Thread: Tice Says Carimi "Right on Track".............

Originally Posted by BigBadPapaBear

Does it really matter if he's missing any time now? I can't say it does. Its not like he's missing time because he's holding out. He's recovering from a serious injury. If he misses time, he misses time. Carimi was good enough to start right off the bat last year and it should be no different this year. He's an NFL ready Tackle, not a Webb-like project.

You're right. Part of his rehab process is to get back into playing shape asap so he's at least doing some lifting and working out on a daily basis subject to whatever limitations his rehab calls for. The Bears are very good at this part of the process as we've seen with other players who have sustained serious injuries. Urlacher would surely be one who comes to mind.

He's still in on all of the meetings where Tice is explaining the new offense and how it will work and right now that's all the vets really can do. The OTA's in shorts and helmets are mainly to benefit the skill position guys at QB, RB, TE and WR. It's just loosening up stuff and getting guys back in the "football mode" again.

The main mini-camp with the vets involved isn't for a month yet so as long as he's making some progress he should be fine. I'm more concerned about how Knox is doing right now than Carimi but we've already taken care of protecting ourselves at WR. Losing Carimi or not having him 100% would be a big blow.

Originally Posted by BigBadPapaBear

Yes sir that's exactly what I understand takes place when an active roster player is rehabbing. Its going to be like riding a bike for Gabe when he's cleared for takeoff. To me...he's going to be the most exciting guy on the line to watch because the Bears had great success running right last year and Carimi excels at run blocking.

Carimi is also a pretty adept in pass protection, but he's more known as a run blocker. We had some success last season with running from the right side even without Carimi, so it will definitely be interesting to see what happens when we get him back into the thick of things. If Webb improves as a pass protector and can still run block like he did last year, that should really help out with our off-tackle runs. The question then becomes of the guards and Garza run blocking since we're back to being known as the team that "gets off the bus running." I forget where the league had us ranked last year in the interior of the offensive line in the running game (wasn't it 28th), but it was bad. Most of our big runs were off-tackle and through the holes created by Chris Williams before he went down for the year.

Originally Posted by BigBadPapaBear

And who did we have on that right side after Carimi went down...ahem...LANCE LOUIS and Chris Spencer. These 2 cats can run block. Go to get them in the lineup some how.

It's going to be interesting to see who of those two gets picked to start at RG. My gut tells me that it will be Chris Spencer since he's getting paid something like three times more the money than Louis. It's kind of like this: you are paying a guy to perform a lot of money, and you don't want to waste money on your investment. Spencer had a pretty damn good year last year despite what all the pundits over the airwaves would have you believe. He played well at RG despite his broken hand. He gets my "Big Balls Award" for 2011.

Most of Lance Louis' prowess came at RT, where after the tenth game, he began to struggle with double teams. You are correct from a previous post in another thread that he is no tackle, but he did play admirably for a while. I think part of his probably at RT was due to Martz's returning to using seven step drops.

Originally Posted by bearsinhouston

Didn't know he swung that way. Maybe you meant putting people on their back?

Couldn't pass that one up!

That's what you call "rawdawggin' it."

Originally Posted by BigBadPapaBear

I believe Lance Louis is a lock for that RG spot. Mark my words...Louis makes the Pro Bowl this year or next. The Bears have done a great job developing him. I love his mean streak and the fact that he is constantly putting people on his back.

Yes, Louis is a lot like Carimi playing RT vs LT. Louis can handle playing OT in a pinch at a journeyman level but he could be a great RG. If Tice and Holt can rein in some of his natural aggressiveness so he's not always lunging and getting himself off balance in pass blocking he could be very good. He's got a real case of the "nasty's" and he can flat out "pancake" guys on runs. He just needs to use a little more finesse as a pass blocker.

Spencer is nice to have as a vet backup but because of the size of his paycheck he's gonna get challenged big time. They're paying him starters $$$ to be an OC but since Garza proved that he could handle that move from OG to OC and we have EWill to back him if he doesn't win a starters job at LG Spencer may end up "on the bubble". If another guys playing for far less can equal his play then I'd bet he'll be gone.

The two "wild cards" here are Chilo Rachal and Ricky Henry. If Tice and Holt can somehow turn his game around Rachal will make the team and has the potential to start and even as a backup he's a much less expensive alternative than Spencer. They moved Henry off the PS late last year to protect him and I think along with James Brown these two butt heads to see who makes the roster and who may end up on the PS. There's also Mansfield Wrotto who has NFL starting experience as another vet competing for a spot so we have a ton of OG's looking to be the ones to fill two starting spots and one backup role.

So who seems most likely? Probably CWill and EWill because they can both play two positions and I think Louis is also a lock because he's beginning to "get it" and he can also play two positions. Carimi and Webb are givens as well as Garza. So that leaves 3 spots up for grabs if we play with 8. The starting RG spot if CWill is moved and two backup spots assuming Louis holds onto his spot at RG. There are gonna be some guys looking for work come September.