Thread: 5 Bears with Most to Prove in 2011...........

5 Bears With Most to Prove: No. 4 Chris Williams

by Dominique Blanton on Jul 12, 2011 7:00 PM CDT in Roster Analysis

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Last week's series premiered with 2nd year Safety, Major Wright. Today Chris Williams, who was a former 1st round pick of GM Jerry Angelo back in 2008, comes in at #4 with the most to prove. When the Bears selected Williams with the 14th pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, they believed that they had solved their need at LT for the next 8 to 10 years. Despite the Bears ignoring Williams' medical concerns that lead to many NFL teams taking him off their draft boards, Angelo still took Williams at 14th, two spots after the Broncos took what might have been the Bears initial target Ryan Clady. A herniated disc robbed Williams of his rookie season. He wasn't available until later on in the season and the Bears couldn't play him because they were in the middle of a playoff race. Williams didn't play LT until the end of the 09 season where the highlight of his career came in a Monday night game against the Vikings when played a big part in shutting down Jared Allen.


Even with doubts and heavy criticism from offensive line coach Mike Tice, Williams went into the 2010 season as the starting LT. Williams struggled in the first two games of the season and on top of that got injured in week 2 against the Cowboys. When Williams came back he found himself as the new LG and his original position, LT, was won by Frank Omiyale. Williams was serviceable at best at the position. As expected he struggled against the bull rush, but found his strength in pass blocking and pulling blocking on outside runs.
In 2011, Williams has found himself in a make or break year. It's not a stretch to think this year will define his career moving forward. Fans and media are already labeling him a bust, and when talking about possible free agent acquisitions, fans are clamoring for his replacement instead of the 32 year old RG Roberto Garza. Williams will need to come into camp stronger and with a new attitude; he has to prove to Tice that he fits as his type of lineman. Williams has the potential to be one of the best LG's in the NFL. He's by far the most athletic lineman on the team where he is very technically sound in the pass blocking department, and his athleticism shines in certain blocking plays. Now he just needs to prove to fans in his coaches that he can take that next step.


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5 Bears Most to Prove Series: No. 3 Zack Bowman


by Dominique Blanton on Jul 14, 2011 7:00 PM CDT in Roster Analysis

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12 months ago: BOURBONNAIS IL - JULY 30: Zack Bowman #35 of the Chicago Bears intercepts a pass intended for Earl Bennett #80 during a summer training camp practice at Olivet Nazarene University on July 30 2010 in Bourbonnais Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)


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I kicked off the ‘5 Bears Most to Prove' series last week with Safety Major Wright and a couple days ago put 4th year offensive lineman Chris Williams at #4. We're back on the defense side of the field as Cornerback Zackary Bowman comes in at #3 in this series. Bowman is arguably the most athletically gifted corner Lovie Smith has had since he got here in 04. He's quick with decent speed, great agility, very good in man coverage, and is a ball-hawk. All of these attributes were definitely on display in 09 where he lead the team with 6 interceptions and 10 pass defenses.


You have to wonder where it all went wrong for Bowman in 2010. Most fans say the Monday Night Packer game, but I go further back all the way to mini-camp that year when Lovie prematurely gave Bowman the LCB spot over veteran Charles Tillman. Lovie had in mind that if Bowman was covering the opposing teams #1 receiver he will have even more opportunities to make plays on the ball. That plan backfired as Bowman was victimized by the league's best receivers, and it hit its breaking point in week 3 where Bowman struggled mightily in zone coverage and displayed poor tackling. He was benched in that game for Tim Jennings and never saw full time duties again that season.

The good news for Bowman is that he's not entrenched in Lovie doghouse, as Lovie came out in the off-season and said that Bowman will have a chance to win his job back against veteran Jennings and last years 5th round rookie Joshua Moore. Out of the 3, Bowman is arguably the better talent; he brings a different element to the Bears CB position with his ability to man up on receivers and make plays on the ball. The problem is that Jennings excels best in zone coverage which is what Lovie and Defensive Coordinator Rod Marinelli runs a majority of the time. You also have to factor in that Lovie in the past hasn't been afraid to play CB's with limited experience so Joshua Moore is definitely in play for the starting job. Bowman needs to prove to the coaches that he's not a one dimensional CB. He has to improve a lot on zone coverage assignments and needs to show coaches he's a willing tackler. Bowman is a good talent, but talent only takes you so far. This is the year that Bowman needs to prove he's a starting caliber corner in this league

I thought this was a great series and I'll post the next two as soon as they're available. This should be good for some comments about these guys and the contributers analysis of each and the steps they need to take this coming year. I'll start it out.

Major Wright - Maybe no one on the team has bigger shoes to fill this year than Wright. Danieal Manning finally hit his stride as a SS last year after struggling through several position changes earlier in his career. What had been a big problem in prior years (the Bears play at Safety) became a strong point last year and Manning and Harris were the reasons why.

I thought Wright played well for a rookie but injuries limited his effectiveness at times. If Manning leaves (which is very likely) Wright will need to step up his play even more and stay healthy throughout the season. He may not quite have Manning speed but I believe he has enough speed and athleticism to become a good player if he can continue to improve his coverage skills.


Chris Williams - No one on the Offensive Line (except maybe OMG) has come under more criticicsm than CWill but the real question is has it all been deserved? He was drafted to become our LT of the future and undoubtedly he was a reach where he was drafted (14th overall). The back injury he came in the door with cost him his rookie season and then moved to RT in 2009. When he was finally given his chance at LT last year he failed miserably in the first two games and when he returned to the lineup following an injury he found himself at LG, a position he has never played.

If he can improve his strength and blocking against the bull rush he may finally settle in at LG and become the lineman we expected when he was drafted. He showed some talent in his run blocking last year both in pulling and blocking in the second level and he seems to have very good pass blocking skills. This is gonna be his make or break year. If Tice will leave him at LG and he continues to show improvement throughout the year he'll have earned his draft position and if not he'll be considered a bust. The pressures on him now.


Zack Bowman - This commentary says exactly what I've said about Bowman all along. He's a very good cover man but unfortunately we play a lot of zone and that's what he struggles with. Sometimes he just looks lost out there in terms or his coverage responsibilties. He doesn't know when to release his guy to deep coverage from the Safety or when to press on the quick outs. Add to that the fact that he doesn't tackle worth a damn and he's a poor fit for the Bears defense although he may be a star somewhere else.

He's another guy in a make or break year. He's got very good speed, size and excellent ball skills but he's really gonna need to learn to get comfortable in zone coverage, learn his responsibilities in various coverage schemes, and improve his tackling before Lovie will trust him out there again. Tim Jennings is too small to be effective against bigger WR's and J. Moore is an unknown quantity so this is Bowman's chance to step up and regain Lovie's trust and his starting spot. If not he'll most likely be gone before the year is out.

Originally Posted by 4th and 26

Williams is a bust.

I'm not willing to write him off yet 4th. He hasn't been all that good but he's shown some potential to be good and that's enough for me to think we should give him his chance at LG this year and keep him there.

My plan would be to go after Harvey Dahl in FA and install him at RG next to either Webb or Carimi. Either benefits from having a guy like Dahl next to him. Then Tice works with CWill and gives him every opportunity to win the LG spot over all comers. If this works out we've got Garza in reserve at either OG spot and also at OC. If CWill can't hack it then you play Garza at LG and use CWill to backup at OG and OT.

Like last year much will depend on who plays LT and how much having CWill next to him affects the left side of the line. You know that Tice is gonna put his 5 best lineman on the field and the only question mark should be whether or not it's CWill or Garza at LG. I can't believe that OMG will beat out Carimi or Webb but none of us can say which will play LT yet. We've got a first round pick tied up in CWill and salary wise he's cheap. I'd hate not to give him every chance to succeed somewhere on the line and it looks like LG gives him his best shot.

lol @ "Williams has the potential to become one of the best left guards in the NFL. LOL

Originally Posted by Riczaj01

Dude barely has potential to keep a starting spot on one of the worst OL's in sports history, yet he's going to be one of the best ever? Nah, best we can hope for is servicable inside OL for another 4-6 years. Guy was a trainwreck coming in, and should have never been picked at 14.
F the Bronco's for taking the guy we should have had.

Yeah, Clady was the OT prize of that draft and we took the booby prize. Call me an optimist but I still think the jury is out on whether or not he can play at this level. He's been injured, he's been shifted around and he's never really had an opportunity to develop his game at one position since he came into the league. I'm not ready to give up on the guy until he had a fair shot at one position for one whole season.

I don't buy the idea that he could ever be one of the best OG in the NFL but I'll settle for a guy who can pass block well and hold his own in the run game playing LG. He's got the pass blocking skills and although he's not a people mover he can still pull and trap in the run game. If Tice gives him his shot and he doesn't capitalize on it then yeah, he's history, but not quite yet.

Originally Posted by soulman

Yeah, Clady was the OT prize of that draft and we took the booby prize. Call me an optimist but I still think the jury is out on whether or not he can play at this level. He's been injured, he's been shifted around and he's never really had an opportunity to develop his game at one position since he came into the league. I'm not ready to give up on the guy until he had a fair shot at one position for one whole season.

I don't buy the idea that he could ever be one of the best OG in the NFL but I'll settle for a guy who can pass block well and hold his own in the run game playing LG. He's got the pass blocking skills and although he's not a people mover he can still pull and trap in the run game. If Tice gives him his shot and he doesn't capitalize on it then yeah, he's history, but not quite yet.

I won't be a complete negative Nancy on Williams. He is still pretty athletic and like you say Soul can pull and trap fairy well. I'm still mad about Clady lol.