Offensive coordinator, QB come to Carimi's defense
Tice says right tackle played well against Jaguars but has to eliminate offside penalties
By Fred Mitchell, Chicago Tribune reporter
8:06 p.m. CDT, October 9, 2012
Gabe Carimi said it "wasn't like I was jumping offside," and offensive coordinator Mike Tice suggested it is too early to jump to any conclusions about the Bears starting right tackle.
Carimi had back-to-back false-start penalties in the red zone Sunday against the Jaguars. The Bears were pushed back from the Jaguars' 3-yard line to the 13 before settling for a Robbie Gould field goal.
"I was rocking back and forth before the snap and that's what they called me for," Carimi said Tuesday after practice at Halas Hall. "Now I know that and I can correct it."
The 2011 first-round draft pick out of Wisconsin also was whistled for a holding penalty and allowed a sack in the game that was tied 3-3 at the half but turned into a 41-3 rout.
Tice came to Carimi's overall defense Tuesday while still holding him accountable for his crucial miscues.
"Gabe plays extremely hard," Tice said. "We had 74 plays in the game. The glaring plays, the real critical errors that he had are going to stand out. But then you have to look at his overall body of work. He was extremely physical in that game. He did a lot of great things. (But) he had the penalty, he had the two offsides and he had the sack. Can't have those things and he knows it."
Quarterback Jay Cutler, who created a controversy when he berated and bumped left tackle J'Marcus Webb along the sideline during the loss in Green Bay, supported Carimi on Monday during his weekly radio show, saying: "He's one of those guys you really don't have to say much to. When he gets beat or he loses (his matchup with a defender), he's the first one there to say, 'Hey, I'll get him; I'll get him next time.' He's the last guy I am worried about."
Carimi said he did not hear Cutler's radio segment Monday, but appreciated the sentiment.
"He's a great guy. I like Jay," said Carimi, who started at left tackle four years with the Badgers before the Bears switched him to the right side.
The 6-7, 316-pound Carimi injured his right knee in the second game of his rookie season against the Saints and was placed on injured reserve. He did not blame his knee, or inexperience or extreme heat in Jacksonville Sunday for his subpar performance.
"He's a smart player. He works his trade every day," Tice said. "Sometimes it's not going to look pretty with what he does and that's why we have him on the right side. But he's going to give us everything he has every play. But offside penalties, I can't handle. Once in a while you are going to get a holding call or a sack. But the offsides he has to eliminate. We all have to eliminate those."
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