BRUNT WORK: O-LINE BLAMED

Unit has become easy scapegoat, but it's only part of the problem

The Bears' offensive line has been under siege of late, but it's only one part of a unit that has been dysfunctional as a whole.

The offense is running the ball like it did last season -- not well enough -- and quarterback Jay Cutler has been smacked around some behind a line that has gone from using three new starters this season to two after the Josh Beekman switcheroo last week. Also, the blocking by the tight ends and backs hasn't been good.

And if the wideouts -- a bunch that won't scare any defensive coordinator -- can be viewed as the steadiest and best part of the offense, well, there's a problem.

Cutler has been sacked 15 times, not an alarming figure, but he has been knocked down 48 times, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, the seventh-highest number in the league.

He has proved his toughness, helicoptering into the end zone against Detroit, but taking a licking to keep on ticking in the pocket isn't what the Bears had in mind after they gave him $20 million guaranteed last month.

It would be easy if the problems were isolated in one area -- Beekman replacing Frank Omiyale isn't a cure-all -- but it's across the board. According to Stats Inc., only left tackle Orlando Pace has surrendered more sacks (2½) than tight end Greg Olsen and running back Garrett Wolfe, who have two apiece.

''It's sometimes blown out of proportion,'' offensive coordinator Ron Turner said. ''We give up four sacks [against Cleveland], and everyone says the line gave up four sacks. The line didn't necessarily give up four sacks. If you get a sack, it can be the QB, it can be a receiver, it can be the tight end, it can be a back, it can be a lot of people responsible for that. The line's doing some good things. I know everyone's talking about them. But we're doing some good things.''

The line isn't playing well enough, but it's unrealistic to think it was going to be vastly improved. John Tait's retirement surprised the team, and it was a scramble from there. Pace made sense as blind-side protection for Cutler, and it's not like there were a lot of options available. Omiyale signed a four-year, $11.5 million deal, below market value for guards, a position in which starters command $5 million annually and up.

The player with the most immediate upside -- and the player the Bears are planning to build around -- is right tackle Chris Williams. He's the future, and it has been an up-and-down start for him with a rough patch here of late. Back surgery kept him from starting last season, so he has made only seven starts while the tackles taken ahead of him in the draft last year -- Miami's Jake Long and Denver's Ryan Clady -- are already established as two of the better left tackles in the league.

Williams needs to excel or the Bears are going to have problems because Pace is a stop-gap measure. The future of the interior of the line remains uncertain after next season, the final year center Olin Kreutz is under contract.

General manager Jerry Angelo has avoided the line in his drafts, and it has put the Bears in a position where they've had to assemble it by other means. In the last seven drafts, the Bears have selected two offensive linemen in the first five rounds -- Williams and Beekman. The Bears did well with their find of Ruben Brown on the scrapheap, and Roberto Garza has turned into a solid starter. It's not easy to find those players.

The Bears had a chance to draft Oklahoma's Phil Loadholt in the second round at No. 49, but they traded out of the round, and he went five picks later to Minnesota, where he's starting at right tackle.

Overhauling a line isn't easy, especially without the top two picks in the upcoming draft. The hope is others soon start to see what Turner is seeing. Williams is the one to watch most closely.