Back from Bourbonnais

We had a great time covering the Bears in Bourbonnais on Saturday. As always the people who work for the Bears are easy and pleasant to work with, and can't thank them enough for the opportunity to attend.

I'm going to cut right to the chase on my thoughts about the offensive line. It still looks iffy. I like the potential of Webb and Carimi being our tackles of the future. Chris Williams continues to struggle in camp. It's mind boggling considering he's big and athletic, but can't seem to put it all together. The depth on the defensive line really showed during drills. When the 2nd team offensive line was on the field. Every defensive linemen went through them like butter.

The rest of the offense looks to be on the right track. Even with Martz in Canton, OH for Marshall Faulk's hall of fame induction. Both Cutler and Hanie seemed comfortable running the offense. At one point Cutler even stood where a defensive linemen would to observe plays unfold while Hanie ran the offense. Even without his offensive coordinator he still seemed really engaged in practice.

Forte looks even more explosive than last season. Probably a result of his off-season conditioning which saw him bulk up. Barber is very physical even in practice. Taylor doesn't look bad, but he doesn't stick out. Considering his lack of special teams ability I'm not sure if he'll make the team. So I'd imagine Kahlil Bell will remain the 3rd string running back. As a group I'm very pleased with the running backs.

I didn't get to see Knox (back) practice at all. Roy Williams was on a bike for part of practice. It let Dane Sanzenbacher undrafted rookie from Ohio State get a chance with the 1st string unit. He continues to impress catching everything in sight. I also liked what I saw from undrafted rookie receiver Onrea Jones from Hampton. He runs solid routes and has shown good hands. I have a feeling even if the Bears keep 6 wide receiver Andy Fantuz won't be one of them. The CFL star doesn't look bad, but he doesn't show big play making ability like Sanzenbacher. Plus Sanzenbacher was also returning kickoffs in practice, and special teams depth only helps his case.

The tight ends all looked solid. Clark has the occasional drop, but he hasn't been back in camp very long. It's very obvious we don't have a play making tight end akin to Greg Olsen. It's also not what the system calls for, and it seems like Martz now has a group that can do what he ask of them.

I have much less to say about the defensive side because there's not a lot of question marks. I think Tim Jennings could have played better. Charles Tillman almost had a couple picks, and did some push ups as a result. I really like the move of Chris Harris back to strong safety and Major Wright at free safety. This defense looks better than they did last camp. There's so much depth. Amobi Okoye looks like he could a free agency steal. Keep in mind he's only 24 after entering the NFL at 19. I have a lot of faith in Marinelli. I think it goes without saying Peppers, Urlacher, and Briggs all looked great.

After practice ended we were afforded the opportunity to conduct interviews with the players. These were the results:

Bears Training Camp 8-6-11 by zachwithers

At the end of the day this season rest in the hands of Mike Martz, Mike Tice, and the offensive line. This team is going to be able to run the ball. Will Martz try to pass too much like early last year? Tice needs to continue to have positive development with our young linemen. If the offensive line can perform as a unit the Bears will be in the thick of things all year.

Don't forget to tune in for Withers & Finnerty on Tuesday where we'll go more in depth about camp, and talk with Mike Young from EA Sports about Madden NFL 12.