2008 Projected Starters:
Left Tackle: Chris Williams / John St. Clair Left Guard: Terrence Metcalf / John St. Clair Center: Olin Kreutz Right Guard: Roberto Garza Right Tackle: John Tait
2007 Injuries:
T John Tait: Week 5
G Ruben Brown: Weeks 9 to 17
2007 Statistics:
LEFT END
LEFT TACKLE
MID/GUARD
RIGHT TACKLE
RIGHT END
Passing
ALY
Rank
ALY
Rank
ALY
Rank
ALY
Rank
ALY
Rank
Sacks
Rank
2.83
28
3.61
29
3.7
29
4.43
14
3.74
23
43
24
ALY (Adjusted Line
Yards): It is an alternate measure for yards per carry developed by Football Outsiders
that takes into account various factors including down, distance, situation and opponent. Source: www.footballoutsiders.com
Overview: The Chicago Bears offense went back to old habits and struggled once again after
having a surprising season in 2006. The offense has ranked in the bottom 10 in the league
in offensive yards in seven of the last eight seasons. The offensive line was terrible in
2007 and gave up 43 sacks after giving up only 25 the previous year. The running game
ranked last in the league at 3.1 yards per carry, a drop from 3.8 yards per carry the year
before. Part of the downfall in the running game can be attributed to the loss of Thomas
Jones but a lot of it had to do with an aging offensive line that could not create any
holes.
The Bears drafted left tackle
Chris Williams in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Williams will be the starter from
day one for the Bears and provide much needed young legs for this line. He is very agile
and has quick feet which allow him to stay with faster defensive ends in pass protection.
He is also very smart and should have no problem adjusting to the NFL game in pass
protection. The downside with Williams is that even at 6’6” and 315 lbs he lacks
strength and his intensity has been questioned in the past. He is able to hold his own and
not get pushed into the backfield but does not have the strength to push back defenders
when run blocking. He does not have the best technique but he will still be able to come
in right away and help this offensive line. On the right side will be 33 year old John
Tait who was the team’s starting left tackle in 2007. Tait is decent in pass
protection but has slowed down in the past few years and will struggle to stay with faster
linemen. The move to right tackle will help him in pass protection as he will have more
help from the tight end but his weakness remains in run blocking. The Bears were one of
the worst in the league when running to the left side in part because of Tait and he will
struggle just as much in run blocking on the right side. The Bears added Kirk Barton in
the seventh round of the draft to provide depth at tackle. Barton is a hard worker who
shows excellent awareness but will need to improve his footwork and agility to be
effective in the NFL.
At left guard, the Bears will
count on John St. Clair who will be 31 years old when the season begins. St. Clair was a
backup tackle in 2007 and did a decent job when he started the last three games of the
season at left guard. He is a powerful run blocker who is able to create holes in the
running game but lacks quickness and athleticism. He has slow feet which caused him
trouble at tackle and is a much better fit at guard. The problem with him is that he
continues to get slower as he gets older and soon his lack of athleticism will become a
problem even at guard. Roberto Garza will return as the starter at right guard for a third
consecutive season. He is a former fourth round pick who was acquired by the Bears as a
free agent in 2005 from the Falcons. Garza is below average in both pass protection and
run blocking because of his lack of strength and explosiveness. At 29 years old, he is not
getting any stronger or faster and is a weak link for this line. Terrence Metcalf is the
main backup at guard but he was disappointing in the five games he started at left guard
in replacement of Ruben Brown. He is a decent backup but the line struggled as a whole in
pass protection giving up 19 sacks in the five games that Metcalf played. The Bears
drafted Chester Adams in the seventh round to provide depth at guard. Adams is a big
strong guard who is pretty good in pass protection but lacks athleticism so he is weak
when blocking in motion. He has the strength and size to compete at the next level but his
work ethic is not the best and he has a lot of work to do on his technique.
At center is the veteran Olin
Kreutz who will be returning as the Bears starter for the ninth consecutive seaso. Kreutz
is a former third round pick who was named to the Pro Bowl six times but he is not the
player he was a few years ago. His struggles were emphasized last season because of the
inconsistent guard play. He is small for an offensive lineman at 6’2” and 290
lbs so does not have the strength to push back much larger defensive tackles. He will be
31 years old when the season begins and does not have the explosiveness he once had but he
can still hold his ground in pass protection. The 2007 fourth round pick John Beekman is
the backup center and will likely replace Kreutz in a few years. He is a smart player and
a decent run blocker but struggles in pass protection. Beekman was a guard in college and
will have a chance to compete for a starting position at guard in training camp.
2008 Outlook:
The Bears offensive line will be bringing back four of the linemen that played the last
three games of the regular season in 2007. The addition of Chris Williams will bring a
little more power and quickness to the line but the average age is still 29 years old with
three of them older than 31 years old. The line managed to give up only three sacks on 80
pass attempts in the final three games of the regular season but still averaged only 3.0
yards per carry. The move of John Tait to right tackle and the addition of Chris Williams
will help improve pass protection but Williams is not a great run blocker so this line
will still struggle to open holes for the running backs. The depth is not very good on the
line with Metcalf being the only backup that has NFL experience. Overall the line should
be about average in pass protection but remains one of the league’s worst in run
blocking and will have to hope that one of the young linemen surprises in camp or the
running game will once again struggle in 2007.
Updates:
August 4, 2008 - LT Chris Williams has a back injury that is bothering him and has made
him miss most of training cap thus far. This is a pretty big concern for this line since
Williams has a lot to learn in order to be effective as a starter in the NFL right away.
Metcalf now looks to be the starter at LG and St. Clair will battle Williams at LT.
