Back from Bourbonnais

I had a great time covering the Bears in Bourbonnais on Saturday. As always the people who work for the Bears are easy and pleasant to work with, and can't thank them enough for the opportunity to attend.

I'm going to cut right to the chase on my thoughts about the offensive line. It still looks iffy. I like the potential of Webb and Carimi being our tackles of the future. Chris Williams continues to struggle in camp. It's mind boggling considering he's big and athletic, but can't seem to put it all together. The depth on the defensive line really showed during drills. When the 2nd team offensive line was on the field. Every defensive linemen went through them like butter.

The rest of the offense looks to be on the right track. Even with Martz in Canton, OH for Marshall Faulk's hall of fame induction. Both Cutler and Hanie seemed comfortable running the offense. At one point Cutler even stood where a defensive linemen would to observe plays unfold while Hanie ran the offense. Even without his offensive coordinator he still seemed really engaged in practice.

Forte looks even more explosive than last season. Probably a result of his off-season conditioning which saw him bulk up. Barber is very physical even in practice. Taylor doesn't look bad, but he doesn't stick out. Considering his lack of special teams ability I'm not sure if he'll make the team. So I'd imagine Kahlil Bell will remain the 3rd string running back. As a group I'm very pleased with the running backs.

I didn't get to see Knox (back) practice at all. Roy Williams was on a bike for part of practice. It let Dane Sanzenbacher undrafted rookie from Ohio State get a chance with the 1st string unit. He continues to impress catching everything in sight. I also liked what I saw from undrafted rookie receiver Onrea Jones from Hampton. He runs solid routes and has shown good hands. I have a feeling even if the Bears keep 6 wide receiver Andy Fantuz won't be one of them. The CFL star doesn't look bad, but he doesn't show big play making ability like Sanzenbacher. Plus Sanzenbacher was also returning kickoffs in practice, and special teams depth only helps his case.

The tight ends all looked solid. Clark has the occasional drop, but he hasn't been back in camp very long. It's very obvious we don't have a play making tight end akin to Greg Olsen. It's also not what the system calls for, and it seems like Martz now has a group that can do what he ask of them.

I have much less to say about the defensive side because there's not a lot of question marks. I think Tim Jennings could have played better. Charles Tillman almost had a couple picks, and did some push ups as a result. I really like the move of Chris Harris back to strong safety and Major Wright at free safety. This defense looks better than they did last camp. There's so much depth. Amobi Okoye looks like he could a free agency steal. Keep in mind he's only 24 after entering the NFL at 19. I have a lot of faith in Marinelli. I think it goes without saying Peppers, Urlacher, and Briggs all looked great.

After practice ended we were afforded the opportunity to conduct interviews with the players. These were the results:

Bears Training Camp 8-6-11 by zachwithers

At the end of the day this season rest in the hands of Mike Martz, Mike Tice, and the offensive line. This team is going to be able to run the ball. Will Martz try to pass too much like early last year? Tice needs to continue to have positive development with our young linemen. If the offensive line can perform as a unit the Bears will have a great chance to surpass last year. Lance Briggs has already said this team is better than the 2006 Super Bowl team, and last year's NFC Championship team. From what I've seen I have to agree.

Taking the Next Step

Rick Reilly is concerned about Jay Cutler's facial expressions, and his ability to command a room. As a Bears fan all I care about is Jay Cutler's ability to be a great quarterback. Hands down one of, if not the, most gifted quarterbacks in the NFL.

In his three seasons in Denver, Cutler was never called a winner. It's not a fair label because as a rookie he started 5 games. He wasn't given much of a chance to make an impact. In his first season starting he threw for 3,497 yards 20 TD's and 14 INT's. In his second season he went to the Pro Bowl, as he became one of three players ever, to throw for 4,500+ yards at age 25 or under. The Denver faithful, post-trade, put the short comings on Cutler, not their crap defense.

He was put on a huge stage the second he was traded to Chicago. Directing the #2 offense in 2008 didn't matter. It's almost as if he didn't have a career before the trade. In a new system, surrounded by inferior talent, and an offensive coordinator who didn't like working with Cutler, things went badly. Cutler led the NFL with 26 INT's and was enemy #1 by the media. Eli Manning throws 25 INT's this year and no one talks about it. Peyton Manning threw 100 INT's in his first 5 seasons. Jay Cutler threw 79 INT's.

In a season where everyone expected failure for the Bears. Cutler has led them to an 11-5 record and a 1st round BYE. While the defense deserves their fair share of credit. Cutler has had many chances to choke games away. Fast forward to the game against the Seahawks. Everyone said the game would be close, and Cutler would struggle. QB's making their first start have been terrible in recent years. Instead Cutler started his post season career with a 58 yard TD. He became the first QB to throw a TD on their first post season pass since Chad Pennington in the 2002 season.

When everything was said and done. He became just the 2nd player in NFL history to have 2+ passing TD's and 2+ rushing TD's. Otto Graham accomplished it in 1954 and 1955. Now Cutler is presented with a story book game against the Green Bay Packers. Cutler has yet to perfect his game, and he still has sloppy mechanics. A win Sunday over the Packers would raise the perception of Cutler around the league. He'd go from the playoff virgin to just being known as a winner. Lets just hope Cutler is up to the challenge.