, are LTs in college but are forced to move to the right side on the NFL—were few and far between. Teams simply don’t let their good LTs go as free agents and in the draft, the Bears would have had to use their first round pick to be sure.

Either Iowa’s Riley Reiff or Stanford’s Jonathan Martin could have been taken in the first round, but the Bears felt that adding a pass rusher was more important. Still, I would have considered drafting someone in the later round, though by then the choices were slim but the Bears obviously chose not to.

You can tell a lot about what the team really thinks about its players and positions by what they do in the draft. Despite having Pro Bowler Charles Tillman and re-signing Tim Jennings, the Bears signed and drafted several corners for depth. And, despite re-signing Isreal Idonije, they took a DE in the first round.

But getting back to the offense, while the line may be the same, at least it will start off healthy again, assuming Carimi’s knee issues are really a thing of the past. The Bears say all the right things, but then again, they have always been coy when discussing injuries, like most teams.

If Carimi is healthy, he may even get a look at LT this spring. No matter what, with better weapons to throw to, Cutler should have an outlet when under pressure, with either Marshall or Jeffery out in the flat or Earl Bennett in the slot.

The running game should also be great in 2012. Matt Forte is still Matt Forte, and his injuries should be behind him. He ran well during the Pro Bowl. His contract situation, while still an issue, should not prevent Forte from having another good season for the Bears. I don’t expect him to sit out any regular season games.

Adding Michael Bush was a stroke of genius, even though it may have ticked off Forte. Bush rushed for 977 yards, which brings us to another way in which the Bears improved.

After watching their playoff hopes deteriorate with injuries to Cutler and Forte last season, the Bears made it a priority to add solid backups at each position. In addition to Bush, Emery signed QB Jason Campbell. If Campbell had been with Chicago last year, I believe they would have made the playoffs.

Hey, the Bears even brought in Cutler’s old QB coach with Denver, Jeremy Bates. Check out this quote from Cutler, courtesy of Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.

“I’m very excited to be working with Jeremy Bates again,” Cutler told the team’s website. “We have the right guy for the job. He was very vital in my growth and my experience as a quarterback there. The last couple of years he had full control of my development and our plays coming in.”

So, with the change in leadership, the additions of solid backups at key positions and strong upgrades at wide receiver, the Bears offense should be greatly improved for 2012.

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