Friday, July 29, 2011

Bury Me A G


So the Greg Olsen Era has come and gone. After taking a step back and reflecting on how I feel overall about his time in a Bears uniform, there's one word that sticks out in my mind... unspectacular. Olsen came into the league with a lot of hype and just never lived up to it. But it's not really his fault and it's not really fair to constantly compare him to what we thought he was gonna be coming out of college. We should really just look at what he actually did, because that's all that matters in the end.

Greg Olsen was an above average pass catcher during his time with the Bears. His second year in the league, he finished tenth in total catches for all TEs and twelfth in receiving yards. In his third year he finished tenth again in total catches for TEs and eleventh in receiving yards. So he put up very respectable numbers for a TE in a poorly ran offense under Ron Turner. Last year with a coordinator who recommended a ridiculous contract for Brandon Manamaleuna, Olsen was often overlooked and used as a blocker.

Olsen was never known for his blocking, as he was more of a finesse TE than a power TE. He had some speed for the position, but his blocking left something to be desired. However last year, under Martz, he improved this aspect of his game as the season went on even if it was never covered by the local media. The Bears opted to trade him to the Carolina Panthers, either because they never intended to re-sign him next season or because Martz was never really an Olsen fan. Whatever the reason, Olsen should return to his 2008-2009 form if used properly by his new offense. He will also be a more complete TE than he was back then since he can handle some light blocking duties at this point in his career.

Olsen was a fan favorite in Chicago. The fans loved him since day one when we thought he was an absolute steal in the 2007 draft. Olsen was also very active in giving back to the community with his time as well as money. He founded Receptions For Research: The Greg Olsen Foundation in 2009 and has been very active with the foundation ever since. Olsen was always a hard work and a good person so, in some aspects, it's tough to see him go. But from a strictly football standpoint, he didn't fit the system that's currently in place here and I guess the Bears didn't want to adapt the system to fit its better players. Good luck G-Reg and thanks for officially making my #82 jersey a throwback.

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