This is possibly one of those situations where something gets said, gets taken the wrong way and whats said in response borders on the harsh.
The battle between JMarcus Webb and Chris Williams for the No. 1 job at left tackle was one camp practice old and offensive coordinator Mike Tice was asked if the job was Webbs to lose.
Now, Webb hadnt said it was. But Tice was already not happy with the play of his tackles and was in no mood for even a hint that Webbs status as 2011 starter meant anything now.
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No. Its not his job to lose, Tice said. He happened to be in there first with the 1s on Thursday because of the fact that he finished the season as a starter. Its going to be a dogfight for those two guys.
I have too many athletes to not be able to throw the football explosively, and no, its not his job to lose. He might think so, but if he thinks so, hes wrong. Theres going to be a competition between him and Chris, and well see how that turns out. Were going to keep the heat on both of them, and we want to see when we get in pads whos going to block our good pass rushers. I know they can both run block, but were not going to go out there and run the ball 50 times a game, so youve got to be able to protect.
If they cant protect, they cant play for us.
The problem here is that there are not a lot of options beyond what is on the roster now. Good pass protectors simply do not turn up on cut lists or are sitting by their phones this time of year.
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Webb made too many mistakes last season to turn left tackle into his job to lose. Pressure from Tice or Williams is nothing worse than he faced from Jared Allen and hes holding to a perspective to keep superfluous pressure at a minimum.
Not too much pressure, Webb said. You put too much pressure on yourself, and you start to overthink and make mistakes.