Noots’ Notes: Preseason Edition–Camp Note
Noots’ Notes: 2010 Preseason (Training Camp Visit)
By
Michael Nudo
I had the good fortune to stop by training camp on Wednesday. It wasn’t a day where the team was dressed out in full equipment. They wore just helmets and shoulder pads with shorts. Don’t worry. This wasn’t a total loss. This was an excellent opportunity to see who was working on this day. And what exactly were they doing? The biggest thing that stood out to me was the work being done by the offensive line.
Controlled Violence
I’ve been to Bears training camps since they were up in Platteville. I saw some things on Wednesday that I haven’t seen in any of the years I’ve been there. Offensive Line Coach Mike Tice inherits a line that a year ago was poor in pass protection for Jay Cutler and provided few holes for Matt Forte. Tice has been asked to make something out of a group that doesn’t exactly overflow with top-notch talent. Further, a new offensive playbook is being installed.
They’re looking at young guards Lance Louis and Johan Asiata quite a bit. Louis, a college tight end, was a tackle last year. Veteran Roberto Garza has been moved to left guard from right. Chris Williams enters his first camp as a starting left tackle. Williams was never known to be a great run blocker. Olin Kreutz is coming off surgery. Right tackle Frank Omiyale has little experience as a starter. He played out of position last season at left guard. How will Tice mold this unit into the foundation of Mike Martz’s offense? Well, practice would be a start.
What I saw was encouraging. Tice had the line using dummies. Full length and body shields. They were practicing combination/cross blocks. Linemen were firing out and taking angles to reach second-level pad carriers. They practiced trap blocking. They pulled around the corner of the line to look upfield and hit a defender on the run.
As a lineman, it doesn’t count if you just get there. You have to get there and hit somebody. That sounds easy, but it’s not. These guys have to get used to moving through traffic and hitting a moving target that’s usually going to be smaller and faster than them. They must get good position in terms of being between the ball and the defender, keep their balance, and get a body on a charging linebacker or a slippery defensive back.
Tice is doing this all within the scheme of the offense. He’s walking them through the play and the defensive look. Patiently. And then he’s setting up the dummies and instructing them on where to go. He shows them who goes first. He tells them who goes second. Footwork is critical. But they’re firing off the ball now. No bucket steps. They’re moving forward. Violently. Previous Bear offensive lines looked like they were trying to catch the defender. Not now.
While the special teams units were on the main field, the individual position groups flanked the sidelines. All those other groups were having a good old time watching the punt and field goal teams work. None of them were doing much of anything. Except the offensive line. Tice was conducting his own walkthrough on the side. These guys were working the whole time. And they were having fun. Tice is as big as any of them. They look up to his leadership. They follow his lead. He’s one of them and he knows his craft. He’s working them, and he’s building a bond. A clear, palpable bond. We have something to look forward to here.
OTHER NUGGETS:
Remember early last year, when Jay Cutler made a statement about Devin Hester not being someone you throw a jump ball to, but someone who will run under a bomb? I saw Hester make two excellent leaping catches. He is making progress.
Tight end Richard Angulo is on this roster to be a blocker. Wednesday’s passing drills were clear evidence of the reason why he’s NOT here. He had two big drops, one of them resulting in an interception.
Defensive lineman Jarron Gilbert, now sporting jersey #93 looks like he’s in great shape. Let’s see if it translates onto the football field. He’s been pretty quiet up to now. He needs to show up big this preseason.
There have been lots of passes to tight end Greg Olsen. I’m not going to be as rose-colored in my outlook here. It seems the tight end is featured every training camp here going back to Greg Latta. I’ll believe it when I see it on the field.