Williams all right on left side
More than 20 months after the Bears used a mid-first-round pick on Chris Williams to be their long-term left tackle, Williams made his first of what could be many starts at the marquee position Sunday.
While no one should plan on seeing Williams' name near the NFC's Pro Bowl roster in February, there were promising signs from the Vanderbilt alum during the Bears' 17-9 win over St. Louis.
Williams, it should be noted, shifted from the right to the left side due to Orlando Pace's groin injury in last week's whipping at Minnesota. Kevin Shaffer took Williams' usual spot.
"They played awesome," said Bears running back Matt Forte, who produced 91 yards and 1 touchdown on 24 carries. "They were blocking their butts off the whole game, and I was happy to run behind them."
Williams wasn't as enthusiastic about his showing.
"It went OK," he said. "There were a couple plays I would have liked to have back, but it went all right."
Williams' glaring miscue came early in the third quarter when Rams defensive end Chris Long engaged Williams briefly, then blew past him on the outside for an easy 9-yard sack of Jay Cutler.
Williams claimed Long just made a play, but Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner had Williams' back.
"I know there was that one sack, but he was expecting some help there," Turner said. "So we had a busted assignment there that wasn't totally his fault."
His overall take?
"It's hard to tell," Turner said. "We'll wait and see the film. Overall I'd tell you it looked like he did a good job."
At 6-feet-6 and 315 pounds, Williams' build lends itself more to being nimble on the left side than being a mauler on the right side.
But on Forte's better runs, it appeared Williams shoved his man inside and allowed Forte to cut off his back toward open grass.
"It takes awhile to get back in rhythm," said Williams, who spent his entire college career on the left side. "The things you see, you're kind of more used to. But at the same time, I've taken more NFL reps on the right side."
Perhaps it was the competition, but the Bears rolled up 120 rushing yards Sunday for the team's fourth-best showing of the year.
Forte's 91 yards maintained a dramatic split between his home and road numbers.
He has 94 rushes for 398 yards (4.2 average) and 4 TDs in six games at Soldier Field but 85 carries for 236 yards (2.8) and no TDs in six road games.
"I think we ran the ball pretty well," Williams said. "There's always a couple you'd like back, but I felt for the most part like we did a good job up front. They moved around on us a lot, so I think we did OK.
"Like I say, you never know until you watch the film."