Olsen's role as WR is growing

All those who doubted that tight end Greg Olsen would have a role in the Mike Martz offense were right. He doesn’t have one.

He has about four. And that count might be low.

Olsen, the Bears’ leader in catches and touchdowns since arriving in 2007, is indeed playing tight end. He is playing in the backfield. He is in motion. He’s set in a two-tight end package.

And he’s a wide receiver. Not just a pass-catching tight end. A wide receiver. And not just an inside guy either.

“The tight ends in this offense move around a lot. You play the ‘Y’, play in the backfield, move out and play the different receiver positions. So you’ve got dial into all the different stuff that goes on,” said Olsen, laughing at the brouhaha over whether he was a fit for Martz.

Says tight ends coach Mike DeBord: “That’s an advantage for us because people don’t know where he’ll be.”

Learning curve
Tight ends coach Mike DeBord has been tasked with orienting not only Olsen but also Desmond Clark and others in the tight end corps the myriad duties of a position that was viewed as an afterthought in past Martz scheme and now is anything but. The quantity of positions and accompanying assignments makes it difficult but also interesting.

“It’s a lot and only a guy with Greg’s intelligence and football knowledge would be able to do that,” DeBord said. “So it’s a credit to him mentally and physically to be able to go out and do that.”

During practices he gets his work in with his position group during “individuals.” Then he will on occasion head down to the wide receivers’ section of the field and work with receivers coach Darryl Drake.

“I tell him to go to Darryl and get the specifics,” DeBord said. “And there’s things in this offense that he has to go to coach Martz about. I feel good about that, want him to have all the knowledge he can get.”

Role models
With the Kansas City Chiefs and now Atlanta Falcons, Tony Gonzalez was among the league leaders in receptions. So too is Antonio Gates of the San Diego Chargers.

That is how the role of Olsen, who led the Bears with 60 catches and eight receiving touchdowns season, is emerging in the Martz scheme.

“He’s big, fast, powerful. It’s a different guy coming at you from a defensive standpoint, big, can run and has really good body control,” Drake said. “I think it can cause some matchups for us. As a receiver, it’s just a different deal. People did things with Gonzalez and San Diego does a lot with someone like Gates, do different things with him and that’s kind of what we want to do.”

It is one thing for a wide receiver to be assigned to learn more than one position. It is another for a tight end, already with widely varying duties in his own area, to then take on an entirely different positions.

The Bears have always demanded that their wide receivers be able to block. Olsen has worked on his blocking out of the tight end spot, including in-line work off the line of scrimmage, lead blocking from a fullback spot and delivering blocks off motion.

But blocking smaller people like defensive backs in open space is something quite different, as is running routes on the far edges.

“You have to slow down a little bit, take it a little bit at a time,” Olsen said. “It’s two different mentalities, blocking and playing receiver, especially in this offense. With everything being timing, you have to really concentrate on hitting your depths, don’t get ahead of yourself.

“So you have to flip your cap around when you’re doing the different things but that’s what makes it fun and I know we’re all enjoying the different things we’re doing.”

Roster-watching
How that affects the Bears’ final 53-man roster remains to be seen, whether the Bears decide that with a pass-intensive offense they can afford to carry only five receivers (Devins Aromashodu/Hester, Johnny Knox, Rashied Davis and …?) or whether six is essential.

Earl Bennett has missed most of the preseason with a hamstring injury and Juaquin Iglesias, while catching a TD pass from Dan LeFevour Saturday night, has not made a decisive roster statement.

Olsen isn’t involved in any of those decisions directly but he factors in indirectly. Olsen’s flexibility as a receiver, along with Clark’s versatility at multiple roles, give the Bears roster options if they need them.

“It was challenging in the beginning,” Olsen said, “but the more reps you get, the more you pay attention and as good a job as they do explaining everything, you pick up on it.”

Click here to order Greg Olsen’s proCane Rookie Card.



(csnchicago.com)