RealGM

After the draft and selection of Carimi I've been thinking of where we'll put him and what we'll do with Webb/Williams, etc. I seriously think this is going to be an open competition to see who wins jobs in certain spots. Anyways, predict the starting 5 on the line this upcoming season. If you feel we'll add a guard in FA add that person in there.

Here's my complete guess at this point:

LT: Webb
LG: Williams
C: Kreutz
RG: FA (Dockery or Dahl or Livings) - or Garza
RT: Carimi

I'm pretty confident these will be the starting 5. I'm just not sure where certain players will fit; namely Webb/Carimi/Williams. One has to play guard and Williams did it last year. Do we give him a shot at LT? This will also allow us to move Omiyale to swing tackle. If we feel Garza is done and we don't add a FA, Omiyale back to guard is another option although not one I particularly like.

Ahhhh - you've already started the o-line discussion. Cool.

I know we wanted to go bigger on the line this year and I'm not sure how Kreutz fits into that but what other options do we have really unless we go free agency? I mean, he's going to be facing some studs in the NFC North between the Vikings, Lions, and Packers.

I think Garza might have been our best lineman last year so he'd definitely be starting at guard at this point and you know we're counting on Carimi right off the bat. I'm still wondering if they'll give him first shot at LT before setting on RT, though. All indications are he's better suited at RT but how great would it be if he could steal away the LT spot ?

Williams is just a failure at this point and the guard experiment didn't work out so well so I'm not going to project him in the starting lineup. I'll go with Webb and Carimi as my tackles at this point with Garza and Omiyale at guard and Kreutz at center.

Free agency focus should be on another guard.

Questions :
- I wonder if Herman Johnson will amount to anything? He's 6'7" 360 (!) and a former 5th rd pick of the Cardinals. That's one way to get bigger on the line.

- Can't Garza play center as well? He at least has a little more size and is younger than Kreutz. If he can make the shift, I'd definitely focus on a vet guard and let Olin walk.

Just keep in mind this Angelo quote when you try to predict how the line is going to look :

‘‘We’ve kind of shifted in that we want bigger people,’’ Angelo said. ‘‘So we’re looking for tackles who can play guard rather than guards who can play center. So there’s a little bit of a shift in our thinking that way philosophically. I know coach Tice wants bigger people. Staffs we’ve had before, they weren’t as committed to that thinking. But there’s a little bit more of a shift. So when we look at offensive linemen, we’d like to think that the tackles and guards can be interchangeable.’’

Omiyale/Garza/Kruetz is the worst interior OL in football. Worst run blocking as well. That will not happen.

LT - Webb (this is a lock - not sure I agree with it however)
LG - Free Agent
C - Kreutz
RG - Garza
RT - Carimi

As I see three spots are a lock: Kreutz @ C, Webb @ LT, Carimi @ RT.

A free agent will be signed to play at guard and the last spot will be open competition.

Herman Johnson is a joke.

Wow, 2 predictions for Williams to not start at all. Do you guys think he'll be on the team at all or just not starting? That would be quite the fall from grace if he's not in the starting lineup at all. I just don't see that happening at this point.

ChronicKerr wrote:Wow, 2 predictions for Williams to not start at all. Do you guys think he'll be on the team at all or just not starting? That would be quite the fall from grace if he's not in the starting lineup at all. I just don't see that happening at this point.

Where exactly do you think he fits?

The staff made it obvious he was a bust last season when they moved him inside to guard. Frank Omiyale is hot garbage and a better LT. And a raw 7th round rookie was a better RT.

Williams is too soft to play guard. He will not be in the starting lineup.

He is awful in every sense of the word.

I see him fitting in at guard since we're lacking at the guard position and refuse to admit they'd start Omiyale over Williams at guard. Wasn't last year the first year he's played guard for an extended period? That coupled with us giving him one last chance to prove he can play are the reasons I have him pegged in the starting lineup. He may not be a better guard than Garza (who is on his last legs anyways) but I'm fairly confident he's better than Louis and Williams. I suppose if they've given up on him I could possibly see Garza and FA guard with him on the bench, just not ready to admit it quite yet.

Tice is the one who came in and the staff asked him to figure out where each guy is best suited to play. He pegged Omiyale as a LT - not guard - as his natural position and he did have his moments there as much as he sucked as a guard prior to that. The thing is - if they're saying Webb is our LT, I don't know where that puts Omiyale. Either back at guard or backing up both the tackle and guard spots.

Free agency has to figure in here somewhere. I wouldn't be surprised if Chris Williams is shown the door. Man, I so wanted Clady in that '08 draft.

I'm thinking Frank O becomes our swing tackle backup. I'll be happy to see him on the bench - as will Cutler I'm sure.

I'm thinking Williams will get a camp to learn & compete at LG. If he doesnt get it, they will try him at backup center. I think he can get LG if he has an entire offseason to prepare with Tice. Unfortunately he's locked out, so that's not gonna happen. Therefore, we'll probably see a FA there.
Now that we have Carimi, Herm Johnson will get a chance to compete at Guard with Louis & Garza.
We have the same problem as last year. Do we put a rookie RT next to an inexperienced RG? Garza may keep his spot one more year because of that. I'm gonna reach and say Louis beats him out this year (I know he sucked last year, but the bum ankle made him look like more of a bum than he is I hope)

I predict:

LT: Webb
LG: FA/Williams (depends on lockout ending early)
C: Kreutz
RG: Louis
RT: Carimi

LT: Carimi
LG: Johnson
C: Kruetz
RG: Garza
RT: Webb

We seem to be dead seat on bringing Kreutz back, which sucks, cause he sucks. Garza is about as much of a lock as you can expect at this point. Carimi and Webb will take the RT/LT spots respectively. That leaves LG with incumbent Chris Williams. Omiyale becomes a swing tackle where he's probably best suited.

Garza is pretty decent so he's fine there for the next year or two. It would be nice if we could pick up a starting left guard and a starting center; two guys who are big and decent since we've got lots of good defensive tackles to deal with in our division now.

Until we know there will be a free agency period:

LT: Webb
LG: Williams
C: Kreutz
RG: Garza
RT: Carimi

...at least there's one new guy there.

Webb and Carimi will be our tackles for a while. We might give Kreutz an extension for a couple years since he was very good until last year. We need at least one new guard. I don't like any of Williams, Omiyale or Garza. Not a bad group to have in case of injuries, but definitely are not consistent enough to start. If Williams gets stronger I could see him eventually taking the center spot because he has quickness but is not good in space.

The starting lineup really depends on whether or not we get a couple free agents. I would have liked to draft either Marcus Cannon from TCU or Demarcus Love from Arkansas. In a perfect world we would get two starting guards in free agency. As the roster starts this should be the rotation:

Webb/Omiyale
Williams/Louis
Kreutz/Louis
Garza/Louis
Carimi/Omiyale

I really wish we would have kept Beekman. He was the best guard we had on the roster hands down. Our lineup would look so much better with him in there over Williams.

I'm still hoping the Bears surprise us and figure out that Kreutz is going to be mauled by the DTs the Packers, Vikings, and Lions will be throwing out there. I appreciate all he's done over the years, but it's probably time to step aside. If we want to truly get bigger on the line, then that's where you start if there's anyone out there in FA.

Chewie wrote:I'm still hoping the Bears surprise us and figure out that Kreutz is going to be mauled by the DTs the Packers, Vikings, and Lions will be throwing out there. I appreciate all he's done over the years, but it's probably time to step aside. If we want to truly get bigger on the line, then that's where you start if there's anyone out there in FA.

Exactly. Kreutz hasn't been very good for the last few years and the fact that he's not quite as big as he used to be in comparison to the massive DTs of today, he needs to call it a career.

heir_jordan22 wrote:Webb and Carimi will be our tackles for a while. We might give Kreutz an extension for a couple years since he was very good until last year. We need at least one new guard. I don't like any of Williams, Omiyale or Garza. Not a bad group to have in case of injuries, but definitely are not consistent enough to start. If Williams gets stronger I could see him eventually taking the center spot because he has quickness but is not good in space.

The starting lineup really depends on whether or not we get a couple free agents. I would have liked to draft either Marcus Cannon from TCU or Demarcus Love from Arkansas. In a perfect world we would get two starting guards in free agency. As the roster starts this should be the rotation:

Webb/Omiyale
Williams/Louis
Kreutz/Louis
Garza/Louis
Carimi/Omiyale

I really wish we would have kept Beekman. He was the best guard we had on the roster hands down. Our lineup would look so much better with him in there over Williams.

Beekman sucked.. really bad.

We have the worst interior OL in the league, he was cut, and is not even in the NFL.

Williams sucks too, but not near as bad as Beekman.

If Chris Williams is a starter in 2011 -- we have big problems. He can't block anyone in our division.

Suh/Fairley -- huge mismatches
GB's 3-4 -- cannot handle them
Williams Wall even with how they've aged.. no chance.

Williams doesn't fit anywhere. A lot of what-if's all around. Garza is a lock at RG, but that's about it. The way people are raving about Carimi, he'll be starting at RT. Webb improved nicely as the season went along last year, but he still seems like a project to me, but do we really have any other choice on the left side?

If they let Kreutz go, doubt that'll happen, Garza will definitely be the center. Personally, I thought Kreutz was ok last year, but he isn't getting any younger, and with Fairley/Suh wreaking havoc, we need someone younger/bigger.

Depends on who we get in FA to see where everyone goes. I think we'll be using the FA to get a RG. I do not want to see Williams manning the interior again.

I don't see any major improvement from last year, but I definitely feel much better about the situation.

WAYSA wrote:

heir_jordan22 wrote:Webb and Carimi will be our tackles for a while. We might give Kreutz an extension for a couple years since he was very good until last year. We need at least one new guard. I don't like any of Williams, Omiyale or Garza. Not a bad group to have in case of injuries, but definitely are not consistent enough to start. If Williams gets stronger I could see him eventually taking the center spot because he has quickness but is not good in space.

The starting lineup really depends on whether or not we get a couple free agents. I would have liked to draft either Marcus Cannon from TCU or Demarcus Love from Arkansas. In a perfect world we would get two starting guards in free agency. As the roster starts this should be the rotation:

Webb/Omiyale
Williams/Louis
Kreutz/Louis
Garza/Louis
Carimi/Omiyale

I really wish we would have kept Beekman. He was the best guard we had on the roster hands down. Our lineup would look so much better with him in there over Williams.

Beekman sucked.. really bad.

We have the worst interior OL in the league, he was cut, and is not even in the NFL.

Williams sucks too, but not near as bad as Beekman.

If Chris Williams is a starter in 2011 -- we have big problems. He can't block anyone in our division.

Suh/Fairley -- huge mismatches
GB's 3-4 -- cannot handle them
Williams Wall even with how they've aged.. no chance.

When he was a starter a couple years ago Forte got all his touchdowns and big runs behind Beekman pulls

Don't forget that it's hard to look good out there when you've got a useless waste of a first round pick standing next to you. I won't deny Kreutz is declining, but he would have been ok last year if it weren't for Williams. Our whole left side of our line was atrocious last year. Garza was ok, though nothing amazing, and Webb did what inexperienced guys do,: look great at times but make silly mistakes at other times. Hopefully he can work that out since he's definitely a starter this year barring injury.

If we don't get an experienced LG in FA, thendont expect this group to improve too much this year. At l

Don't forget that it's hard to look good out there when you've got a useless waste of a first round pick standing next to you. I won't deny Kreutz is declining, but he would have been ok last year if it weren't for Williams. Our whole left side of our line was atrocious last year. Garza was ok, though nothing amazing, and Webb did what inexperienced guys do,: look great at times but make silly mistakes at other times. Hopefully he can work that out since he's definitely a starter this year barring injury.

If we don't get an experienced LG in FA, don't expect this group to improve too much this year. At least not unless the lockout ends soon, which doesn't seem likely. Both Webb and Carimi need time working with Tice this offseason and if they don't get it, Jay Cutler is the one that will suffer the most. At least with an experienced LG, the left side our line would improve and with Garza and Carimi on the right, it should be about the same or better than last year.

LT: Webb
LG: please God a FA
C: Kreutz
RG: Garza
RT: Carimi

And I agree with others who have said LT and RT are completely interchangeable. It could be Carimi at LT and Webb at RT, it just depends on Tice's evaluation of them in whatever capacity he gets to se them on the field.