Thread: Tice, Smith, Emery -- who gets the blame for this tackle mess?

Another "RosenRant". Amusing in certain ways as he always is but the guy either isn't smart enough to figure out the answers to his own questions or he cares not to.

First of all Webb does have all of the physical tools a good LT needs. He's as big as a house, has the wingspan of a California Condor, and he can get after it and push the pile when he needs to. Couple those things with his supposed "athleticism" and he's a decent enough prospect to at least invest some coaching effort into and hope you can make something out of him.

That's what Tice has done and it isn't his fault that Webb has failed to grasp most of the nuances of playing LT in the NFL. The kid is as dumb as a box of rocks and I'm not so sure that isn't insulting both the rocks and the box they came in. Personally I think the kid has a learning disorder or that he may be ADD. That would at least in part explain his immaturity and his seeming inability to take on the responsibilities associated with his job.

Think about it. They used to call guys like him the "class clown" because the were always disruptive and cutting up in class. Then medical science came up with a reason why. They can't stay focused on any one thing long enough to "get it" so they're hard to teach because they can't learn like everyone else does. You think I'm full of shit? Then explain to me just how a 23 year old could forget the snap count so many times in the few seconds it takes from the time the huddle breaks until the ball is snapped, hmmmmm?

How is it that the guy gets beat week after week by exactly the same double move back to his inside no matter which DE is throwing it at him. He played Jared Allen pretty well the first game against the Vikes but in between the two games Allen watched some game film and saw what everyone else sees. So the next game he sets him up for it and beats him to death with it all game long to the tune of 3 1/2 sacks and God knows how many hits and pressures. The kid does not or cannot learn from his mistakes and Tice has about thrown in the towel on him.

J'Marcus Webb is a lot like that cartoon character Baby Huey. Just a big over grown immature oaf and right now I'd say the odds of him ever becoming a decent and consistent LT are about as low as they can get. Tice is not to blame. He tried.

Lovie and Emery? Nope. It's not like they didn't know they had a potential problem there but the solutions weren't exactly running up and knocking on the Bears front door. We had a shot at getting some help last year when all of those FA lineman hit the market but JA wouldn't pony up for any of them so we came away empty handed. This year there was little or nothing that could help and unless we were drafting where the Vikes did even the draft held no solutions. Last years OT class was better than this years and most of last years class is all playing RT just like Carimi is. "Road Ready" rookies who can start at LT in the NFL day one are pretty damn scarce. You probably couldn't even find more than a half dozen of them over the last decade.

So what was Emery gonna do? Draft another RT and see if he could play LT? Insist on moving a still recovering almost a rookie himself Carimi to LT? Sign Marcus McNeil who has a neck problem that could not only make him unable to pass an NFL physical but could lead to an injury which could leave him paralyzed? As badly as teams need vet LT's everyone else passed on him too. Must have been a reason.....ya' think? I suppose Jimbo Covert would have accepted Emery's call but he's over 50 now and a successful businessman so I don't think he'd have been willing to attempt a comeback.

The bottom line is that there really were no miracle, can't miss solutions to be had. We actually signed one of the better mid round ranked LT prospects as an UDFA. If he can be coached up better than Webb has ever been able to then maybe just maybe we have a guy in the fold who can learn the position well enough to be some help later this year but for now we're stuck with what we have.

We've got two guys who have started NFL games at LT. We've got Tweedle C and Tweedle Dumb neither of whom will provide much assurance against Cutler getting his head knocked off. So take your pick. One of them will be the starting LT against the Colts but even then there's no assurance that same guy will be playing LT weeks later. It could be LT by committee this year unless one or the other stays healthy and can get in the way of his guy well enough to keep Jay on his feet. Not a good situation but until it can be fixed it is what it is guys.

So who do we blame. Tice?, nah he tried. Lovie?, he knew but he could only go with what Tice told him. Emery?, because there were no LT "rabbits" in his hat? No let's just blame the one guy who is really causing the problem. The leader of JWebb Nation and the President and probably the only current member of his fan club.......J'Marcus Webb. He's been given two years to learn how to pass block and he still hasn't got a clue. He has a job to do and he either won't work hard enough at doing it to be successful or he can't. Take your pick but he's the guy at the top of the blame chart. It's just a shame he's also at the top of the LT depth chart too.


Here's the real answers to your RosenRant, Steve.

Originally Posted by bearsinhouston

Rosenbloom needs a chill pill

Yes. But this is how they make a living

We see 1 pre-season game and now we are supposed to cut our wrists and get the pitchforks and torches for Emery and the coaching staff. You gotta love journalists (and clueless fans too for that matter). Why not sit back, watch the pre-season unfold, and then if we have these problems during the "real" season, then yes. Panic.

Until then I'm just not going to jump off the ledge. Pre-season is just that, a time before the "real" season where teams get their players and act together. Players are not in mid-season form yet.

Maybe Rosenbloom didn't get the memo.

Angelo

Originally Posted by Jimmors

Angelo

This.

Originally Posted by short faced bear

Steve Rosenbloom
The RosenBlog

8:44 a.m. CDT, August 14, 2012
The Bears' actual problem at offensive left tackle is protecting Jay Cutler.

The bigger problem might be why the choice comes down to J’Marcus Webb and Chris Williams.

Is this the best the Bears could find? Is this the Bears’ idea of competition? Is this any way to run a Super Bowl contender?

The Bears gave the starting job to Webb even after he came off a season where statistics argued he was the worst left tackle in the league. If you count sacks allowed and false starts, Webb was the worst starter at the most important position on the offensive line. If you combine those stats, Webb makes you throw up in your mouth.

But there he was, atop the Bears depth chart at left tackle to start training camp and then treated like a freshman walk-on. Webb apparently has been so bad that offensive coordinator Mike Tice played him into the fourth quarter of the exhibition opener against Denver on Thursday.

Being left to block Denver scrubs wasn’t a message, Tice said Monday. But calling Webb “the other player’’ probably was.

Cutler and Matt Forte will help mitigate some of the bad line play by getting passes out quicker and delivering an actual running game. Chip-blocking the right defensive end will cut down on Cutler’s near-death experiences, as well.

But look, if you have to help your left tackle everytime, you need help identifying an actual left tackle.

Who did this? Who made this potentially season-killing decision? Tice? Head coach Lovie Smith? New general manager Phil Emery?

Or are they co-conspirators in this crime against Super Bowl hopes?

Tice is one of the best offensive line coaches around and still sounds as if he views that as his main job even while also holding the title of offensive coordinator. I supposed he wouldn’t treat Webb so harshly if he didn’t think there was something there, even if Webb acts like the lights are on but nobody’s home.

Smith actually tried to defend Webb’s league-worst numbers by saying you could twist statistics anyway you wanted and added some smug remark about going against Julius Peppers, even though Webb’s failures against Peppers don’t count in league statistics. Hel-LO.

Emery did nothing in the draft or free agency about improving the left tackle position. Emery improved a lot of spots in an offense that needed a lot of improvement, but when it came to Cutler’s blindside, Emery whiffed like Webb against Jared Allen.

If you asked the three of them who made that call, I’d wager that Emery and Smith would talk about group decisions, player evaluations, and blah, blah, mind-numbingly blah. Tice, though, probably would take the blame and explain his next step in rectifying it. Tice, see, has no time for the clichéd, cloying and truth-challenged ways of Halas Hall. He’s refreshingly colorful and candid, qualities that I believe landed him on Smith’s “watch list’’ that views entertaining and honest assistants as dangerous to national security. Or something like that.

But I digress. Being boring like Emery and Smith or entertaining like Tice isn’t nearly as bad as being wrong, especially with this decision. To paraphrase legendary tackling dummy Johnny Knoxville, it’s all fun and games until Cutler gets hurt, and then it’s hysteria.

Somebody made the decision to start Webb without a better backup plan than a failed and surgically repaired first-round pick. That decision was bad for now and bad long-term because whomever made that call obviously is still around and might make more such bad calls.

Who made that decision? How did that decision seem right and now looks so wrong? How can we trust the Bears to stop that nonsense from happening again?

Is this any way to run a Super Bowl contender?


http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...7603085.column

When did this decision ever seem right .

Originally Posted by motownbear

Anyone who fell for the pixy dust solution rather then talent solution....

He's magically deficient .