Bears Left Tackle Chris Williams Flirting With Bust Status

Ever get a Christmas present you didn't want?  Something big, like a really ugly lamp.  Let's say your mom gave it to you.  You can't throw it out.  You have to keep it for those times she comes over to your house.  Secretly, you wish it would get broken in an "accident."

In the Bears' case, Jerry Angelo is your mom and Chris Williams is the ugly lamp.

Angelo drafted Williams in the first round in 2008 to be a monster left tackle. Left tackles are gold in this league. Get a good one and you can have a decade of upright quarterbacks and prolific running backs. But if you have a gaping suck-hole at left tackle, you might as well try to sail a cheese grater on Lake Michigan.

Now the Bears are shoving Williams to the interior of the line - left guard. 

Truth be told, anyone could play left guard if they're big enough. Guards don't have to read defenses and make crucial snap decisions like the center.  They're not the last line of defense like a tackle. Guards can just shove defensive linemen toward more capable teammates. And if they give up a sack, it's easy to blame the blocking scheme.

There's no shame in drafting a bust on the offensive line.  It's tough to do worse than the epic Tony Mandarich fail on the Packers' resume.  And we probably don't have enough on Williams to declare him a total waste, mainly because he sat out his rookie year with a back problem, and has missed the majority of this early season.  It's probably safe to say he's never going to live up to the No. 1 draft pick slot. 

For a team that has used first round picks on such luminaries as Rex Grossman, David Terrell, Cade McNown, Curtis Enis and Rashaan Salaam, Williams is not the worst thing to happen.

But he's still bad.

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