Bears’ J’Marcus Webb proving to be draft-day steal

Usually when an offensive lineman’s name is mentioned it’s because of a missed block or a penalty.

But second-year left tackle J’Marcus Webb has been getting noticed for his positive contributions.

“That’s a good thing when you’re talking about an offensive tackle and you’re not really pointing him out,” said Bears coach Lovie Smith. “That’s saying that he’s getting his block most of the time. He doesn’t do a lot of talking. He comes to work, always.

“(Offensive line coach) Mike (Tice) has done a great job with him. He graded out high this past week, and that’s the type of play we’ve been getting, not only from J’Marcus but (third-year right tackle) Lance Louis also. Both of our tackles have played well.”

If Webb continues to improve, he could wind up being one of Bears GM Jerry Angelo’s all-time-best draft steals. The 6-foot-7, 333-pounder wasn’t drafted until the seventh round in 2010, 218th overall.

“Our scout, Chris Ballard, gave me the background on the kid,” Tice said. “If he’s good enough to (play) as a freshman at Texas, he must have some kind of natural ability.”

Webb left Texas after one year, spent one year at Navarro (Texas) College and then started 24 games in two years at West Texas A&M.

“He’s accepted hard coaching, and he’s very mature, football wise; I don’t know about socially,” Tice said, joking. “He’s smart, and he’s really working hard at his trade, so he’s going to get better, and he is getting better. At his size, the way he moves and can recover, if you can develop him, you’ve got yourself a good one.”

The new guy:Quarterback Josh McCown has some familiarity with the Bears#146; offense after having played for offensive coordinator Mike Martz in 2006 with the Lions.#147;A lot of stuff is very similar,#148; McCown said. #147;It#146;s just getting back up to speed. There are little wrinkles here and there. Over the years I think it#146;s changed. Mike is always pushing the envelope and creating new things and coming up with different ideas. It#146;s just getting used to those and getting acclimated to the timing and the speed of these guys. That#146;s all part of it.#148;McCown had recently completed coaching a high school football team in Charlotte when the Bears called. He declined to make any predictions about moving up to No. 2 on the depth chart ahead of rookie Nathan Enderle behind starter Caleb Hanie.#147;We#146;ll see how that goes,#148; the 6-foot-4 McCown said. #147;Coming in late in the week like this, it would be hard to hop in there and be the 2 right now. So we#146;ll just see where that goes. I#146;m just trying to be here and help these guys whatever spot they put me at and be a sounding board for Caleb and Nate.#148;Traditional fare: The Thanksgiving menu at the home of Roberto Garza may have come as a surprise to some, according to the Bears#146; center.#147;Everybody wants me to say we have burritos and stuff like that,#148; Garza said. #147;We just have turkey and stuffing, same boring stuff that everybody else has.#148;On second thought:Long-snapper Chris Massey was signed Friday after rookie long-snapper Jake Laptad was released following a disastrous Wednesday practice. Laptad was re-signed to replace Patrick Mannelly, who suffered a season-ending ruptured ACL in his left knee last Sunday, but his first practice was a disappointment so the Bears decided to go with the 6-foot, 245-pound Massey, a nine-year veteran. He appeared in 135 games with the Rams after being selected in the seventh round (243rd overall) in 2002. Injury update:Devin Hester (shin) and D.J. Moore (ankle) did not practice Thursday, but Hester#146;s inactivity was just a precaution, and he#146;s expected to play Sunday. Brandon Meriweather (concussion) went through a full practice but hasn#146;t been cleared yet to play.Seven Raiders did not practice for the second straight day, including wide receivers Denarius Moore and Jacoby Ford, running back Darren McFadden and defensive tackle Richard Seymour.