Thread: Brief Commentary on the LT Position.......................

I'm not sure if switching positions is a "career comeback" for probably the best OG on the team. I would also think Carimi like Paea is going to need more time to recover to be 100%. I hope Carimi is worked slowly into the line and not rushed b/c of musical oline chairs.

I think there are quite a few of us who are pulling for CWill to prove that he can handle the LT spot. That's the position he was drafted to play and it's an obvious disappointment that he hasn't locked down that spot. But is that really his fault.

Following his recovery from a back problem he apparently had while he was still in college he got a brief shot at LT and then moved to RT where he struggled both from inexperience and the change of his natural position. For the last two years he's started at LG although he only played half a season in 2011 due to injury.

One of the first things CWill needs to prove is that he can remain healthy, something he hasn't done in his career so far. It does little good to entrust him with the LT spot if he has another injury shortened season. I think what we all want to see is some intense competition between CWill and Webb for that LT spot. It needs to be a battle in which both come out as far better players than they were before this summer.

Webb has proven to be a very good run blocker at LT and CWill has done the same at LG. Pass blocking has been an issue for both. Can CWill outplay Webb in pass protection and still be a top notch run blocker at LT as he has been at LG? Or do we simply accept the fact that Webb needs another year of experience to adapt to playing LT at this level.

One thing about the comments in this piece does bother me though. If CWill doesn't win the LT spot I would hope they would move him back to his starters spot at LG and see if he continues to develop there. His rookie contract is up and I would hate to see us let him go elsewhere when he may finally be on the verge of becoming a very good lineman.

He's had an unlucky career up until now but it's tough to say that he's been a failure when he been moved around as much as he has been. No matter who you are you usually need at least two years playing a line position to get it all down and play with consistency. We can't hope to build a line from our draftees is we keep shuffling them around for 4 years and then let them go.

We seem to have solid interior linemen, and Chris Williams is certainly one of them. We have question marks at both tackle positions. Carimi "should" be a decent RT. But he hasn't proven anything yet due to the injury.

Chris Williams looks like a solid NFL guard, but not much of a tackle. Unless he's improved a ton. And that could be the case I guess.

Scouting reports seem to agree that Webb has the raw talent to be an outstanding prototypical LT. But he looks great some games (against great DE's too) and in other games he's an embarrassment. Inconsistent play to the max.

So, when I stir all of that together I have to conclude that we're just trusting that Tice knows what he's doing here. Webb still has an opportunity to be "The Guy" at LT. If he doesn't step up this season, then we'll put a solid LG (C. Williams) in the LT spot and hope Cutler survives - and has time to use his new toys on offense.

A big chunk of our season is riding on Webb finally stepping his game up at LT. If he does, then we could have one of the best offenses in the NFL. But if not, we may do "OK" but the team will not reach its potential on offense. Not this year anyway.

I agree with that BBPB. It's a high-risk and high-reward situation. Tice & Emery are two people I respect. I believe that there were so many holes to fill from the Jerry Angelo era, that the team could only fix so many things the 1st year. They believed the best area where they could "get by" for one more year is on the offensive line - IF - Webb could step up this season.

So they rolled the dice, and didn't go after a LT in the off-season.

If they win, the team could be in the Super Bowl and everyone will look like geniuses.
If they lose due to the offensive line woes again, you'll see Bears fans rioting in the streets

Originally Posted by BigBadPapaBear

Thank God we don't treat all our players like we do Webb. Otherwise, we would have driven Cutler out of town after the '09 season.

The Bears will be able to properly assess Webb after this season. We will know if he's legit or a dud after this season.


Tice's job could be on the line here. Emery could take a great deal of heat over this. Is Emery just a dumb guy? I think not. As I've been saying for a long time now, Emery assessed this line when he came in. He apparently expects a great deal of improvement, otherwise he would have done a great deal of "upgrading" through FA and the draft. That didn't happen because he is a better talent evaluator than the drunk Bears fan at home, eating corndogs and Cheetos in his underwear, running around with the nerf football.

You been window peaking around here again? And anyway I've switched over to BBQ Fritos now.

Originally Posted by BigBadPapaBear

Paea is 100%. He said so himself a few weeks back.

Point was it took him a full year + after the surgery to regain full mobility w/o hamper, Carimi isn't there yet.

I guess none of us really has a clue as to how this will end up. It could be really good, or really bad. It's a crap shoot to the max. Even Emery, Lovie & Tice don't know for sure.