[CBFF] It's the Line of Scrimmage, Stupid

Mon Feb 12 13:48:16 MST 2007

So this was Urlacher's 7th year?  You are correct in that he's at his peak,
but I think he is such a phisical speciman thathe's not going to hit the
wall as most other will at the same point in their careers.  I think we'll
get 3 more  top level, (top 5 LB's in the league) years from Urlacher, and a
slow curve to the finish line after that. Maybe a 14 or 15 year career,
barring injuries.

I don't think you can point to anything he's done at this point in time and
say 'see, he could have done that a year or two ago, but not now'.

Urlacher's 'peak' is cooinciding nicely with the team's 'peak', which I
would say is the next 3 to 5 years. No need to rush him along into
retirement just yet....

-Behr

On 2/12/07, Jerry Madsen <jerrywm at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I don't think you'll get creamed on that question.  It's a fair
> question.  I
> would imagine that Olin is on the backside of his career.  I also think we
> are just a couple years of wondering the same thing about Urlacher.  He's
> at
> the peak of his career (in terms of the convergence of experience and
> playing at a high level), but in two or three years his spirit will start
> to
> become more willing than his body.
>
> Jerry
>
>
> On 2/12/07, Dwayne <dwayne at wctc.net> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Question: I feel I will get creamed on this one. How much has Olin
> > Kruetz lost? In my opinion, a lot.
> >
> > Dwayne
> >
> >
> >
> > Excellent, excellent write-up as always, Tom.
> >
> > Two points you made that I would like to punctuate:
> >
> > First, to blame the defense for this loss is so far on the other side of
> > ridiculous, I can't even see it.  The Bears defense was on the field for
> > 81
> > plays (if I'm not mistaken) and held the Colts high-powered offense to
> > only
> > 22 points.  Think about that.  Payton Manning took 81 snaps (minus extra
> > points and FGs) and could only muster-up 22 points.  Against the Vikes
> > in 85
> > Jimmy Mac led the Bears to 14 points on two snaps.
> >
> > Second, the Bears interior offensive line was exactly that: offensive.
> > In
> > particular, Roberto Garza.  Maybe the press doesn't want to pick on the
> > guy
> > who is doing United Way spots, but he got a pass in the post-game
> > fallout.
> >
> > Sure, I would like a QB who doesn't throw two INTs in the 4th quarter of
> > the
> > Super Bowl.  But Rex is still part of the reason the Bears were even in
> > the
> > game in the 4th quarter.
> >
> > If you're going to throw Rex under the bus, don't forget to add his line
> > and
> > the coaching staff.
> >
> > Jerry
> >
> > On 2/12/07, tshanno at gmail.com <tshanno at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > http://bloggeddrain.typepad.com/cbff/2007/02/its_the_line_of.html
> > >
> > > It's the Line of Scrimmage, Stupid
> > >
> > > by Tom Shannon
> > >
> > > Over the past couple months I have, most of the time, let myself
> > become an
> > > unabashed Bear supporter and optimist.  I won't apologize.  This is a
> > fan
> > > forum and, in the end, that's what I am.  Seasons like this one are
> > times
> > > of
> > > pure joy and, with exceptions, not those for negative thoughts.  At
> > least
> > > not too many.  But now that the season is over and things have settled
> > > down,
> > > it may be time to be a bit more objectively, particularly in the light
> > of
> > > the Super Bowl loss.  Perhaps at the end we can think rationally about
> > > what
> > > the team needs to continue to compete at the highest level.
> > >
> > > I spent the Super Bowl and the week after out of town and out of touch
> > > with
> > > Chicago.  I was, therefore, very interested to see what the fan
> > reaction
> > > was
> > > through the magic of the Internet when I got back.  I was pleased to
> > see
> > > that the knowledgeable members of the mailing list attached to this
> > forum
> > > provided a nice discussion about the game and the season and I'd
> > suggest
> > > that the readers of this blog refer to that list for a balanced
> > > view.  This
> > > was, however, not the rule.  Not surprisingly, the analysis of the
> > game in
> > > many of the email lists and forums I belong to boiled down to "Rex
> > > Grossman
> > > stinks!".  This was less often followed by "The defense stinks" and
> > not
> > > much
> > > else.
> > >
> > > Unfortunately, much of what was in the media wasn't a lot better.  But
> > > while
> > > writers like Barry Rozner were taking the easy shots at quarterback
> > Rex
> > > Grossman, there were one or two veteran writers who presented a more
> > > balanced point of view.  Among these, I think Brad Biggs of the
> > Chicago
> > > Sun-Times succinctly hit closest to the mark.
> > >
> > > "Grossman wound up 20-for-28 for 165 yards, including a four-yard
> > scoring
> > > toss to Muhsin Muhammad, but the Bears never took control of the game
> > with
> > > their highly paid offensive line. If it was going to be won, it was
> > going
> > > to
> > > be done in the trenches. Thomas Jones piled up 112 yards, but 52 came
> > on
> > > one
> > > burst to set up the Muhammad score and stake the Bears to a 14-6
> > > first-quarter lead."
> > >
> > > And there you have it.  In my opinion at least 80% of all professional
> > > football games are won and lost at the line of scrimmage.  That was
> > never
> > > more true than on Super Bowl Sunday.  In "defense of the defense" they
> > > were
> > > out on the field all day and the line simply wore down.  Even
> > considering
> > > that, they held the league's best offense to a score within striking
> > > distance into the fourth quarter.  There's only so much you can
> > > expect.  But
> > > there's no denying that the Colts won the battle with their excellent
> > > offensive line.  They ran the ball very well.  Even considering that
> > they
> > > beat the Bears largely with many short, quick passes, working their
> > way
> > > down
> > > the field, there were times when it felt like Manning had all day to
> > throw
> > > and he always had a clean pocket.  Especially compared to Grossman's
> > > situation.  Against the Colts' front four, Grossman never had much
> > more
> > > than
> > > a pocket that was collapsing like a paper cup.  The smaller, quicker
> > Colt
> > > defensive linemen schooled a veteran but aging group on the other side
> > of
> > > the line.  Their front seven, along with some safety help, almost
> > totally
> > > stuffed the Bears' "power" running game.
> > >
> > > If I had to pick one problem the Bears had this year, one weakness
> > that
> > > was
> > > consistently exposed in Bear losses, it was the inability of the
> > interior
> > > of
> > > the offensive line to keep the pocket clean under pressure.  And no
> > > reasonable NFL observer could possibly deny one face about the game.
> > Give
> > > a
> > > decent NFL quarterback a clean pocket and 95% of the time he'll look
> > like
> > > the greatest ever (early season Grossman).  Give one a paper cup and
> > 95%
> > > of
> > > the time he'll look like a dog (Super Bowl Grossman).  Does Grossman
> > get
> > > jittery in the pocket?  You bet he does.  But for those calling for
> > Brian
> > > Griese, the first thing my friends in Miami told me about him was that
> > he
> > > got nervous in the pocket under pressure.  For heavens sake, how many
> > > quarterbacks don't?
> > >
> > > Let me be clear that the problems on the offensive line are only a
> > partial
> > > explanation, and certainly not an excuse, for Grossman's poor
> > performance
> > > at
> > > times this season.  They are not adequate to excuse the two Super Bowl
> > > interceptions (particularly the first one) and there's simply no
> > > explanation
> > > close to adequate for two fumbled snaps.  The latter is a problem
> > which
> > > Grossman had before this season, probably resulting from his tendency
> > to
> > > separate his hands as the ball in being snapped.  It is certainly not
> > a
> > > problem that should have been allowed to linger, only to raise its
> > head at
> > > the worst possible moments in the season's biggest game.
> > >
> > > That many NFL quarterbacks wouldn't have done a whole lot better under
> > his
> > > circumstances does not erase the clear fact that Grossman needs to
> > learn
> > > to
> > > remain more calm in the pocket.  But that is not reason to give up on
> > him
> > > as
> > > some reactionary fans might suggest.  This is particularly true given,
> > as
> > > Mike Mulligan of the Sun-Times so aptly puts it, the "clown car of
> > > quarterbacks" that Bear fans have had to contend with over the past
> > > decade.
> > > But Grossman definitely needs to regain some of the Tom Brady style
> > "phone
> > > booth quicks" that he showed early in the season with such confidence.
> > In
> > > order to do that, he just as clearly must have at least some room to
> > > maneuver and step up into the pocket when the opposition sends a blitz
> > up
> > > the middle or is such that extra attention must be paid to the rushers
> > on
> > > the outside.
> > >
> > > To this end, I think the Bears need to take a serious look at the
> > interior
> > > of their offensive line - Ruben Brown, Olin Kreutz and Roberto Garza.
> > So
> > > often we focus on the offensive tackles when it comes to quarterback
> > > protection because the defensive ends require so much attention.  This
> > is
> > > sad because it is arguably more important for the line to keep the
> > space
> > > in
> > > front of the quarterback clear.  Without it, there's really no place
> > safe
> > > for a pocket passer to go.  Of the trio mentioned, Kreutz is clearly
> > well
> > > established.  That means the Bears should probably be looking at
> > offensive
> > > guard in the offseason.  They need to determine whether Terrance
> > Metcalf
> > > has
> > > what it takes or not and do something definitive about his
> > > situation.  They
> > > need to look very closely at available free agents, something that
> > rumor
> > > has
> > > it they are already doing.  No reasonable team needing offensive line
> > help
> > > can pass up a left tackle because good ones are far too valuable.  But
> > > given
> > > that a good one won't be available when the Bears pick in the draft (a
> > > very
> > > good assumption) the Bears should probably be looking for a guard in
> > the
> > > early rounds.
> > >
> > > We look so closely at skill positions and its so easy to heap all of a
> > > team's problems on the players there.  We look at coaches and
> > coordinators
> > > and second guess their every move.  Out team loses and we throw up our
> > > hands
> > > and and ask, "Why did he throw that?" or "Why didn't Ron Turner go to
> > the
> > > short passing game sooner?"  But for all of that, football is still,
> > at
> > > its
> > > root, a very simple game.  It's outcome is almost always determined in
> > the
> > > trenches.
> > >
> > > "It is well to remember that the entire universe, with one trifling
> > > exception, is composed of others."
> > > --John Andrew Holmes
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
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> >
> >
> >
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