Williams on the Mend

[The Sheik]

Per Wiretap he could play in the coming weeks.

gradually break him in, start him at RT or throw him in the fire at LT?

[Cliff Levingston]

Why put him at RT when we got him to be our LT? Have him compete with St. Clair, and if he can wrestle the job away (lord help us if he can't) then give him the job, otherwise let him take his time. St. Clair hasn't been an absolute train wreck or anything and we lead the division, so no need to rush such an important long-term piece back into the lineup.

[dougthonus]

You also have to see how moving him in changes the cohesion of the line and hope that while he's been injured he's been studying the play calls, terminology and all that stuff well enough that there are no mental errors.

Our line play has been quite good so far, so I see little need to rush. Let him sit vs Atlanta, then you've got the bye, and then you can see if he's ready the following week.

[Howling Mad]

Agreed ^

No need to fix what's not broken.

Didn't realize that bye week, but that would be perfect opportunity to work him into the mix.

[dougthonus]

Assuming he's ready of course, I thought he was still kind of limited now.

[CBS7]

We actually have 2 more games before the bye.

[ChronicKerr]

We definately should ease him into the rotation. The last thing we want is to rush himn and have him get reinjured or break up the chemistry of the O-Line thus far. If he is ready to come in as a backup to start that's all I could hope for. I'd rather wait until he's 100% healthy than to rush him.

[dougthonus]

You're right, I thought I heard on the broadcast or the radio that we had detroit, atlanta and then the bye mid week, but I guess we also get Minny once too.

[Chewie]

If he's medically cleared and has no more risk of injury than any other player, I'd get him in there if he proves in practice to be better than any of the current options. I, for one, think our offensive line has been the weak point to date and I'm not going to let the 3-2 record cloud my thinking on that. Forte isn't getting the space he needs to do any damage of late and the pass protection has been slightly less than average (11 sacks and more hurries than I'd like).

Even if he can't beat out St. Clair at this point and he has the versatility to play guard, I'd explore if he's a better option than Beekman and Garza. If he can't beat out any of the current regime, he can sit on his rear end and play mop-up duty and we can thank Angelo for another great pick.

[NZB2323]

I think that this is great news. I believe that our biggest weakness has been the offensive line. I was very happy last year when I learned that we drafted Williams and I was very disappointed when I learned that he got injured. I thought that he would be out for the entire year.

People have been saying that the biggest weakness on this team is the quarterback, but I don't think that's true. Chris Chandler played well in Atlanta but then sucked on the Bears. Brian Griese probably had his worst seasons when he was on the Bears. Our quarterbacks have fumbled a lot in the past, but a lot of those fumbles have been when defensive tackles have got to them. When you look at how much better the Browns were last year when they drafted Joe Thomas, I think that Williams could be great for us. Now granted, the Browns aren't playing that well this year, and Williams isn't as good as Joe Thomas, but he should help our offense a lot.

I'm really high on the Bears now. I think that we will win the division, and if everyone stays healthy we could be a dark horse that wins the Superbowl, like the Ravens in 2000, the Steelers in 2005 or the Giants in 2008. All that we would need is for our offense to play well in 3 or 4 games and for the ball to bounce our way a couple of times. But I think that with the NFL being so wide open right now a lot of teams are thinking that.

[Cliff Levingston]

Even if he can't beat out St. Clair at this point and he has the versatility to play guard, I'd explore if he's a better option than Beekman and Garza. If he can't beat out any of the current regime, he can sit on his rear end and play mop-up duty and we can thank Angelo for another great pick.

Well yea, if he's 100% healthy and can't beat out St. Clair then we've got a bigger problem than his health.

The Bears just basically need to make a decision on when they're going to get him back into the lineup. They're not going to not play him no matter what so why bother playing him at guard. If he's going to come back, give him the LT position and possibly move St. Clair inside.

[Chewie]

Even if he can't beat out St. Clair at this point and he has the versatility to play guard, I'd explore if he's a better option than Beekman and Garza. If he can't beat out any of the current regime, he can sit on his rear end and play mop-up duty and we can thank Angelo for another great pick.

Well yea, if he's 100% healthy and can't beat out St. Clair then we've got a bigger problem than his health.

The Bears just basically need to make a decision on when they're going to get him back into the lineup. They're not going to not play him no matter what so why bother playing him at guard. If he's going to come back, give him the LT position and possibly move St. Clair inside.

Though I've always seen St. Clair's value as a backup, for all I know the Bears coaches may be giving him some high grades at tackle after watching the film and won't want to mess with a good thing. If that's the case - and provided Williams has that kind of versatility - I wouldn't mind seeing him at guard for the rest of '08 to get his butt on the field if he's shown to be more effectice than our current guys.

[Ruben Douglas]

Williams never even took part in Training Camp. I doubt he is anywhere near game ready. I would assume that they use him in practice until he is as close to 'game shape' as possible without actually playing in a game. Maybe play him if St. Clair get's injured in an emergency. But work him in slow and wait until you are sure he is ready to go.

[emperorjones]

^^ Yep, I'd be really surprised if he got in any time soon having missed all of camp. That being said, I think St. Clair has missed all of camp and the regular season thus far so they might be about equal.

[SLCceltic]

Even if he can't beat out St. Clair at this point and he has the versatility to play guard, I'd explore if he's a better option than Beekman and Garza. If he can't beat out any of the current regime, he can sit on his rear end and play mop-up duty and we can thank Angelo for another great pick.

Well yea, if he's 100% healthy and can't beat out St. Clair then we've got a bigger problem than his health.

The Bears just basically need to make a decision on when they're going to get him back into the lineup. They're not going to not play him no matter what so why bother playing him at guard. If he's going to come back, give him the LT position and possibly move St. Clair inside.

Though I've always seen St. Clair's value as a backup, for all I know the Bears coaches may be giving him some high grades at tackle after watching the film and won't want to mess with a good thing. If that's the case - and provided Williams has that kind of versatility - I wouldn't mind seeing him at guard for the rest of '08 to get his butt on the field if he's shown to be more effectice than our current guys.

Gotta go with Chewie's way of thinking on this one
Surprisingly, St. Clair has played dam good and Forte's looks seem slimmer and slimmer
We did play 2 good defenses in TB and Philly, and Forte sat out most of the second I/2 @ Detroit
but
either we need Buenning or another upgrade over Garza------Beekman or Buenning maybe on the right side to hammer with Kruetz and Tait and Williams on the left side would work better "IF" Williams can play Guard successfully.

[WAYSA]

1) John St. Clair is awful and almost always has help on the left side.
2) Chris Williams cannot play guard. He is an awful run blocker as is.
3) John St. Clair is on the bench or moving to LG as soon as Williams is ready.

[SLCceltic]

St Clair is far from awful, but if he can slide inside and be as effective a Guard as Tackle; great
St Clair is getting it done at tackle
our guards are not

Are we gonna have a Buenning sighting any time soon??
I like Beekman on the right side---more beef with Tait
But where the hell is this kick ass run blocker Buenning?

[Chewie]

1) John St. Clair is awful and almost always has help on the left side.

Please tell me more.

Guard St. Clair an unsung Bears success story
Helped neutralize Falcons' Abraham

Lost in the action Sunday was the fact NFL sacks leader John Abraham was mostly missing in the action.

The Atlanta defensive end began and ended the game with seven sacks, credited with only two tackles and zero quarterback hits thanks largely to an unsung member of the Bears' offensive line, left tackle John St. Clair.

The Bears did scheme to neutralize a great edge rusher but did not need to tie up backs and tight ends with a preoccupation with pass protection. Tight ends Desmond Clark and Greg Olsen combined for eight receptions, and running back Matt Forte had five. Taking care of Abraham was up to St. Clair and right tackle John Tait when Abraham shifted over to the defensive left side.

"He's a great player, one of the best in the league," said St. Clair, who regularly handled Abraham one-on-one. "Our scheme was good and I just focused in on technique.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-081014-john-st-clair-chicago-bears,0,3884041.story

[emperorjones]

Timely find Chewie.

Our OL might be looking pretty good when Williams returns.

[NoSkyy]

I would like better run blockers PLEASE.

Or run the no huddle, all the time.