Offensive Line May Hold Key for Bears

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TweetOffensive Line May Hold Key for Bears


LAKE FOREST, Ill. - The T-shirts are orange, emblazoned with five offensive linemen superimposed over the Chicago skyline and a slogan that reads: "Chicago's Da Line/Doin' What We Do/All Day, Every Day."



"That's kind of our motto: just do what we do — all day, every day," Bears left guard Ruben Brown said.

A friend with a T-shirt business made them, and Brown distributed the shirts to the offensive linemen and tight ends Thursday.

"I think they're pretty sharp," he said.

He could have just as easily been talking about the play of the offensive line this season. Or, the Carolina Panthers. They became the first road team to notch a postseason shutout since 1980, beating the New York Giants 23-0 in the first round of the NFC playoffs.

The Bears and Panthers meet again Sunday at Soldier Field, this time with a spot in the conference championship game up at stake.

Chicago beat Carolina 13-3 in November behind a dominant defense and an offensive line that delivered one of its best performances, holding off the Panthers' Julius Peppers and Mike Rucker. It was the Bears' sixth win during an eight-game streak, and their first over a winning team during that span.

Nathan Vasher's two interceptions in the first quarter set up a touchdown and field goal. The defense sacked Jake Delhomme eight times. And the offensive line held its ground against a defense that finished the regular season ranked third in the NFL — behind Tampa Bay and Chicago.

The Panthers were unable to break through.

"As a group, they're one of the best offensive lines we've faced all year," Panthers defensive tackle Brentson Buckner said.

Peppers and Rucker combined for three tackles, and Carolina did not manage a sack.

Right tackle Fred Miller neutralized Peppers despite playing with a surgically repaired jaw that was broken in a fight with center Olin Kreutz at an FBI shooting range. Left tackle John Tait contained Rucker. And the running backs pitched in.

"John and Fred did a great job," Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner said. "They did an outstanding job. I thought our backs did a real good job of helping. You're not going to leave (the linemen) blocking them one-on-one all day. The backs have to get involved. You have to change up your protection. You can't just drop back several steps and ask those guys to block them all day. You have to run the football, which is first and foremost with us. And then you've got to change up the looks and the protection."

Was it the offensive line's best performance of the season?

To Brown and Miller, it was another in a string of good games for a unit that allowed 31 sacks and cleared the way for Thomas Jones to rush for 1,335 yards against opponents loading up to stop the run.

"We were effective and we did what we needed to do," Miller said. "The defense played absolutely great that game and kept us in it. The special teams did a great job. We didn't turn the ball over."

Miller gave himself a "B, B+" for that game. His technique "was a little shaky" after missing the San Francisco game a week earlier, and the time off had a bigger affect on his performance than the broken jaw.

Yet, he was able to contain Peppers, who had 10 1/2 sacks during the regular season. And on the other side, Tait kept Rucker in check.

"There are a lot of factors to that," Tait said.

The first he listed was the defense, which put the Bears in position to take the early lead and never let Carolina's offense get going. That allowed the Bears to stay with their running game and away from the Panthers' pressure.

"When you're able to run the ball as many times as we can, you're not playing into what they're good at, and that's pass rushing," Brown said. "If you sit back and pass 30 to 40 times a game instead of run 30 or 40 times a game, that's to their advantage."

Miller envisioned this when he signed with the Bears in the offseason. He saw a veteran line led by a Pro Bowl center in Kreutz, one that wouldn't be fooled.

"You might have an edge on us for a play or two, but then we find a way to solve the problem," he said.

It's a unit that stuck together through a 1-3 start and that altercation between Miller and Kreutz. Now, the Bears and Panthers meet again.

"Last time is done," Brown said. "It really isn't going to matter much more than looking back and seeing what they did. But they're going to have a new wrinkle."

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