For O-Line, Continuity Leads To Success
For an offensive line, perhaps more than any other group in sports, communication is the most vital key to success. And the more the group plays together, the more that communication improves.
"It's important mostly for [the offensive line]," Bears' running back Matt Forte said of continuity. "They kind of get used to what each other is going to do, they kind of jell together. You know, they have to communicate to each other on the line, at what they see and how they're going to block certain plays and things like that. They have to communicate, if the same five guys have been there together they kind of communicate better."
Early in this Bears' season it was a revolving door at the offensive line, and the running game reflected the lack of continuity. As the offensive line began to get healthier, and play together more, the running game improved.
That improved running game, and commitment to the run, will be one of the biggest differences between the first and second Bears-Seahawks games this year.
"I don't think we have a choice," Forte said of running the ball on Sunday. "We can't come out and do like last time and throw the ball like 40 or 50 times and only run 10 times. So we have to have more balance on offense."
