ostrogoth Posted January 28, 2009 Report Share Posted January 28, 2009 The Bears are expected to try to re-sign OT John St. Clair this offseason with the intention of starting him at right tackle. St. Clair's pass protection woes would be less obvious on the strong side after he gave up a high volume of sacks in Kyle Orton's blind side last year. The Bears would likely have him battle it out with RT John Tait. By Vaughn McClure Last year before the draft, NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock reported how teams dropped Chris Williams on their draft boards because of medical issues related to Williams’ neck and back. As you may recall, back surgery sidelined the Bears' top pick for half of his rookie season. Reminded of his report, Mayock responded with a little sarcasm. ``No comment,’’ he said. Mayock had plenty to say about this year’s crop of offensive line talent, and the Bears could use another lineman. Williams should start at left tackle next season. If the Bears can re-sign John St. Clair, he’ll likely start at right tackle with aging veteran John Tait in the rotation. The Bears are happy with the progress of left guard Josh Beekman but need insurance behind declining Roberto Garza at right guard. Backup guard Terrence Metcalf might not be back next season. ``It’s not a great year for guards,’’ Mayock said. ``If they’re going to get one, it’s going to be a little bit lower down the line. ``Andy Levitre (6-2, 306) was Oregon State’s left tackle. He will kick inside to play guard, and I believe he’s NFL-starting-guard caliber. Some teams like Duke Robinson (6-5, 335) from Oklahoma, a massive, tough guy. He struggles a little bit in space so he’s probably going to be a second-round pick. For the teams that like the real big, massive offensive lineman, he’s going to be a starter for them.’’ Mayock also is impressed with LSU’s Herman Johnson (6-7, 382) and Wisconsin’s Kraig Urbik (6-5, 323). ``Johnson is one of the biggest human beings I’ve ever seen in my life,’’ Mayock said. ``He and Urbik ... all these guards are going to fall into the second, third round. Any one of them could end up being a good, but not great, NFL starter.’’ Mayock ranks Baylor’s Jason Smith (6-5, 305), Virginia’s Eugene Monroe (6-6, 315), Alabama’s Andre Smith (6-4, 340), Mississippi’s Michael Oher (6-5, 320), and Arizona’s Eben Britton (6-6, 310) as the top five tackles, in order. Asked about a sleeper, Mayock mentioned South Carolina’s Jamon Meredith (6-5, 297). ``He got in Steve Spurrier's doghouse a little bit, but he’s a guy you have to do your homework on,’’ Mayock said. ``He can play guard or tackle. But he didn’t have a good senior year. He’s going to go lower than his talent would indicate. If you could get something out of him, you could get some real value. But you would be taking somewhat of a chance.’’ Mayock views Max Unger (6-4, 299) from Oregon and Eric Wood (6-4, 304) from Louisville as centers capable of playing any position on the line. ``Their versatility will help them,’’ he said. The Bears offensive line held its own last season even without Williams being a key part. Do you think last year's No. 14 overall pick from Vanderbilt will have an impact in 2009? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balta1701-A Posted January 28, 2009 Report Share Posted January 28, 2009 Resigning St. Clair would be a solid move on almost every front. I think Williams so far strikes me as the only 1st round O-Lineman last year who didn't have a decent season. They really need an impact from him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iguana Posted January 28, 2009 Report Share Posted January 28, 2009 I've been thinking St. Clair would make a decent RT for a while now. would be a good move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madlithuanian Posted January 28, 2009 Report Share Posted January 28, 2009 Overall, I think it's a good idea and good insurance since St. Clair can play a few positions. And I don't think the cost would be ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearSox Posted January 28, 2009 Report Share Posted January 28, 2009 Yes please, and if we cut Tait, even better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradjock Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 For the second time in two days, I'm going to bitch about Bear's rumors that make little sense. Yesterday it was taking a huge cap-hit to cut Vasher. Today it's reading: If the Bears can re-sign John St. Clair, he’ll likely start at right tackle with aging veteran John Tait in the rotation What the hell does that mean? There's not going to be an o-line "rotation." That's idiotic. The o-line is all about consistency. If we re-signed St. Clair, with the intention of starting him at RT, we cut Tait, just like we cut Fred Miller. You're not going to demote the highest paid o-lineman in the team. What's even more idiotic is to assume that Williams can stay healthy and be an effective starter for 16 games. Just like last season, we need St. Clair as insurance. In other words, we need 3 reliable OT's. I do understand that St. Clair has done enough for this team, that if he re-signs he deserves to be given a legitimate chance to start. IMO, that means he goes back to LG. Beekman's was okay, but he's far from great. St. Clair was very good playing LG at the end of '07, and I see no reason why he can't get back to that. Considering we moved St. Clair inside the brief times we played Williams, it seems that this staff is leaning towards this. St. Clair is versatile enough that he played TE in college and caught a TD pass for the Bears in '07.. Like last season, we start him at LG, & if St. Clair or Tait break down, we move him out. Sheesh, we haven't even played the Super Bowl & I'm already pissed at ignorant rumors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesson44 Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 For the second time in two days, I'm going to bitch about Bear's rumors that make little sense. Yesterday it was taking a huge cap-hit to cut Vasher. Today it's reading: If the Bears can re-sign John St. Clair, he’ll likely start at right tackle with aging veteran John Tait in the rotation What the hell does that mean? There's not going to be an o-line "rotation." That's idiotic. The o-line is all about consistency. If we re-signed St. Clair, with the intention of starting him at RT, we cut Tait, just like we cut Fred Miller. You're not going to demote the highest paid o-lineman in the team. What's even more idiotic is to assume that Williams can stay healthy and be an effective starter for 16 games. Just like last season, we need St. Clair as insurance. In other words, we need 3 reliable OT's. I do understand that St. Clair has done enough for this team, that if he re-signs he deserves to be given a legitimate chance to start. IMO, that means he goes back to LG. Beekman's was okay, but he's far from great. St. Clair was very good playing LG at the end of '07, and I see no reason why he can't get back to that. Considering we moved St. Clair inside the brief times we played Williams, it seems that this staff is leaning towards this. St. Clair is versatile enough that he played TE in college and caught a TD pass for the Bears in '07.. Like last season, we start him at LG, & if St. Clair or Tait break down, we move him out. Sheesh, we haven't even played the Super Bowl & I'm already pissed at ignorant rumors. IMHO the weak spots in our line are the C Kruetz and RG Garza. These two are always getting blown up and pushed into the backfeild. I think our line next year should be Williams, St,Clair, Kreutz, Buenning Tait/Fenuki Tupou(draft pick) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connorbear Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 Resign St. Clair and put him at RT or LG next yr. Peace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfoligno Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 When he talks about rotation, he may mean competition. If Tait were to win the RT job, we could look at St. Clair inside, and thus rotate him to OG. Not rotate him like we rotate our DTs in a game, but rotate him in terms of moving him around to find a starting position. What could be interesting is, if St. Clair were to win our starting RT spot, do we hand on to Tait for depth. I am all for cutting him, but if St. Clair is re-signed and starts at RT, AND we cut Tait, we are once again left w/ a weak depth situation at OT. Williams is unproven and coming off injury. What if we need St. Clair to move back to LT, and we have cut Tait. So while I would have no problem cutting Tait, we need depth on the OL, and if we do little more than re-sign St. Clair, I just wonder if we are not better off keeping Tait one more year. I would simply cut him and add another OT, but if we are considering St. Clair for RT, I wonder if we are really planning to emphasize OT, in FA or the draft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danimal99 Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 Bottom line is St Clair needs to be resigned. If he plays RT or LT or LG it doesn't matter to me. Just get him resigned as he exceeded my expectations for this past season and deserves to be brought back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowlingtwig Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 Bottom line is St Clair needs to be resigned. If he plays RT or LT or LG it doesn't matter to me. Just get him resigned as he exceeded my expectations for this past season and deserves to be brought back. I completely agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrizzlyBear Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 IMO drafting a center would be ideal at this point. Somebody like Eric wood out of Louisville would be good pick up in the second or third round if he is there. Or getting a guard like Canfield from Cinci. That way St Clair gould handle the tackle spot for tait. I would look at moving Tait inside to guard where garza is at currently, It would have to be a upgrade. If the bears land a Center Like wood or Alex Mack we could have a real solid OL for a longtime. Williams LT Beekman LG Mack/Wood C Tait/Buenning RG St Clair RT That would also free up some cap with Kruetz gone I believe and Future draft of Guard when its better would be in the future. But a youth injection is needed there. Buenning is also a wild card at the RG position. If he is healthy he could a be a real factor in this upcomming year. It seems Reed has fallen out of favor but Buenning could be that RG position we need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfoligno Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 I see absolutely no chance we move Kreutz out this year. No question we have to think about our future, but w/ so many holes on the OL, I just can't see us moving Kreutz. Though he is FAR from his pro bowl play, I am not sure he is the top priority right now. Tait and Garza are greater priorities right now, IMHO, and LG is nearly as weak. I think you also have to remember that, though Beekman played decent at OG this past year, he was drafted to play center. In fact, the staff didn't want to even look at him last year at OG, but were forced to due to injuries. I remember several coaches talking about how Beekman doesn't have the size to play OG. I don't think the future outlook for him has changed. I think he is still viewed as our center of the future, and thus, feel OG and RT are more likely moves for us. IMO drafting a center would be ideal at this point. Somebody like Eric wood out of Louisville would be good pick up in the second or third round if he is there. Or getting a guard like Canfield from Cinci. That way St Clair gould handle the tackle spot for tait. I would look at moving Tait inside to guard where garza is at currently, It would have to be a upgrade. If the bears land a Center Like wood or Alex Mack we could have a real solid OL for a longtime. Williams LT Beekman LG Mack/Wood C Tait/Buenning RG St Clair RT That would also free up some cap with Kruetz gone I believe and Future draft of Guard when its better would be in the future. But a youth injection is needed there. Buenning is also a wild card at the RG position. If he is healthy he could a be a real factor in this upcomming year. It seems Reed has fallen out of favor but Buenning could be that RG position we need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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