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Bears could shift J'Marcus Webb to LT
The Chicago Bears are going to revamp their offensive line once they get to training camp, but it remains to be seen just how Mike Tice is going to shake things up.
The Bears will be expecting Gabe Carimi, their first-round draft pick from Wisconsin, to enter the mix quickly. Where is the question? He played five seasons for the Badgers at left tackle and some view him as a right tackle in the NFL.
Tice has said that J’Marcus Webb, who started 12 games as a rookie seventh-round pick last season, has all the tools to be a left tackle. But Webb got his experience at right tackle last season, so he’d have to be moved to the left side. It’s something Webb is hoping for, that much is certain, and it should be noted that Tice has adopted Webb as a prized pupil of sorts.
“I leave that (decision) to the coaching staff,” Webb told Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune. “Coach Tice is really good about putting guys in the right place. And I would love to be in that premier position, left tackle. I just want to contribute any place possible -- either left or right. I definitely don’t want to leave any doubt on the field. But I am ready; I’m prepared for anything they throw at me.”
The Bears led the league in sacks allowed last season, so a major improvement is expected. Webb didn’t come from a big program in West Texas A&M, but he played left tackle there and he started his college career at Texas. He’s certainly hoping to be a man on the move.
“You’ve got to have a little bit of attitude and you’ve got to have a little bit of aggression,” Webb said as he sat in a downtown Chicago hotel room. “You know, they have their best guys coming at you. But everybody in the league gets paid to do what they do best. So you’ve got to be the best. You’ve got to have, what is it? The eye of the tiger on that (left) side.”
The bottom line for Webb is he’s ready to get going at whatever position they want to put him at.
“I have been wanting to hit somebody here pretty soon,” he said. “I’m just real anxious. Kind of giddy.”
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Bears' Webb looking for contact
Lineman ready to hit, make move to left tackle
By Fred Mitchell, Chicago Tribune reporter 6:22 p.m. CDT, July 7, 2011
The NFL lockout is still in force, but second-year Bears offensive tackle J'Marcus Webb says he is eager to "hit somebody here pretty soon" and hopes to claim the starting left tackle position.
The Bears made 6-foot-7, 315-pound left tackle Gabe Carimi their first-round draft pick in April, but the likely condensed training camp and perhaps shortened preseason would make a rapid transition to that key position in the NFL difficult.
"I leave that (decision) to the coaching staff," Webb said. "(Offensive line coach Mike) Tice is really good about putting guys in the right place. And I would love to be in that premier position (at) left tackle. … I am ready. I'm prepared for anything they throw at me."
The 6-8, 335-pound Webb, a seventh-round pick out of West Texas A&M last season, says continuity along the offensive line will be crucial for the Bears. That includes re-signing veteran free-agent center Olin Kreutz.
"We got so close (advancing to the NFC Championship Game) last year and we didn't get on the big stage," Webb said. "But we definitely have the talent and the experience to do so. … Just bringing back the guys we had and jelling early on is going to be huge."
Webb feels confident he has what it takes to be a trusted left tackle on a team that allowed 52 sacks of Jay Cutler last season.
"You've got to have a little bit of attitude, and you've got to have a little bit of aggression," Webb said. "You know, they have their best guys coming at you. But everybody in the league gets paid to do what they do best. So you've got to be the best."
Coaches and management are not permitted to communicate directly with players during the lockout, but Bears players have been communicating among themselves.
"It has happened on occasion," Webb said of speaking with the veteran offensive linemen. "You don't want to be too quiet, just sitting at home twiddling your thumbs. … We have to be on the same page. We're definitely a unit."
The lockout can't be lifted soon enough for Webb.
"I'm real eager. It's kind of like the internal clock is ticking. I have been wanting to hit somebody here pretty soon. I'm just real anxious. Kind of giddy. These (personal) workouts and stuff like that … I don't have the camaraderie as I would if I were in Lake Forest. I want to get back to that pretty soon. Get on the field and show everybody what we're made of."
fmitchell@tribune.com
Twitter @kicker34
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just another q mitchel
in the mean time we should move cutler to TE
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Well I told u guys Carimi would have to play at RT. He just doesn't have the athleticism for LT
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Did Webb have a full camp where he improved at the position he is in currently and has taken a quantum leap in pass pro that he can now move to the blind side? Going to be an even shorter season for Jay then. Carimi should be the LT end of story.
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Originally Posted by
short faced bear 
Did Webb have a full camp where he improved at the position he is in currently and has taken a quantum leap in pass pro that he can now move to the blind side? Going to be an even shorter season for Jay then. Carimi should be the LT end of story.
At least to begin with he should. I don't know where all this talk about his lack of athleticism to play LT comes from other than an off the wall opinion around draft time from one or two scouts or pro personnel guys. Carimi won an Outland Trophy as a LT at Wisconsin and played against several DE's and DT's who were first or second round picks in this years draft. He was a four year starter as a LT.
Before we consign him to RT let's at least find out whether or not he can play LT. It makes no sense to keep spending number one picks for a LT of the future and then not play him there. I sincerely doubt that Webb has shown anymore ability to play LT than Carimi has at this point in time and aside from a couple of articles from sportswriters who have no solid proof, only raw speculation, there has been no indication from Mike Tice about moving Webb to LT.
It's only Fred Mitchell's headline that says it. The story doesn't at all. This is just one more example of how off base rumors get started because some people don't read or understand what was written. Even Webb has no idea of where he'll be playing and says that. Don't you think that if he had been told to prepare himself for a shift in position that he'd at least have the confirmation of it and would say something about it?
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Sure, why not. LT is only the most important position on the field other then the QB. I can hear Cutler flinching from here after hearing this news.
I'm trying//to let go//of maybe//but maybe's just so//very interesting//Oh, what a thing.
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Originally Posted by
soulman At least to begin with he should. I don't know where all this talk about his lack of athleticism to play LT comes from other than an off the wall opinion around draft time from one or two scouts or pro personnel guys. Carimi won an Outland Trophy as a LT at Wisconsin and played against several DE's and DT's who were first or second round picks in this years draft. He was a four year starter as a LT.
Before we consign him to RT let's at least find out whether or not he can play LT. It makes no sense to keep spending number one picks for a LT of the future and then not play him there. I sincerely doubt that Webb has shown anymore ability to play LT than Carimi has at this point in time and aside from a couple of articles from sportswriters who have no solid proof, only raw speculation, there has been no indication from Mike Tice about moving Webb to LT.
It's only Fred Mitchell's headline that says it. The story doesn't at all. This is just one more example of how off base rumors get started because some people don't read or understand what was written. Even Webb has no idea of where he'll be playing and says that. Don't you think that if he had been told to prepare himself for a shift in position that he'd at least have the confirmation of it and would say something about it?
they said the same crap about jake long..............oooops lol. Carimi should be LT from day one
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Originally Posted by
motownbear they said the same crap about jake long..............oooops lol. Carimi should be LT from day one
Exactly mo. Nobody is saying that Carimi is another Joe Thomas or a Tony Boselli or a Walter Jones or Jonathan Ogden but the did replace Joe Thomas as a freshman and played on a very good college football team with a rep for turning out top notch NFL Olineman.
I'm not even bothered by his missing OTA's or even some training camp time because of the lockout. To me he was the most ready to play LT in the draft and I stick by that opinion. At the very least he should be given a lead spot in the competition for it. If eventually Webb can beat him out all the better. What that means to me is that we'll have two pro-bowl caliber OT's within the next few years.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
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Can't the Bears trade for Miami's Jake Long? lol
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