Unless there is some glaringly bad play by one of the offensive linemen, I rarely notice how bad they are doing right away (assuming they are having/causing problems).  That is probably why it didn’t really dawn on me that maybe the line was a huge part of the problem, if not the entire problem, on offense last week.  If you look closely, Cutler’s pocket was collapsing all game, and the line was struggling to open holes for Forte.  Not to take anything away from Cutler’s spectacular (sarcasm) performance, but he had no time to make anything happen.  Also, while Ron Turner and Lovie are taking heat for a gameplan that lacked any sort of substantial rushing package, its not like the Packers were stacking the box in the second half, and Forte still rushed 25 times for only 55 yards.  Ugly.

Most people aren’t familiar with the O-line, so lets take a look at all 5 of them and break down what was wrong (or in a far less likely scenario, right) about their performances.

Orlando Pace (Left Tackle #76): This former Pro Bowler and future Hall of Famer was the best left tackle in all of football for many years.  Those days are over now.  That doesn’t mean he cannot be effective, but he is clearly a shell of his former self.  It appears that he can block the bigger hulking defensive linemen that he can get himself tangled up with, but those speed guys will probably give him problems, since he seems to be moving in quicksand when he tries to go laterally.  Against Pittsburgh, he may have a lot of trouble with a guy like James Harrison, but we’ll see.

Frank Omiyale (Left Guard #68): Unable to pull, unable to block, got no push in the run game.  On that horrible interception by Jolly, you can see him release the linebacker on a screen, but then he just does nothing and watches.  It looks to me like he didn’t release the block on the defender at all, he just got beat (watch #68, Omiyale).  I know he’s a bit banged up, but he was barely able to stay in front of his man all night against Green Bay.

Olin Kreutz (Center #57): I’m usually not a huge Kreutz fan.  When he was young and quick, he made up for being undersized and undisciplined.  I mean what center gets called for a false start?  Kreutz does, a lot.  Against Green Bay, however, he looked excellent.  He blocked well all night, got upfield a bit on runs, and generally protected Cutler very well.

Roberto Garza (Right Guard #63): Also had a solid game, and in general is a reliable guard.  He is also a bit undersized, though not by much.  He is known for his great run-blocking, but he wasn’t spectacular in the Green Bay game.  Overall nothing really to complain about.

Chris Williams (Right Tackle #74): This kid pisses me off just by his existence.  After being drafted with the Bears first pick last season, the city found out he had serious back problems OF WHICH THE ORGANIZATION WAS AWARE WHEN THEY DRAFTED HIM.  He missed the half of the 2008 season nursing those back injuries.  Although he was originally drafted as a left tackle, the acquisition of Pace bumped him to right tackle, where he was shaky at best this past week.  His pass blocking actually looked so-so, but it felt like he couldn’t get any kind of push on the right side of the line when the Bears tried to run.  He has the size and the speed, but he’s still young and maybe its just a matter of putting it all together.

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Tags: Blame Game, Chris Wililams, Frank Omiyale, Offensive Line, Olin Kreutz, Orlando Pace, Roberto Garza