Thread: It's only preseason, but Bears' OL a concern

Originally Posted by MPBears68

Great post Soul (and Dags above). I realize Emery couldn't "fix" everything this offseason and did a helluva job accomplishing as much as he did. But man the OL follies every year is getting old. I don't know if moving CW back to LT is a true "2nd look", meant merely to light a fire under Webb (he will probably use it to just roast hot dogs and smores), or an attempt to prepare CW to man the swing role from the bench. Whatever it is, and I agree that the latter motivation is no bueno, there's little doubt in my mind as well that our BEST 5 starting lineup from L to R is:

Webb -- CWill -- Garza --Louis -- Carimi

That was especially evident after Spencer blew chunks playing LG last week. He was clearly the worst performer of our "returning starters" from last year. If CW is the best LG we have (over Rachal and Spencer), and he definitely seems to be, then bite the bullet, leave him there, and whip Webb like a galley slave the rest of PS @ LT. That's the best lineup we got fellas.

I know Tice is nervous about not having a dedicated reserve/swing OT outside of an UDFA rookie, but there doesn't seem to be any other choice unless some team cuts a serviceable and uninjured vet (fat chance). Who did we have in that role last year--Frank OMG? Could James Brown be significantly worse if called upon in a pinch? At least JB is raw and (hopefully) has substantial upside. FO was at his ceiling...which was barely above his floor. Hoping Tice sees and accepts this. Hope he sets the OL as above no later than between the next 2 PS games.

BTW, how many OLmen do we typically keep on the final roster...8 or 9?

Thanks for the kudos, MP. Now, I see this latest run of competitive auditioning between Webb and CWill as another example of Tice trying to save face because he knows now that Webb is probably not going to be the player he had envisioned him being when he had him drafted three years ago. As it sits, Webb continues to stifle the progress this line could make simply by his blase indifference and attitude toward putting forth the effort it will take to maximize his potential. As for Spencer, he did rather well last year at RG, and he's too expensive to simply keep him sitting on the bench. Do you keep him on the bench as a backup G or do you put him in place of Louis, who seems to be a player who might have the talent to make it as a pretty serviceable RG in this league? One can never tell until Tice tries.

I'm sort of mixed on my opinion of the LT controversy that we have here. While I want the best one for the job, it seems that there isn't anything indicative of which one is the more technically-sound T. Webb supposedly has all this talent, but he's a lazy dumb ass, and as my best friend and his father are always so fond of saying, "You can't change a leopard's spots." Meanwhile, Chris Williams is a very hard-working individual who does not commit stupid penalties like Webb does. He always was an excellent run blocker at LG, and he played admirably well at RT in the first preseason game. I'm eager to see whether or not he takes the baton and runs with it. If he stands and delivers, I can see an offensive line that looks something like this:

LT: Chris Williams
LG: Edwin Williams
C: Roberto Garza
RG: Lance Louis
RT: Gabe Carimi

That lineup of linemen will give you the best effort and less mental errors than one including Webb at LT. But, that aside, I am resigned to the fact that Webb will be our starting LT this season no matter what simply because Tice has been on his side for the past three years in making him his pet project.