How Confident Are You in the New OL?

[HearshotKDS]

Think they have a really high ceiling, starting RG is a bit of a question mark but I am very optimistic on Jackson. Would have been nice to upgrade Jones but alas, you can live with him as the weakest link in the chain at $3.7M per year, especially if hes getting a ton of help in 12 personnel. iOL depth is still big ? for me - Stromberg could be a really good backup C that the team can now develop but we dont really know. Given the injury history with Bates i'm inclined to believe he is shot until he proves otherwise - which means we have very inexperienced depth at G. We have very inexperienced depth at OT too, but there's always Thuney if it becomes a disaster.

 

[WookieOnRitalin]

I made this point in another post, but I do not get the quitting on Kiran after one season when he was recovering from a Quad Tendon repair.

The OL is better. The interior is stronger. The depth is better. We have young guys who can develop behind veterans. This unit should be top 1/3.

But it's the Bears...

...so there's that...

 

[GoBears]

It should be okay but this is the Bears. Someone will get injured running onto the field. Another will be killed by an asteroid. The rest will underperform. We'll be left with Jamarcus Webb's 20 year old cousin, Jimbob "Toasted Cheddar Chalupa" Webb, playing left tackle. And Williams will get to run for his life, just like Cutler, Clausen, Barkley, Hoyer, Trubisky, Glennon, Daniel, Foles, Fields, Dalton, Siemen, Peterman and Bagent got to do.

 

[Moses Moreno]

Bobbie Massie - Kyle Long - Cody Whitehair - James Daniels - Charles Leno

was significantly better than 2025 lineup?

Srsly??



FYI...

The same Rams that wanted nothing to do with Coleman Shelton either and yet they resigned him as their starter at center this year. Not a good look.

They were healthy. Only Long missed significant time - so given how every fucking week for the last 3 seasons the Bears have trotted out a different OL group pretty much every week and given the fact that 3 projected starters are injury risks (Thuney is going to be 33, Jackson just basically missed the entire season and missed 4+ games the previous seasons for the Lions and Jones broke his damn ankle) there should be no presumption of health from this group.

I'm going to wait until November/December before I'm having any confidence in a Chicago Bears offensive line, sorry.

 

[run and shoot]

How Confident Are You in the New OL?​

not totally. The LT position has to be solidified. There has to be competition at the LT position

 

[remydat]

If the interior OL holds up then the OL will be fine. Also think we will do a lot more play action which should slow the pass rush.

 

[Raskolnikov]

My Fellow Meatballs...

How confident are you in the revamped OL? Did the Bears do enough to upgrade the line? What upgrades do you like? What do you wish the Bears would have done differently?

My sense is the line is improved but I'm terrified they will still struggle to protect QB1. I am hoping coaching and scheme will make a huge difference.

It's possible nobody can protect QB1 like RGIII.

This QB has enough for no excuses...a great QB can protect himself with this group if Jones gets 90% back or Ozzy/Amagadgie can be average.

There is somewhere to get rid of the ball every snap within 1.9 seconds. That's 95% of the battle.

The rest is Williams fighting for the team and putting himself in harms way. It's his nature. He demands of himself to be great. He backs that belief up with an over zealous fight.

He needs to learn to pick his battles and apply pressure at the right time over the next 3 years. This will likely be the best group around him he ever has...we simply can't keep 3 WRs of this quality and 2 TEs and Swift and Chubb and when our next investments are already S, LT, DE, NT.

 

[Raskolnikov]

How Confident Are You in the New OL?​

not totally. The LT position has to be solidified. There has to be competition at the LT position

Amagadgie, Ozzy, Jones, Wright

Is a competition.

We should have 4 solid starters minimum. I'm crazy about it too but there is a perspective where we usually have to survive with much less.

 

[SugarWalls]

I am curious if wright can make the move to LT but if hope they keep him on the right side. Kind of excited to see ozzy and Amegadjie fight it out for the starting LT position while Braxton gets healthy

 

[run and shoot]

How Confident Are You in the New OL?​

not totally. The LT position has to be solidified. There has to be competition at the LT position

Amagadgie, Ozzy, Jones, Wright

Is a competition.

We should have 4 solid starters minimum. I'm crazy about it to but there is a perspective where we usually have to survive with much less.

I hear ya. I just hope CW doesn't have to worry about his blindside. It's been a concern going back to JF. It's gonna be interesting to see
how OT Ozzy Trapilo is developed

 

[Raskolnikov]

I am curious if wright can make the move to LT but if hope they keep him on the right side. Kind of excited to see ozzy and Amegadjie fight it out for the starting LT position while Braxton gets healthy

But I can see why they want the best pass protector on the left side and not sold that title will ever belong to Wright.

I think the 12 personnel base offense can be a factor knowing you can chip either side.

The way the bears go I can definitely see it becoming a lost season as usual if Jones is washed, Ozzy busts, Wright gets injured, next thing you know Amagadgie is your left tackle and Thuney is your right tackle. Lol.

The only reason I am good with it is because the draft did not fall for Banks and Simmons getting to us. I can cry but Simmons would have cost our best two picks from the draft, Burden and Turner.

Instead we got skill positions set.

It's sad because Banks and Simmons would have been extremely cheap solutions to that position for 4 years each.

I see Ozzy and Amagadgie as back-ups, two flavors of swing tackle.

I might even start a rotation if it comes to them to keep them fresh and unpredictable, find the better match-ups week to week and let the competition linger half a season.

 

[SugarWalls]

But I can see why they want the best pass protector on the left side and not sold that title will ever belong to Wright.

I think the 12 personnel base offense can be a factor knowing you can chip either side.

The way the bears go I can definitely see it becoming a lost season as usual if Jones is washed, Ozzy busts, Wright gets injured, next thing you know Amagadgie is your left tackle and Thuney is your right tackle. Lol.

The only reason I am good with it is because the draft did not fall for Banks and Simmons getting to us. I can cry but Simmons would have cost our best two picks from the draft, Burden and Turner.

Instead we got skill positions set.

It's sad because Banks and Simmons would have been extremely cheap solutions to that position for 4 years each.

I see Ozzy and Amagadgie as back-ups, two flavors of swing tackle.

I might even start a rotation if it comes to them to keep them fresh and unpredictable, find the better match-ups week to week and let the competition linger half a season.

Amegadjie will have had this entire off season of strengthening and to work on technique. He has the movement skills to be the LT, curious if he can get the strength and technique.

I am hoping he can at least hold the position down for Braxton and then fill in as needed. In the ideal world ozzy doesn’t see the field at all or maybe just a game or 2 for mild injuries

 

[Raskolnikov]

Amegadjie will have had this entire off season of strengthening and to work on technique. He has the movement skills to be the LT, curious if he can get the strength and technique.

I am hoping he can at least hold the position down for Braxton and then fill in as needed. In the ideal world ozzy doesn’t see the field at all or maybe just a game or 2 for mild injuries

I'm with you it would be game changing if Amagadgie became the next Braxton Jones.

Leave Wright alone and you have a couple years to reduce the cost of interior.

 

[Raskolnikov]

Ozzy can't move like Solder I tahe it?

 

[hebs]

If they can run the ball effectively along with play action it will keep defenses guessing, and the Oline will look head and shoulders better than last year.

 

[Washington]

I'm with you it would be game changing if Amagadgie became the next Braxton Jones.

Leave Wright alone and you have a couple years to reduce the cost of interior.

I personally don't want the next Braxton Jones. I want them to replace Braxton Jones with a better LT. To me, drafting an OT in the 3rd last year and in the 2nd this year points to them wanting to do the same. I was really hoping one of the top 3 OTs would make it to 10. I believe Banks being taken at 9 was a huge curveball to Poles/Johnson and why we now have TE2.

 

[kerschbs]

I personally don't want the next Braxton Jones. I want them to replace Braxton Jones with a better LT. To me, drafting an OT in the 3rd last year and in the 2nd this year points to them wanting to do the same. I was really hoping one of the top 3 OTs would make it to 10. I believe Banks being taken at 9 was a huge curveball to Poles/Johnson and why we now have TE2.

Agree. Jones has been serviceable (which is remarkable considering his draft status) but the bears should be looking for an upgrade. After listening to Bill O’Brien talk about Trapillo(spelling?) I really think he’s going to challenge for LT as a rookie and certainly as a second year starter.

 

[bears51/40]

I personally don't want the next Braxton Jones. I want them to replace Braxton Jones with a better LT. To me, drafting an OT in the 3rd last year and in the 2nd this year points to them wanting to do the same. I was really hoping one of the top 3 OTs would make it to 10. I believe Banks being taken at 9 was a huge curveball to Poles/Johnson and why we now have TE2, and to me that is a big IF is a mid-tier LT, not the worst but far from the best.

A healthy Jones, and to me that is a big IF is a mid-tier LT, not the worst but far from the best. He is the weak link to this line. OL coach has made guys better, hope that is the case with Jones. The rest of the starting OL I am very happy with. This interior line is very good and should give Williams a clean pocket to move up into.

 

[tcmtrinity]

I temper my enthusiasm by expecting the worst and being happy when I'm wrong. I think it's because I'm a recent convert to Buddhism. lol

 

[ndgt10]

My Fellow Meatballs...

How confident are you in the revamped OL? Did the Bears do enough to upgrade the line? What upgrades do you like? What do you wish the Bears would have done differently?

My sense is the line is improved but I'm terrified they will still struggle to protect QB1. I am hoping coaching and scheme will make a huge difference.

It is what it is. A top 15 OL.