Chicago Bears: Definitely a Team to Watch as Long as They Fix the Offensive Line
Published by Dan Talintyre on March 31, 2012
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears will be a team to watch in 2012, and by a team to watch, I don’t mean the way we’ll watch Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts or the way we’ll watch to see whether the St. Louis Rams can reach the No. 1 Draft pick next year.
No, I mean a team to watch in that they will genuinely be a championship threat.
In 2011, the Bears finished 8-8 and third in the NFC North, but they did it without a healthy Jay Cutler and Matt Forte for significant parts of the season.
Even with these injuries, they still managed to rank ninth in rushing and fifth in rushing yards allowed.
The real problem however, was their offensive line—a category they ranked 27th overall and an issue that affected the effectiveness of their passing game throughout the year.
Chicago allowed a whopping 49 sacks in the regular season, and although some of this can be attested to the poor pocket play of Caleb Hanie and Josh McCown, the buck still must stop with the men responsible for protecting their quarterback:
The offensive line.
Not only did the line give up nearly 50 sacks, they allowed Cutler and Hanie to be hit 87 times throughout the year—ranking them fifth in the league for hits allowed—as well as letting though 161 quarterback pressures; and while I’m not naive enough to suggest that quarterback pressures can be completely stopped throughout the year, 161 quarterback hurries, 87 hits and 49 sacks is simply not good enough.
In fact, the Bears ranked in the top five for quarterback pressures allowed for the season.
Pro-Football Focus efficiency shows how little impact the Bears’ starting offensive linemen had in 2011-12 and how they cost their team valuable yards, points and wins:
| Player | Position | Snaps | Overall | Pass block efficiency | Run block efficiency |
| J’Marcus Webb | LT | 1045 | -26.2 | -15.8 pass block | -4.4 run block |
| Lance Louis | RT | 713 | -33.5 | -19.1 pass block | -12.9 run block |
| Chris Williams | LG | 565 | -9.6 | -0.4 pass block | -9.2 run block |
| Chris Spencer | RG | 927 | -12.4 | -8.7 pass block | -2.0 run block |
| Roberto Garza | C | 1045 | -19.7 | -4.8 pass block | -16.2 run block |
With this in mind then, it’s little wonder that the Bears’ passing attack struggled to get any traction throughout the year—Cutler and company simply weren’t getting enough time or presence to throw the football.
They ranked in the bottom several teams for a number of categories last year including passing yards per game, yards per attempt, completion rate and passing touchdowns. While all categories would not be immediately fixed with a stronger offensive line, it would definitely go a long way to fixing the situation for Chicago.
The Bears’ new signings in Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Marshall and Michael Bush will have a huge impact in Chicago, as long as Cutler has time and the space to throw the football successfully, and as long as the running game has the room to chalk up the yards.
You can have all the skills in the backfield, but without a strong offensive line, those skills will not get as many opportunities to be displayed and make a strong impact on the game.
Chicago has plenty of game-winners in their team for 2012, and as a result, they are a genuine challenger for the season ahead. With a stronger offensive line, they could very well make some noise not only in the NFC, but across the entire league.
And that would truly be worth watching.
Read more articles by Dan here or follow him on Twitter: @dantalintyre
Read more Chicago Bears news on BleacherReport.com
