BOURBONNAIS — The Bears considered Gabe Carimi at left tackle for two padded practices a year ago.
The summer before that, then-line coach Mike Tice had the starting lineup for the offensive line set for the club's annual practice at Soldier Field, typically about a week into training camp.
If the pattern holds, expect the competition at left tackle to be decided sooner rather than later. The club opened practice Thursday at Olivet Nazarene University with J'Marcus Webb, the starter at the position a year ago, and Chris Williams splitting reps. Webb got the first crack but only because he ended the season at the spot a year ago.
While the temperature cooled down a bit from a scorching Wednesday, offensive coordinator Tice wants to keep both players in the furnace as he works through an evaluation process that truly will ramp up when full pads go on Saturday night.
"It's going to be a dogfight for those two guys," Tice said. "I'm not going to put up with any crap as far as turning guys free and not protecting the quarterback. We have too many athletes to not be able to throw the football explosively. There is going to be a competition and we're going to keep the heat on both of them. We want to see when we get in pads who's going to block our good pass rushers.
"They can both run block but we're not going to run the ball 50 times a game so you have to be able to protect. If you can't protect, you can't play for us."
Making a decision sooner gives the unit more time to gel. But if neither player steps forward, it will be difficult to crown a winner. Webb may have an edge because Tice moved Williams from left tackle to left guard after he suffered a hamstring injury in Week 2 of 2010. Until this offseason, Williams had not been back to left tackle, a sign that Tice wasn't interested in playing him there again. Frank Omiyale made 14 starts at left tackle in 2010 and Webb was there in 2011.
But Webb didn't play well enough to enter this season as the owner of a comfortable starting position, not with the sacks, penalties and mental errors that seemed to come in bunches at times. Fortunately for him, Tice said he believes the game begins to slow down for offensive linemen in their third season.
"There's not too much pressure," Webb said. "You put too much pressure on yourself and you start to over-think and make mistakes."
Webb is a little leaner and he has worked on improving his handwork to keep defenders off him. He also wants to correct a tendency to open his hips too much on his second step, shortening the corner for defensive ends. The Bears want him to remain squarer to the line of scrimmage.
Williams, the team's first-round draft pick in 2008, is a smoother athlete but he doesn't have the prototype frame of Webb. But he's comfortable back at the position after making 20 starts at left guard over the last two seasons. He says he's just getting back into the groove after missing half the season with a freak wrist injury.
"I am just here to work," Williams said. "The competition will take care of itself. I'm not really changing my approach to training camp at all."
The loser of the competition likely will become the swing tackle, the role Omiyale held a season ago.
Although many still wonder, Carimi is not an option to be moved to left tackle. He's not the athlete the team wants on the left side.
General manager Phil Emery, after the trade for defensive tackle Brian Price on Thursday, said "we're never going to rest on our roster." Who knows? Maybe the Bears are active looking for help on the offensive line but clubs don't discard quality pass protectors often.
The best option remains finding one that will work between Webb and Williams.
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote
