Bears offensive coordinator Mike Tice didn’t say a change was going to happen on the offensive line. But it sure sounds like one is imminent.
Right tackle Gabe Carimi gave up three sacks, one knockdown and one hurry in 31 pass-blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
Asked if Carimi was affected by his knee or just wasn’t performing, Tice said, “I’m not trying to be a jerk but all of the above.
“I think Gabe is so intense and something happens early and he’s a young player, he’s only played in 11 games and change. He’s a young player. He gets all worked up and he doesn’t settle down and it compounds. It’s happened more than once. It compounds and it keeps building. So he’s a young player that has to work through it. He really does.”
Asked if a change was coming, Tice said, “We’re looking at everything.”
Separately, Tice noted that veteran backup Jonathan Scott has “played good football in his career.” Not a glowing endorsement but the Bears don’t really have another option if Carimi is benched.
“We’ve been playing him a little bit, at tight end, trying to get him in there and get his legs underneath him and see what he can do,” Tice said of Scott. “And he’s done a solid job for us.”
In an earlier press conference, receiver Brandon Marshall highlighted the play of center Roberto Garza and right guard Lance Louis. According to PFF, Louis and Garza allowed a combined one knockdown between them.
Tice wouldn’t detail who was or wasn’t playing well on that unit.
“If I tell you who is playing good,” he said, “then you’re gonna know who I think is playing bad.”
Veteran Chilo Rachal struggled in his return to San Francisco, allowing a sack and a hurry and getting flagged for two holding penalties. But he was facing All-Pro Justin Smith.
Left tackle J’Marcus Webb was beaten for three sacks and five hurries. But Tice noted separately that he had been playing solid before then.
“I’ve always found this: If two guys have failing grades on the offensive line, if your defense doesn’t play great and you don’t turn the ball over, you have a chance to win,” Tice said. “If three guys fail, you don’t have much chance to win. If four guys fail, you usually don’t ever win. When you have one guy that fails, you usually can win a game.
“Five guys don’t usually win every week. That’s kind of a formula that has been steady over all the years that I’ve been coaching. Needless to say we didn’t have those kind of numbers last week.”
Much has been made of Tice’s play-calling. But in the game, three of the sacks came on three-step drops. Tice noted that during the course of a season, not a single sack should be given up on three-step drops, which are designed to get the ball quickly out of the quarterback’s hand.
“It really doesn’t matter who is calling plays if you’re not blocking people,” Tice said. “Bottom line.”
