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Can Bears get their own Kalil?
It's the stuff ya dream of if you're a Bears fan.
LINK to the article Can Bears get their own Kalil? Vikings rookie left tackle kind of anchor they haven't had since Covert When the Bears see the Vikings offense Sunday with Matt Kalil lined up at left tackle, they have to be envious. The rookie has been playing great ball, Pro Bowl-level ball, and it appears the Vikings have found a long-term answer at one of the NFL's most difficult positions to fill.
The Bears know just how difficult it is. They last had a Pro Bowl left tackle 25 years ago when the great Jimbo Covert played his last game at Aloha Stadium.
From all indications, the Bears will be tackle-shopping once again this offseason. Whether they go after a right or left tackle, or both, remains to be seen.
The good news is they should have options, both in free agency and the draft.
These are some free agent possibilities.
Likely unobtainable: Jake Long, Dolphins, and Ryan Clady, Broncos.
These players are among the best left tackles in the NFL and their teams probably will do whatever necessary to make sure they don't hit the free market. Even if they did become free, it would be unlikely that the Bears would be able to afford them, given their other budget issues.
Potentially obtainable left tackles: Brandon Albert, Chiefs; Sam Baker, Falcons; Jermon Bushrod, Saints.
Two of these players have ties to Bears general manager Phil Emery, as he was with the Falcons when they drafted Baker and with the Chiefs when Albert was picked.
One personnel man views Baker as a "below average" left tackle. He would be more of a stop-gap than a long-term solution.
Albert is a better player, and similar to J'Marcus Webb, except he's more experienced and consistent. The Bears would have to ask themselves if they would be better off if they continued to develop Webb rather than invest heavily in a player who Webb eventually could surpass.
Bushrod played in the Pro Bowl last year, and he has good pass protection ability, but he is not a dominant left tackle. In fact, a front office man said Bushrod had been the Saints' "weak link" on the line in the past.
Potentially obtainable right tackles: Gosder Cherilus, Lions; Phil Loadholt, Vikings; Sebastian Vollmer, Patriots.
Cherilus and Loadholt probably are having their best seasons, and the Bears could hurt a division rival by signing either.
Vollmer may be a more complete player than either with length, athleticism and toughness.
If five underclassmen declare themselves eligible, as NFL teams suspect, seven tackles look like first-round prospects.
Two of them, Texas A&M underclassman Luke Joeckel and Alabama junior D.J. Fluker, are likely top 10 picks and will be out of the Bears' range.
Five who could be are Central Michigan's Eric Fisher, Syracuse junior Justin Pugh, Michigan junior Taylor Lewan, Texas A&M junior Jake Matthews and Oklahoma's Lane Johnson.
Of those, only Matthews likely would be considered a pure right tackle. The others could play either side.
Last edited by JustAnotherBearsFan99; 11-24-2012 at 05:05 PM.
Trestman - Kromer - Tucker - DeCamillis
I'm looking forward to seeing these guys coach. Hope they're good.
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Sure, they can get their own Kalil in the draft. But do you want Tice regressing them? Same goes for FA too-why get one when they'll be wasted. Any talent you put into Tice's system right now will turn to bum. Would love to get Clady or Long but that's expensive and the Broncos will probably keep Clady if they have a brain in their head. If financially possible I'd shoot for Bushrod.
Bottom line: you pull the plug on Webb. I don't wish to see him "develop" for 3 more years while the qb gets battered game in and game out.
Arguing on the internet is like winning the special olympics, even if you win your still messed up.
Restore the roar!
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Junior Member

Originally Posted by
short faced bear
Sure, they can get their own Kalil in the draft. But do you want Tice regressing them? Same goes for FA too-why get one when they'll be wasted. Any talent you put into Tice's system right now will turn to bum. Would love to get Clady or Long but that's expensive and the Broncos will probably keep Clady if they have a brain in their head. If financially possible I'd shoot for Bushrod.
Bottom line: you pull the plug on Webb. I don't wish to see him "develop" for 3 more years while the qb gets battered game in and game out.
What talent has Tice had to work with on this offensive line? The thing I fault Tice for is saying that the line will be fine and keeping Webb at the left tackle. Other players who have played better than Webb have been benched, but Webb has been given a pass and even a promotion (from right to left tackle).
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Originally Posted by
inchibearfan
What talent has Tice had to work with on this offensive line? The thing I fault Tice for is saying that the line will be fine and keeping Webb at the left tackle. Other players who have played better than Webb have been benched, but Webb has been given a pass and even a promotion (from right to left tackle).
Other that former first round pick Carimi Tice CHOSE not to bring in any talent. He stood pat in the draft while bringing in castoffs and re-treads. The talent he has (Carimi) has regressed. Tice is too stubborn to bench Webb even though we all know it should be done.
Arguing on the internet is like winning the special olympics, even if you win your still messed up.
Restore the roar!
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Junior Member

Originally Posted by
short faced bear
Other that former first round pick Carimi Tice CHOSE not to bring in any talent. He stood pat in the draft while bringing in castoffs and re-treads. The talent he has (Carimi) has regressed. Tice is too stubborn to bench Webb even though we all know it should be done.
I apologize, I did not realize Tice did the signings for the Bears. Why was Angelo fired then? I am not saying Tice is great, but you cannot coach crap to become diamonds, it just doesn't happen.
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Originally Posted by
inchibearfan
I apologize, I did not realize Tice did the signings for the Bears. Why was Angelo fired then? I am not saying Tice is great, but you cannot coach crap to become diamonds, it just doesn't happen.
Emery filled the positions the coaches felt they needed. Tice thought he could make it w/what he had. Even if we had a Kalil he would have regressed just as much as these vets he's brought in here.
I once thought Tice could mold talent but no more.
Arguing on the internet is like winning the special olympics, even if you win your still messed up.
Restore the roar!
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Here's the "reality check" and news nobody wants to hear. Obtaining a truly solid LT is about like trying to get a franchise QB. Anyone available through FA is probably not going to be very good. We are not going to get one through the draft either. Not at where we will be drafting. I believe that is why the Bears are trying to get Webb to be our LT. He has made strides this year. He's probably better than what we'd get through FA. And if we try to draft another "project" like Webb, we'll go through the whole "Webb thing" again for 2 or 3 more years of pain and bad games. It just takes years to develop a "project" OLman. If we'd have a top-5 pick in the draft, that's another matter entirely. Yes, we could get a stud who would contribute day-1. But we won't be able to do that.
The good news is that we CAN get a solid RT. They're easier to find. I'd like to see us draft one. Emery is up to that task.
The best news is that we can draft a real stud interior lineman. They're easy to draft.
Anything we get through FA will be overpriced garbage from another team. And hopefully we never ever repeat the Orlando Pace fiasco again.
Last edited by JustAnotherBearsFan99; 11-24-2012 at 05:41 PM.
Trestman - Kromer - Tucker - DeCamillis
I'm looking forward to seeing these guys coach. Hope they're good.
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Originally Posted by
JustAnotherBearsFan99
Here's the "reality check" and news nobody wants to hear. Obtaining a truly solid LT is about like trying to get a franchise QB. Anyone available through FA is probably not going to be very good. We are not going to get one through the draft either. Not at where we will be drafting. I believe that is why the Bears are trying to get Webb to be our LT. He has made strides this year. He's probably better than what we'd get through FA. And if we try to draft another "project" like Webb, we'll go through the whole "Webb thing" again for 2 or 3 more years of pain and bad games. It just takes years to develop a "project" OLman. If we'd have a top-5 pick in the draft, that's another matter entirely. Yes, we could get a stud who would contribute day-1. But we won't be able to do that.
The good news is that we CAN get a solid RT. They're easier to find. I'd like to see us draft one. Emery is up to that task.
The best news is that we can draft a real stud interior lineman. They're easy to draft.
Anything we get through FA will be overpriced garbage from another team. And hopefully we never ever repeat the Orlando Pace fiasco again.
So when is Webb going to "get it". If he improves from being the number 31 to number 30 LT is THAT progress on the last ranked team in pass-pro? What other OC is going to put up w/that? A rook would have less of a learning curve WITH a new OC than ol' Webb head.
Webb is still making the same mistakes both mental and physical. Beat off the line, hand placement, kick slide, angle, where to start? Does he look SLIGHTLY better b/c of all the chip help? Add to that Tice hasn't corrected his habits and people think adding seasons will help this guy??
Sorry, but I'll take Bushrod or a rook over this bum ANY day.
Arguing on the internet is like winning the special olympics, even if you win your still messed up.
Restore the roar!
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I would disagree with you, SFB.
Tice's record as an O-Line coach is pretty darn good. There is only so much that a coach can do though. Tice may have hooted and hollered up and down Halas Hall but the folks in charge CHOSE to draft other positions. We'll never know the truth of the matter but we DO KNOW that the Bears haven't historically drafted up front. What we can see though is Tice's record as an O-Line coach and it is more than respectable. His record as a head coach or OC are not the greatest. Just because the Bears' O-Line is faltering doesn't make it Tice's fault entirely. I don't think that it is a coincidence that Webb's regression is taking place after Tice was promoted to OC.
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Originally Posted by
short faced bear
So when is Webb going to "get it". If he improves from being the number 31 to number 30 LT is THAT progress on the last ranked team in pass-pro? What other OC is going to put up w/that? A rook would have less of a learning curve WITH a new OC than ol' Webb head.
Webb is still making the same mistakes both mental and physical. Beat off the line, hand placement, kick slide, angle, where to start? Does he look SLIGHTLY better b/c of all the chip help? Add to that Tice hasn't corrected his habits and people think adding seasons will help this guy??
Sorry, but I'll take Bushrod or a rook over this bum ANY day.
I'm not advocating Webb. I'm just saying there are not any easy options for us. I wish there were. Webb would need to get more consistent to be the answer at LT. He may never be the answer. I think most of us have been so angry with him that we can't be truly objective in evaluating his performance. It's been a rough ride with him. A nightmare.
But if we try another project player, there will be:
1. A learning curve just like Webb and Carimi.
2. He may never work out and be a bust too.
The real answer is to have a top-5 pick out of the draft and get a guy who wouldn't need 2 or 3 years to develop. But honestly, how do the Bears get a top-5 draft pick? It just isn't in the cards for us.
The decent FA LT's are not going to be let go by their teams. The only thing we could hope for is something like we had with Cutler. Almost a freak accident. But I doubt that's going to happen.
Last edited by JustAnotherBearsFan99; 11-25-2012 at 02:33 PM.
Trestman - Kromer - Tucker - DeCamillis
I'm looking forward to seeing these guys coach. Hope they're good.
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