Carimi Gets Ready For His Former Teammate.................

http://a.espncdn.com/espncitysites/p...og_nfl_chi.pngChicago Bears Report

Carimi readies for 'relentless' ex-mate Watt

November, 7, 2012 Nov 7
5:42
PM CT


By Jeff Dickerson | ESPNChicago.com


http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2012/1031...j_g_mp_576.jpgGeorge Bridges/MCT/Getty ImagesGabe Carimi has plenty of experience going against J.J. Watt from their days at Wisconsin.


LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Not much has changed about Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt's game since Chicago Bears right tackle Gabe Carimi squared off against him in practice when the two were college teammates at Wisconsin from 2008-10.

"He's a relentless guy," Carimi said. "He's a hard worker. That's who he is."

Watt has exploded in his second season in Houston after the Texans selected him No. 11 overall in the 2011 NFL raft, ahead of Carimi who went to the Bears in the first round with the 29th overall pick. Houston's 6-foot-5 pass rush specialist leads the league with 10.5 sacks and is tops on the Texans' defense in tackles (59), tackles for a loss (18), quarterback hits (21), pass break ups (10) and forced fumbles (2).

"First off, he's a very smart player, so we're able to move him around, do some different things with him, inside, outside, nickel, base, so that's been a big plus," Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. "He started playing at a really high level last year in the playoffs and it's just continued. He's one of those guys that finds a way to gets his hands on the ball whether it's tipping a ball or getting a fumble and makes a lot of plays that are the difference in winning and losing.

"He's a very young player, but boy he's been a hell of a player for us and hopefully he can keep going here. He's doing a great job."

Carimi remembers Watt lining up at defensive end in a traditional 4-3 defense in college where the two had what can best be described as a contentious relationship on the practice field. However, Watt's role has been altered in Houston where he presents a variety of matchup problems along the entire offensive line. (Well we know there's gonna be no buddy buddy handshakes between these two on Sunday)

"He plays a different position than he did at Wisconsin," Carimi said. "They're in a 3-4, so he plays a lot of inside stuff. That is where he does a lot of his good plays is on the inside. He does line up at defensive end sometimes, the five-technique, but a lot of times he'll be lined up against (right guard) Lance Louis." (I'd call this a good thing. Let Lance have at him)

Watt remembers those college days against Carimi.

"That was two competitors going at it," Watt said. "He's on offense. I'm on defense. Two great football players, two guys competing every single day. We went head-to-head, and we battled. And he was definitely a battle."

Bears offensive coordinator Mike Tice says Watt poses a challenge because he lines up in different places.
"He's going to take turns going up and down the line trying to make plays on us," Tice said. "We have to be up to the challenge. Hopefully we put in the right protection schemes that are going to take into account that. But at the same time we don't always know, even in (their) 3-4 base, where he is going to line up all the time." (I'd say the early betting line on sacks is 5 maybe 6)

If all things were equal, the Bears would probably prefer if Watt spent the bulk of his time working inside against Louis, who is arguably the club's best offensive linemen. When Watt lines up over Carimi on the outside, the Bears would likely be inclined to use an extra blocker to help their young right tackle, who by his own admission, is still working toward finding a certain degree of consistency in first full NFL season. Carimi had his rookie year cut short in Week 2 due to a knee injury that required several procedures to repair.

Carimi's play has been a little uneven at times this season, and he admitted on Wednesday that he did not have a particularly good game last week against the Tennessee Titans.

"A couple of weeks ago I thought I was playing pretty good ball," Carimi said. "Last game was kind of edgy. Halfway through the season, we are moving in the right direction. You always feel like you want to be going up in that direction. Some weeks you're just a little off on your game. (I'll) come back from it, no big deal." (Ah this would be a good week to do that Gabe)

Tice said Carimi is still learning to adjust on the fly when opponents attack him in unexpected ways.

"Gabe works hard," Tice said. "I think Gabe didn't have one of his better games (against the Titans) and Gabe will be the first one to tell you that. He had a plan. He's a very astute player for a young guy and has a plan each week. He had a plan for a certain approach they were going to take on him.

"They took a different approach, and he probably wishes he would have altered his plan during the course of the game and changed up his sets and things like that. But that's a young player working through some things and learning." (Sorry pal but you don't any oops or do overs in the pros. Gotta learn to adjust now!)

ESPN Chicago's Michael C. Wright contributed to this report.

Jay faces a tough batter in Houston Texans DE J.J. Watt

BY MARK POTASH mpotash@suntimes.com November 7, 2012 10:16PM


http://www.suntimes.com/csp/cms/site...YPE=image/jpeg HOUSTON, TX - NOVEMBER 04: Ryan Fitzpatrick #14 of the Buffalo Bills is knocked down by J.J. Watt #99 of the Houston Texans in the fourth quarter at Reliant Stadium on November 4, 2012 in Houston, Texas. Houston defeated Buffalo 21-9. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)





Updated: November 8, 2012 2:26AM


Until Bears cornerback Charles Tillman went on his rampage, Texans defensive end J.J. Watt was the popular early favorite for NFL defensive player of the year. And he still might be.
Tillman and Watt play disparate positions but have one thing in common: a knack for getting their hands on the ball. Watt not only has 101/2 sacks, 28 tackles for loss and 21 quarterback hits in eight games, but he also has 10 pass deflections.


Watt’s ability to block passes at the line of scrimmage could be most problematic of all for Jay Cutler and the Bears against the Texans on Sunday night at Soldier Field. Four of Watt’s 10 deflections have led to interceptions, including a 52-yard touchdown by Johnathan Joseph and an 86-yard return by Brice McCain. In the playoffs against the Bengals last season, Watt picked Andy Dalton clean at the line — not even a deflection — and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown.


‘‘He did that in college, too,’’ said Bears right tackle Gabe Carimi, who played with Watt at Wisconsin in 2009 and 2010. ‘‘He’s a tall guy, so he uses that to his advantage. He’s probably done it more now because he’s an interior guy. Using his height on the interior is probably getting [him] more batted passes.’’


Carimi said the only counter move to Watt’s pass-deflecting is to ‘‘hit him low so he doesn’t want to jump up high. That’s the only way. That’s what offensive linemen are taught across the league.’’


But it’ll be mostly on Cutler to prevent Watt from deflecting his passes. All 10 of Watt’s deflections have come against four quarterbacks — the Dolphins’ Ryan Tannehill, the Jaguars’ Blaine Gabbert, the Jets’ Mark Sanchez and the Ravens’ Joe Flacco. Watt had no deflections against the Broncos’ Peyton Manning, the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers, the Titans’ Matt Hasselbeck and the Bills’ Ryan Fitzpatrick.


‘‘We have to be aware of where he’s at,’’ Cutler said. ‘‘He lines up in a lot of different positions. Wade [Phillips, the Texans’ defensive coordinator] does a great job of moving him around and using his athletic ability to their advantage.


‘‘We’ve gone against some pass rushers this year, and I thought we’ve done a better-than-average job. So hopefully we can continue it with him.’’


The 6-5, 295-pound Watt, a first-round pick (11th overall) in 2011, is in the Jared Allen mold as a high-motor, whirling-dervish type of pass rusher. In only eight games, Watt became the 11th player since 1991 to have 10 or more sacks and 10 or more pass breakups in the same season.


‘‘It’s not like facing others,’’ Bears offensive coordinator Mike Tice said. ‘‘He’s one of the top players, if not the top player we’ve played against this year. He lines up in different places, so he’s going to take turns going up and down the line, trying to make plays on us. We have to be up to the challenge, and hopefully we put in the right protection schemes to take that into account.’’

Jay faces a tough batter in Houston Texans DE J.J. Watt

BY MARK POTASH mpotash@suntimes.com November 7, 2012 10:16PM
http://www.suntimes.com/csp/cms/site...YPE=image/jpeg HOUSTON, TX - NOVEMBER 04: Ryan Fitzpatrick #14 of the Buffalo Bills is knocked down by J.J. Watt #99 of the Houston Texans in the fourth quarter at Reliant Stadium on November 4, 2012 in Houston, Texas. Houston defeated Buffalo 21-9. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

Updated: November 8, 2012 2:26AM


Until Bears cornerback Charles Tillman went on his rampage, Texans defensive end J.J. Watt was the popular early favorite for NFL defensive player of the year. And he still might be.

Tillman and Watt play disparate positions but have one thing in common: a knack for getting their hands on the ball. Watt not only has 101/2 sacks, 28 tackles for loss and 21 quarterback hits in eight games, but he also has 10 pass deflections.

Watt’s ability to block passes at the line of scrimmage could be most problematic of all for Jay Cutler and the Bears against the Texans on Sunday night at Soldier Field. Four of Watt’s 10 deflections have led to interceptions, including a 52-yard touchdown by Johnathan Joseph and an 86-yard return by Brice McCain. In the playoffs against the Bengals last season, Watt picked Andy Dalton clean at the line — not even a deflection — and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown.

‘‘He did that in college, too,’’ said Bears right tackle Gabe Carimi, who played with Watt at Wisconsin in 2009 and 2010. ‘‘He’s a tall guy, so he uses that to his advantage. He’s probably done it more now because he’s an interior guy. Using his height on the interior is probably getting [him] more batted passes.’’

Carimi said the only counter move to Watt’s pass-deflecting is to ‘‘hit him low so he doesn’t want to jump up high. That’s the only way. That’s what offensive linemen are taught across the league.’’

But it’ll be mostly on Cutler to prevent Watt from deflecting his passes. All 10 of Watt’s deflections have come against four quarterbacks — the Dolphins’ Ryan Tannehill, the Jaguars’ Blaine Gabbert, the Jets’ Mark Sanchez and the Ravens’ Joe Flacco. Watt had no deflections against the Broncos’ Peyton Manning, the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers, the Titans’ Matt Hasselbeck and the Bills’ Ryan Fitzpatrick.

‘‘We have to be aware of where he’s at,’’ Cutler said. ‘‘He lines up in a lot of different positions. Wade [Phillips, the Texans’ defensive coordinator] does a great job of moving him around and using his athletic ability to their advantage.

‘‘We’ve gone against some pass rushers this year, and I thought we’ve done a better-than-average job. So hopefully we can continue it with him.’’

The 6-5, 295-pound Watt, a first-round pick (11th overall) in 2011, is in the Jared Allen mold as a high-motor, whirling-dervish type of pass rusher. In only eight games, Watt became the 11th player since 1991 to have 10 or more sacks and 10 or more pass breakups in the same season.

‘‘It’s not like facing others,’’ Bears offensive coordinator Mike Tice said. ‘‘He’s one of the top players, if not the top player we’ve played against this year. He lines up in different places, so he’s going to take turns going up and down the line, trying to make plays on us. We have to be up to the challenge, and hopefully we put in the right protection schemes to take that into account.’’

J.J. Watt = Dan Hampton v2.0. Damn I wish we could have drafted him. I would have liked to but he was long gone when we picked. Houston got themselves a stud DLineman in this kid.

play has to go to the side Watt IS lined up. The confusion alone would help :laughing-019:

note to cutler if you are out of the pocket get rid of the damn ball cause this beast will kill you!

play hard and smart

My apologies. This is a duplicate of a post JABF99 put up yesterday so if one of the staff wanders in here maybe you could combine this one with his. Sorry 99.:redface:

This guy will bring heat, and that's a given.

The answer is for Cutler and his receivers to be aware of this. Be smart. WR's need to be smart and bale Cutler out by giving him that hot read to hit.

Cutler needs to be smart by getting rid of the ball quickly - don't hold on to the ball and give up unnecessary sacks & fumble the ball away to the Texans.

The oline needs to be smart and not react to Watt by giving up false start penalties (putting Cutler into long yardage situations where Watt can pin his ears back and clobber Jay).

Tice needs to be smart and have a game plan that doesn't require our tackles to be pro-bowl level blockers. And Tice needs to be smart and call realistic plays. Run the ball. Short, high-percentage passes & you don't need to try to look like a powerhouse offense. Just keep it sane.

It's all about being smart. Understand what you need to do. And just do it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by soulman

My apologies. This is a duplicate of a post JABF99 put up yesterday so if one of the staff wanders in here maybe you could combine this one with his. Sorry 99.:redface:

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There were no replies yet in the thread I started, Soul, so I just now deleted it. No problem.