Olson to have role in Bears system

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- New Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz said there is something wrong with his offense if a tight end such as Greg Olsen can't find a place.

"If there's a player that can't fit a system, then something is wrong -- if he's a good player -- with the system. Don't you think?" Martz said Tuesday at Halas Hall. "Our deal is, we will give everybody an opportunity to find who they are and how they will contribute. Everybody will get that opportunity, and Greg will, too. He's learned things very quickly, very pleased with just the few things we've done on the field. Not disappointed in any respect."

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When the Bears brought in tight end Brandon Manumaleuna, who is known as a strong blocker, Olsen's future with the Bears seemed murky. There were reports that Olsen was unhappy with his situation on the Bears, but he tried to dispel the rumors via Twitter.

"So far I have a great feeling about my role this year," Olsen tweeted April 9. "I have no desire to play anywhere but in Chicago. That was purely media speculation."

Olsen led the Bears with 60 receptions last season. No tight end has ever caught more than 38 passes in a Martz offense, which puts a premium on blocking for the position, which has never been Olsen's strength.

"He needs to get grounded in blocking, and he knows that, we've told him that," Martz said. "It's hard to run the ball if you don't have a tight end that's going to handle the edge over there. We've got a number of tight ends because we anticipate running the ball very well when we want to run it."

Of course, Martz also anticipates throwing the ball quite a bit with quarterback Jay Cutler, who impressed the offensive coordinator during their initial meeting right before Martz got the job. With the Bears in their fourth week of voluntary workouts, Martz's opinion of his quarterback improved.

"It's better than I thought," Martz said about his working relationship with Cutler. "I got to smile because he's just been remarkable, he really has. He's so intelligent, he can intimidate you, he really can. He's extremely bright, one of the smartest people I've been around. Loves this game. Has a great passion for what he does.

"We started with him on how he holds his hand under the center, to his stance underneath the center just like he's a high school quarterback. We go back and retrain all the basic fundamentals how we see it with him, and he's bought into everything that we do. He's been a dream for me. I couldn't ask for a better situation."

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BuckeyeLakerCub said:

The Bears are stupid to not exploit him. He is a WR trapped in a TEs body

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