Welcome to the latest installment of my weekly "Lunch with Larry," which features wide-ranging conversations with Bears-related guests about their lives and careers.
This week my special guest is former lineman James "Big Cat" Williams, who played his entire 12-year NFL career with the Bears from 1991-2002.
Williams joined the Bears as an undrafted free agent defensive lineman from Cheyney State before being converted to offensive tackle midway through his second season. He anchored the line at right tackle for nearly a decade, starting all 16 games in each of his final eight years and was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2001.
Every week I will select the best "Lunch with Larry" fan question, with the winner receiving a Connie's Pizza gift card. The question of the week can be found at the bottom of this article.
Big Cat had a few options after going undrafted and signed with the Bears in part because of the chance to learn from veteran defenders Richard Dent, Steve McMichael, William Perry and Mike Singletary.
After learning from the defensive veterans, Big Cat found out he was being switched to offense when an offensive playbook was placed in his locker. He initially thought it was a mistake but soon discovered otherwise in a meeting with coach Mike Ditka.
After being switched to offense, Big Cat spent 20-30 minutes looking at the playbook and realized that he didn't understand anything about the terminology. He credits several teammates on both sides of the ball with helping him make the transition.
Big Cat had played nearly a decade on offense when the Bears embarked on a magical 2001 season, which was highlighted by Mike Brown returning interceptions for touchdowns in overtime in back-to-back games.
Big Cat capped the memorable 2001 campaign with his first Pro Bowl invitation and a trip to the 2002 all-star game in Hawaii with a large contingent of teammates.
Big Cat retired from the NFL following the 1992 season. He did some broadcasting work and has spent the past five years coaching offensive linemen at Lake Forest High School, a stone's throw from Halas Hall.
The fan question of the week and winner of a Connie's Pizza gift card comes from Nick P., who asks: What do you wish the average football fan knew about the job of an offensive lineman?
Big Cat's answer: "I think it's a lot more complex than people think when you talk about the ability of five guys working together, and them having time together is very important for an offensive line. As an individual, some of the things people may not know that you have to know are the things that I was taught by [offensive line coach] Tony Wise as far as on any particular play you have to know exactly what's going on, not only at your position but at the positions around you. As a right tackle, I need to know what the right guard is doing. I need to know what the tight end is doing if there's one lined up beside me. I need to know if the back is behind me and what his responsibility is. He is chipping? Is he going out in a route? The quarterback depth: is it a three-step drop, is it a five-step drop, is it a seven-step drop?
Along with all those things, you also need to know what routes the receivers are running. If a receiver is running a slant and go, it's going to take a little longer than just a slant. So you have to make up for that extra step that the quarterback's going to take, the extra time that the wide receiver has to take to get back into his designated route."
I'd like to thank Big Cat for joining me on this week's "Lunch with Larry." I started working for the Chicago Bear Report newspaper in 1992, his second year with the Bears, and I've enjoyed interacting with him ever since!
