It's still too early to hold a parade for the Bears' offensive line.
But after Jay Cutler was sacked just once and Matt Forte gained yardage on 19 of his first 20 carries in a 27-13 victory over the Minnesota Vakings on Sunday at Soldier Field, a little respect might be in order.
Progress is progress.
''We understand how good they are on that defensive line. They have three All-Pros,'' Bears center Olin Kreutz said. ''It does mean a lot. But we still have to keep improving. We have not arrived yet. We're not near where we want to be. And if we don't come back [against the Dolphins on Thursday] and perform again, then this game doesn't matter.''
Jared Allen, Pat Williams, Kevin Williams an Ray Edwards aren't as formidable as they've been in the past. But they're still good enough to dominate when they sense weakness -- the Vikings had six sacks against the Cardinals last week.
So that the Bears not only survived but at times even thrived against the Vikings is reason for optimism for an offensive line that was embarrassed against the Giants and outplayed by the Seahawks and Redskins.
The Bears' running game wasn't impressive. But it was good enough that Forte (21 carries, 69 yards) and former Viking Chester Taylor (11-33) combined for 32 carries -- 25 of them while the Bears either trailed or led by a touchdown or less.
The Bears' surprising success on third down was another sign of progress. The Bears, last in the NFL in third-down conversion rate (23 percent, 22-of-96), were 11-of-19 against the Vikings.
Cutler was 10-of-14 for 136 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on third down Sunday, a 111.9 passer rating.
Continuity is a factor. The Bears started their best offensive line combination for the second consecutive week -- left tackle Frank Omiyale, left guard Chris Williams, Kreutz at center, Garza at right guard and right tackle J'Marcus Webb.
''Our line has been wishy-washy for a while,'' said Webb, who has started the last five games. ''Now that we've gotten a team of guys together that stuck together, that's helping us out.''
The line still had its moments. In one 14-play stretch in the second quarter, linemen were penalized four times -- Omiyale (false start), Kreutz (holding) and Webb twice (holding, false start).
But the damage was minimal. After Kreutz' holding call nullified Cutler's 10-yard touchdown pass to Greg Olsen, Cutler threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Olsen on the next play.
''We're trying to get better every week,'' Kreutz said. ''We hit a little lull in the middle when people kind of figured out what we were weak at. And now we're getting a little better understanding of what our coaches want from us.''
Kreutz acknowledged the line was motivated by line coach Mike Tice, who was the Vikings head coach from 2002-05.
''We'll keep it in the o-line room, what goes on and what coach says,'' Kreutz said when asked about Tice firing up the line during practice last week. ''Let's just say we knew how much it meant to him. We definitely wanted to go perform for him.''
Kreutz and Co. won't have that advantage against the Dolphins on Thursday in Miami. But after Sunday, they feel they're on the right track.
''It's never as good as you think, it's never as bad as you think [once you see it on film],'' Garza said. ''We've got a lot of things to work on. We still have a long way to go. But obviously a win like this is huge for us. Our confidence is just going to keep getting stronger as the season goes on.''
Very good Win for the Bears, Lovie's team did their job and won the home part of the Divisional slate, but the key to winning the Division is getting one in either Minnesota or Green Bay, the Offensive line's improvement will be either ratified or villified by the media from the results of those games. I'm still not sure about Omiyale at LT, and Williams at LG, I do not think that just switiching positions has led to their serviceable play, I think Tice desrves a lot of credit, he has a vision and then creates a plan to try and accomplish it. Kreutz is battling this season, but is showing wear and tear, his play today was as bad as Webb's, and he is a 13 yr vet. It's not that I dislike Olin, I can just see his erosion as a player and do not know how much longer he can play, seems like the size from D-Tackles like the Williams boys are wearing him down.
The team is Winning games and are giving us a November to pay attention too! If the team can get one in Miami on Thursday, the next home game against the Eagles will be huge from a Playoff seeding perspective. The blog should really heat up over the next few weeks....Go BEARS
Still not real crazy about o-line play but it is better than begining of the year. If they can improve each week it could go along way to some quality wins.
Still not real crazy about o-line play but it is better than begining of the year. If they can improve each week it could go along way to some quality wins.
I'd like to see how Kreutz graded out in this game. It seemed to me that he was doing everything he could to get the Bears to lose, and they won in spite of him.In any case, Seeing Cutler have some time to view the field was a great change for the better. I was still shocked that he threw that pick in the end zone. He was not rushed on that play and still made a stupid throw.
I know Al Davis made the statement "Just Win Baby!"
But it was nice the Bears looked like winners.
Jay, no future intercepts in the end zone, get the three points.
Another great win for DA BEARS!!!
Awwww where is crybaby Creighton hiding at? Is he too scared to show his face when all along hes been crying and whining that the Bears are a lousy team and will miss the playoffs?? Awww too bad crybaby. Maybe you Favre and Chilly can all have pity fest in Minehaha!!
Bears dont need faiweather fans like you, loser!
Yes, they played better. Field position helped a lot. They should tip their collective hats to Hester for that.
Don't know why, but it appeared that Leslie Frazier was holding back. It seemed like the Vikes ran only basic blitzes, nothing imaginative or different.
Maybe Frazier wants Childress gone too.
All in all, a needed step forward as the Bears schedule finally heads into some competitive games.
Not os sure they took a step forward, Cutler did a lot with his feet to avoid pressure and extend plays. Like the Bills game they only gave up one sack but in the Bills game Cutler was under pressure 50 percent of the time.
Looking at the Vikings this year those 3 all pros have looked horrible. They are in the bottom for in the league in sacks and the Vikings rushed an average of 4 men.
The Vikings are a bad team, they have talent but that does not make them a good team. They have no discipline and whoever thought it was a good idea to kick line drive kickoffs to Hester should be fired. But it also tells you what kind of idiots the Vikings are.
The Bears play a good defense this week I think that will be a better indication of the line improving rather than the Drama Queens.
The tackles are still having their 'matador moments' and Williams is 'shady' at best, but the play calling and Cutlers' feet were the big difference yesterday. I wouldn't call Minnys' tackles rush masters, and they didn't blitz much from the outside, but I'm sure the offensive line play will get better with reps.
I wish Martz would make quicker adjustments with blitzing teams, even starting with the 'two minute' or utilizing our tight ends right off the line; but for some strange reason yesterday he got a little creative.
Our strenghts are the front seven defense, special teams, Cutlers' adlibs and turnovers. Without them we struggle but in todays mediocre NFL, I won't be surprised at anything we accomplish.
Go for it!
I don't think there is any question that Garza's return has helped the line tremendously. The last two games the line has looked legitimate, not great, but at least competitive. Cutler also seems much more at ease rather than on the verge of total panic, and I think that is due to his confidence in this line, whether that confidence is warranted or not.Did the rest of you notice Cutler going nose to nose with a defensive lineman with a bit of a late push?
Reality check they have beat 1 team with a winning record. Lets see how they do over the next 4 games before we start drinking the kool-aid. Vikings hate there coach and are not the team they were last year. Allen can't rush a passer at all this year, Williams boys are old and out of shape. Creighton may not be right all the time but if read what he says with an open mind he has been pretty accurate with his statements. Unless he is also Gearhead boy these 2 have backed up what they have written. No i am not either 1 of them
Reality check they have beat 1 team with a winning record. Lets see how they do over the next 4 games before we start drinking the kool-aid. Vikings hate there coach and are not the team they were last year. Allen can't rush a passer at all this year, Williams boys are old and out of shape. Creighton may not be right all the time but if read what he says with an open mind he has been pretty accurate with his statements. Unless he is also Gearhead boy these 2 have backed up what they have written. No i am not either 1 of them
No, Uprooted, I am not you. Unless, you uprooted again and moved to suburban Charleston, WV. haha. Or you have been using my moniker on WSCR the past 18+ years. {Man I am getting old.} The line play has gotten better, but Jay Cutler has also gotten better. He has made some good strides in his overall game. Although his "love" for Olsen in the end zone is baffling. If there is 3 or 4 guys around Greg, and say 4 guys rushing the QB, then someone either has to be open or in 1 on 1 coverage. The move to get Jay off to one side of the pocket was a great idea. It gives him some added time to scan the field and it also gives him the option to run.
There are some really tough games coming up as we all know. The only advantage I see is that the Patriots and Jets are in Chicago. Although both of those teams play outdoors and are used to inclimate weather. The Eagles look as though they're peaking {this weeks game against the Giants will be a good test}, and the Vikings game will be a different atmosphere in the dome. I still say Favre won't be the QB for that game. If the Vikings lose to the Packers and the season is officially lost, then I can see Childress going to Jackson the last month of the season. Plus the Jen Sterger situation might be resolved by that point and the Commissioner will have dished out the punishment.
If you have read any of my posts in the past you know that I have no respect for clowns like "reality check." Wow, is his name a misnomer. He needs a REALITY CHECK. Real fans don't sit around with kool aid mustaches and Ditka or Butkus jerseys stretched over fat guts using 'da' in front of every other word. Real fans are very happy when their team wins, but also expect management to do all it can to make the team a SB contender. This management team has failed miserably in that regard. The "reality check" is that there will probably be 2 new faces to the OL next summer. As well as Garza has played, it is time for he and Olin to hit the road. This team needs 2 interior linemen, possibly a LT, 1 big play "big" WR, and a shut down corner. In my opinion the WR could be had in FA with Vincent Jackson. Then you take your first round pick and if you have to, move up and take the best CB on the board. With your 2nd and 3rd round picks, you take a OG and C, in either order. Or if a decent Tackle jumps out at you in the 2nd round, you take him there and push your interior needs down 1 round. The scariest question is whether or not you want or trust Angelo to make those picks. For me the answer is NO!