Thread: CWill Making the Transition to LG OK........................

Williams on solid footing at left guard

Bears like progress he's making in shift from tackle


Chris Williams (74) and Josh Davis (76) at training camp. (Scott Strazzante/Tribune photo)

By Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune reporter August 20, 2011


BOURBONNAIS — The joke, Mike Tice said, is that he doesn't have one project on the offensive line this year, he has five.

He's not kidding when you consider all of the movement and that the only player staying put — at least right now — is left guard Chris Williams, who was moved there on the fly during the middle of last season.

Much has been made about the newcomers and the position changes. But amid all that, Williams put together a training camp without much fanfare that has the Bears excited about the future of the 2008 first-round draft pick.


Williams was a stopgap measure when he was plugged in at left guard during Week 6 last season after only two days of practice there. He was supposed to be the left tackle of the future when he was drafted 14th overall, and now he has made as many NFL starts at left guard (11) as he has at right tackle with only seven at left tackle. If the 25-year-old can find a home at left guard, it will solve one of the team's issues.

"I don't think (my play) was good enough last season," Williams said. "I was real inconsistent. Just trying to work hard now."

Williams didn't complain about being bumped from left tackle, and he has attacked a checklist Tice gave him when camp opened. His to-do list was topped with improving his footwork. When he went to punch defensive linemen last season, he occasionally would lift a foot up, opening an alley to the backfield.

"We're seeing what kind of player Chris can be now that he has had a training camp at guard," Tice said. "He's playing with confidence."

It's not an easy transition from playing on an island at tackle to being in a compact space where the action is right on top of you. But Williams hasn't used that as an excuse. He throws out clichés and seemingly always works his way back to needing to work hard to produce more consistency.

"It's all football, but switching to guard was a pretty quick turnaround," he said. Now with Williams getting a training camp at his new position, the Bears could start to get a return on their investment.

bmbiggs@tribune.com
Twitter @BradBiggs