Bears’ left tackle job will come down to protecting Cutler
BOURBONNAIS — The winner of the battle for the left tackle spot between incumbent J’Marcus Webb and Chris Williams will not be determined on who does a better job as a run blocker.
For the Bears, as with all other NFL teams, the starting left tackle is the guy who does the best job protecting his quarterback’s blind side. The NFL has never been more pass-heavy than it is now, and that means keeping quarterback Jay Cutler upright and healthy.
“I know they can both run block,” offensive coordinator Mike Tice said of the two left tackle contestants. “But we’re not going to go out there and run the ball 50 times a game, so you’ve got to be able to protect.
“If you can’t protect, you can’t play for us.”
The competition between the 6-foot-7, 333-pound, 23-year-old Webb and the 6-foot-6, 320-pound, 26-year-old Williams may not be decided until deep into the preseason, but it heats up tonight with the first training camp practice in full pads.
“We’re going to keep the heat on both of them,” Tice said, “and we want to see when we get in pads who’s going to block our good pass rushers. And whoever does that ...”
Both players realize the importance of their competition but neither is the excitable type that appears to be overmatched by the pressure.
“You put too much pressure on yourself, you start to over-think and make mistakes,” said Webb, a seventh-round pick in 2010 out of West Texas A&M, who started all 16 games at left tackle last season and 12 at right tackle as a rookie.
Webb said he’s ready to rumble.
“I tried to lean-up a little bit, get in the sun, get some running in, stop eating so many doughnuts,” he said. “Now I’m just ready to get this training camp going. I’ve been waiting to hit some people. I’ve got two weeks of hitting Julius Peppers. Then we’ve got Denver (the preseason opener) in about two weeks. That will be fun.”
Williams was drafted in the first round (14th overall) out of Vanderbilt in 2008, and the hope was that he’d be the Bears’ starting left tackle for the next decade. But a back injury on the first day of his first training camp limited his rookie season to very limited snaps in the final nine games. Since then he’s had an up-and-down, back-and-forth career, shuttling between three positions.
He started all 16 games in 2009, 11 at right tackle and five at left tackle. After starting two games at left tackle the following season, he was moved inside to left guard, where he started 11 times.
Last season, Williams started the first nine games at left guard before a dislocated wrist ended his season.
He’s been around long enough to have heard all the knocks on and questions abut the offensive line, which has allowed a league-worst 105 sacks over the past two seasons.
“I don’t listen to people, so I don’t really hear what they say,” he said. “That’s fine. We’ll take the challenge. We’ll come out and work hard every day, and I’ll take care of myself, and those guys will take care of themselves.”
The more important issue is how well they take care of Cutler.
rlegere@dailyherald.com