Bears Blitz

Published by Daylon Morrison on September 11, 2009
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

The season is days away, and we finally know who the Chicago Bears are rolling with on offense. After the most exciting off-season in Bears history, the Bears look primed to make another run at the NFC North title. Lets see just how good their offense will be, position by position:

Quarterback:

On a day in which Michael Jordan is inducted into the NBA Hall-Of-Fame, I’m ready to declare Jay Cutler the new King of Chicago. Sure, Derek Rose and Patrick Kane are up-and-comers, but this is a football town.

Jay Cutler’s arm strength is legendary, his scrambling ability is Mcnabb-esque, and his accuracy on the run is incredible. His skill set is unlike anything modern fans have seen. If he can put it together mentally, he will be the quarterback of a generation.

After an excellent pre-season and training camp, Bear fans and offensive players alike are licking their chops at the chance to face the new (hopefully not improved) Packer defense in the season opener. Everybody seems to be on their knees for the Packers, but this is still a team that went 6-10 last season, and Jay Cutler is still a quarterback who passed for deifying numbers last season. Bring em on.

The back-up QB is typically a Bear fan’s favorite player, but not anymore. Behind Cutler, we have a black hole. Caleb Haine is serviceable, but I’ll say what I always say about Tony Romo: There is a reason a player doesn’t get drafted, and its not because he magically flew under the radar of 32 professional scouting departments. Spare me the “Romo is amazing!” comments; Tony Romo is a choke-artist in the absolute worst way. We’re all much better off with Haine riding the pine.

Grade: A+

Backup: C-, on the off-chance that Haine pans out

Runningback:

In one short season, Matt Forte skyrocketed from second-round unknown to fantasy stud. There isn’t much I can say about Forte that the average and even casual fan doesn’t already know. Forte is beyond the total package. He does everything, and he does everything well. He has the size, speed, blocking, smarts, stamina, attitude, and is the closest thing to fumble-proof. If his health holds up, and there is no reason to believe it wont, he will be a superstar for years to come.

That said, Kevin Jones was just thrown to the IR dogs, and will likely never be the starting-caliber running back he was advertised as all off-season by Lovie and co. One serious injury after the next have completely derailed Jones’ career. The Bears would be wise to take a third round back next draft.

AP and Garrett Wolfe are average, at best. They are both situational backs, and Wolfe might not even be that. He is, in my opinion, a gimmick player who is best suited for special teams, where he is a complete monster. Seriously limit his touches on offense.

Lets just hope for a healthy Forte.

Grade: A+

Backup: D, only because Peterson is experienced.

Fullback:

Fullback is becoming progressively more obsolete in the modern NFL, mainly because colleges are failing to groom proper talent at the position. Nevertheless, Jason Mckie is a reasonably talented starter who does everything asked of him proficiently.

Grade: B

Wide Receiver:

This is the big black-hole for a lot of ESPN-ites out there. If personalities like Mark Schlereth yell it at you enough times, it MUST be true, right? Wrong. Jay Cutler has excellent chemistry with former college teammate Earl Bennett and Devin Hester is a superstar in the making at wide receiver.

Many Bear fans think Hester should be put back on returns. They’re wrong. Hester is the only legitimate deep-threat for one of the stronger-armed QB’s in league history. Take him away, and who is Cutler going to bomb 60-yard TD’s to?

Point is, the QB makes the WR’s, not the other way around. Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Kurt Warner have always done well no matter who they’re surrounded by. This time next year, Cutler will be grouped in with the NFL’s elite, and Mark Schlereth might just finally calm down. Just kidding, he loves the sound of his own voice WAY too much to ever admit he was wrong about anything (I seem to remember him predicting a 5-11 season for the Bears in 2006. I also remember them making the Superbowl).

The problem is whats behind Hester and Bennett. If we’re talking about people to catch the ball, then the Bears are stacked with Bennett, Hester, Olsen, and Forte. But if we’re talking about just wide receivers, the Bears have piss-poor depth. Iglesias and Knox are rookies, and Rasheed Davis is a walking drop montage. Only time will tell what the Bears really have at wide receiver. Heres hoping for a couple pleasant suprises.

Grade: B

Backups: D+

Tight End:

Probably the most ESPN-ite heralded position for the Bears, its no secret that the Bears are stacked at TE. Greg Olsen is revolutionizing the TE position with his WR-esque catching, route-running, and speed, as well as TE/Linebacker size. Desmond Clark is a starter on at least 20 other NFL teams. Michael Gaines is a savvy vet and even youngster Kellen Davis is a bright spot. The Bears may not have the goods at wide receiver, but they sure as hell do at TE.

Grade: A+

Backups: A+

O-Line:

I’m not going to break the O-line down position-by-position, as this piece is probably long-winded enough, but lets look at the Bears 2009-2010 O-Line. The Bears lost John St. Clair. I refuse to call St Clair a left tackle, as he was a serviceable guard, at best, but he played left tackle for the Bears last season, so…there is that. To counter-balance dropping the dead-weight that was John St Clair, the Bears made major pick-ups with Orlando Pace, Frank Omiyale, and Kevin Shaffer. Pace looked his age against Denver, and teams will now send quicker, smaller defensive ends and linebackers his way all season. Any Browns fan will tell you Shaffer is a back-up, but Frank Omiyale looks like an excellent starter at guard.

As for the tackles, Pace is (was?) a hall-of-fame caliber left tackle, and Chris Williams looks ready to assume the right tackle position. Honestly, the Bears would be better off with the two switched around (Pace at right, Williams at left), but the reason Pace chose the Bears over other teams was their agreement that he would remain at LT. Expect that to change by 2010, if not sooner. Kevin Shaffer will back-up both positions and Frank Omiyale will be an emergency fill-in tackle. Make no mistake however, Omiyale is a guard. An injury to Pace would likely result in Williams shifting to the left and Shaffer jumping in on the right side. All-in-all, the Bears have some excellent depth at tackle.

The Bears have another strength with their guards. Frank Omiyale is an excellent pick-up at left guard and Roberto Garza is a 7-out-of-10 at right guard, although he is often hated on by fans. Josh Beekman is a starting-caliber guard and center, so depth is excellent.

Our center is the rage-monster that is Olin Kreutz. Whether he’s lining up against “fat slob”(his words) Pat Williams or any other DT with the misfortune of lining up across from Olin, Kreutz is a perennial pro-bowler who will be the anchor of the Bears line for years to come.

Grade: A-

Back-ups: A+

As always, go Bears.

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