Cutler Expresses Concern With O-Line
By Benjy Lipsman in News on May 15, 2012 4:40PM
Given their lack of draft picks or high profile free agent pick-ups, Bears management appears to be happy with their current offensive line personnel. The guy the o-line is paid to protect? He's not convinced.
At an appearance at Perspectives Middle Academy on the city's South Side, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler expressed some concerns about the five guys whose job will be to protect him on the field. When asked by reporters about the upcoming season, Cutler offered up his take on the O-line:
“You know, the offensive line is definitely going to be a concern and seeing where those guys are going to fit in and seeing what five we go with." A number of questions remain for the QB, "If Gabe [Carimi] comes back, if J’Marcus [Webb] pans out. Where are we going to put Chris Williams? There are some question marks there. Until we really get that resolved and get our front five settled in, we’ve got some work to do on offense.”
Cutler's frank, unprovoked expression of his concerns about the line stand in stark contrast to coach Lovie Smith's "rah rah" support for his linemen, even when presented with cold, hard stats showing their shortcomings. In fairness to the line, they did show marked improvement over the course of the season, even in the face of injuries to a number of key players. But certainly not enough for the coaching staff to brush aside doubts about the front five.
As for Cutler's health, he claims that his season-ending thumb injury is fully healed and he's ready to go. Ironically, while Cutler has been sacked 110 times in 41 starts with the Bears (compared to 51 times in 37 starts with the Broncos) his injury was caused when he threw an interception and tried to tackle the defender who made the pick.
Cutler's concerns about the line aside, he has reason to be excited about the revamped offense in general. The additions of wideouts Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery, as well as running back Michael Bush, give Cutler some more weapons with which to run the offense. And Mike Martz's overly complicated play book will be replaced by a more streamlined one under new offensive coordinator Mike Tice. Cutler is also reunited with quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates, who coached him in Denver. With this new look offense, the Bears might be capable of scoring some points... provided the line can give Cutler the protection he needs.