Bears tight end Greg Olsen says he never asked to be traded, but he was worried about his role when the team hired Mike Martz as their offensive coordinator in February. "The question that immediately arose was, 'Where do tight ends fit in?' I was right there; I wasn't naive," Olsen told the Chicago Sun-Times. "I know he's one of the best coordinators [in the NFL]. For me, the track record wasn't there. But I feel positive and optimistic, after conversations with him and what we've done on the field, that I'll continue to have a big role in our offense like I have had the last couple of years." He says that he didn't ever want to be traded, although Olsen had not previously rejected rumors. "In this process, never once did I say publicly or privately that I didn't want to be in Chicago," he said. "If it were up to me, I'd play my entire career with the Bears. Obviously, there's a lot more that goes into it than that. But I've enjoyed my first three years here, and I've gotten better each year, and I want to be a staple in this offense for years to come." Source: Chicago Sun Times
The Bears would be insane to trade away Olsen. The way I see it right now, he's the Bears TE of the future. Now only if he can learn how to block.
um, you may actually prefer he be traded for someone who can actually help your team because Martz does not know how to use a TE. word your team would be way better off getting something out of the guy now while he has some value because he is going to disappear. Olsen has no future as a TE in a Martz system.
If Olsen learns to block, he has a future as a TE. Whether he learns how to block remains to be seen.
i'm confused. Olsen is not a blocking TE. His strength is route running and catching. If Martz is not going to get the ball to him, then why not trade him to a team who needs a good receiving TE who will give the Bears some value in return and then just plug a good blocking TE in the lineup that doesn't have to 'learn' how to block ............... ????
Every player should atleast learn how to block even if you might not do it that much. It wouldn't hurt to know how to block.
i'm sure Olsen 'knows how to block' ........... he's just not very good at it ...... it's not his strength ..... he IS, however, good at route running, finding seams in coverage, and catching the ball ............. it just doesn't make any sense to take a guy who is naturally talented at one thing and not utilize that portion of his talent and then try to transform him into something different ............ it's trying to put a square peg in a round hole. having said that, most likely, the Bears will keep Olsen and assume that he will still be a major contributor. However, under Martz, his production will slowly diminish and then Olsen will leave because he's not getting thrown the ball and the Bears will get nothing in return for the guy.
Who knows if Martz will be here beyond 2010? NO ONE... Would Martz be the guy to replace Lovie should Lovie get fired after 2010? No one knows.
But that would make too much sense, Captain. :icon_smile: They've already brought in Brandon Manumaleuna to be that blocking TE so using Olsen for trade bait to address any one of a myriad of weaknesses would seem a no brainer. But then again, we are talking about the Bears...:icon_rolleyes: ^^This^^