Bears offensive coordinator Mike Tice doesn’t look like he’ll make any changes at either offensive tackle spot.
“As far as left tackle and right tackle is concerned,” Tice said, ‘we’re going to go with [J’Marcus] Webb and [Gabe] Carimi for now. Gabe’s knee is really coming around, and we’re going to still evaluate the games and if one guy in the backup role steps up and has a great game, then we’ll revaluate that.
“But for now we’re going to put those five guys in there and let them work together and see if they can gel.”
Not such a ringing endorsement.
And there’s more.
So what’s he liked about Webb?
“Like I said, nobody’s really stepped out,” Tice said.
Asked if he’s more or less optimistic about the offensive line, Tice said, “Well first and foremost, we’re going to scheme.
“I’m an offensive line coach. We’re going to make sure we’re not embarrassing anybody or hurting our quarterback. I’m very comfortable with all the schemes we have, probably all of our protections in, some new protections that we’ve installed and also one or two more we’re going to look at next week and we’ll be fine.
“Because we’re going to be able to have schemes where if we have a guy that we’re not matching up well against, we’re going to make sure that guy has two guys on him throughout the course of the game. So that’s just the way it’s going to be.”
As for what he’s looking for in the preseason opener against the Denver Broncos, Tice said he wants a “clean” game.”
“I like to minimize the offsides,” he said. “We’ll probably get some holding calls in there. But that happens. No turnovers. Minimize the offsides. No delay-of-games. See if we can run the ball efficiently. And finish some drives. Little rhythm.”
