A Look at Gabe Carimi's 2011 Competition

The Bears had a glaring need at the Left Tackle position going into this off-season, and they answered it with Wisconsin standout LT Gabe Carimi. After he was drafted by the Bears, draft analysis, experts, and fans wondered where he would line up at on the offensive line. Yes he played LT all four years at Wisconsin, but does have RT traits. Lovie Smith and Mike Tice put to rest the debate and speculation saying that he will start his career off at LT.

Assuming that Carimi starts the 2011 season at LT, I will look at the week to week individuals battles against the opposing defense RE or ROLB and give my opinion on the level of difficulty.

Week 1 vs. Falcons RE John Abraham 

Right off the back Gabe Carimi is put to test against one of the better defensive ends in the game in John Abraham. I can only imagine Tice and Martz will have a game plan to neutralize Abraham like a TE lined up next to Carimi and some chip blocks to knock Abraham off his rhythm.  I love this for the simple fact that we get to see what Carimi is made of very earlier and it will only help him going forward against other elite DE's.  

Level of Difficulty: High

Week 2 at Saints RE Cameron Jordan/Will Smith

I don't know who will be lined up at RE for the Saints. There's speculation that they will move Will Smith to LE and put Jordan at RE. If it's Cameron Jordan then I won't think it will be that difficult for Carimi considering that Jordan will still be trying to get adjusted to the pro level like Carimi. Will Smith might give him some trouble considering that he's a veteran, but not at the level of a Abraham.

Level of Difficulty: Medium

Week 3 vs. Packers ROLB Frank Zombo

3-4 defensive fronts are always hard to block and scheme against. Carimi will have double duty as he will have to man up against whoever the Packers RE will be and ROLB Frank Zombo.  I don't see Carimi struggling with Zombo at all and could quite possibly shut him down all game. If that happens then I can see Packers DC Dom Capers moving Clay Matthews to his side at times, and that's a match I would most like to see.

Level of Difficulty: Low

Week 4 vs. Panthers RE Charles Johnson

Johnson came into his own last season racking up 11.5 sacks in the season. Saying that, Carimi shouldn't be too overwhelmed against Johnson, and against an effective pass rusher like Johnson he will need to rely heavy on his technique to make him a non-factor in the game.

Level of Difficulty: Medium

Week 5 at Lions RE Kyle Vanden Bosch

Vanden Bosch gave Chris Williams all kinds of problems in the week 1 match up against the Lions when Williams open the season at LT. While Vanden Bosch is not an elite pass rusher, Carimi will have to deal with his high motor. It should be a good match-up as both players specialize well in the run department.

Level of Difficulty: Low

Week 6 vs. Vikings RE Jared Allen

The Bears LT's in the past seem to always do well against Jared Allen. Actually the DE that gives the Bears the most trouble is Ray Edwards and he might not be in a Vikings uniform this season.  Carimi should be able to win the battle in the run blocking department, but might slip up a little in pass protection against Allen.

Level of Difficulty: Medium

Week 7 at Buccaneers RE Da'Quan Bowers

If Bowers is healthy he most likely will start at RE with Adrian Clayborn at LE. This should be a good battle against the two rookies.

Level of Difficulty: Low

Week 9 at Eagles RE Trent Cole

Cole is one of the best all-around DEs in the game, so Carimi will have his work cut out for him.

Level of Difficulty: High

Week 10 vs. Lions RE Kyle Vanden Bosch

Carimi should be up to speed at this point in the season to where he should be dominating guys of Vanden Bosch level.

Level of Difficulty: Low

Week 11 vs. Chargers ROLB Antawn Applewhite /RE Luis Castillo

The difficulty in this match-up will have much to do with RE Castillo than Applewhite.  If Carimi can handle Castillo, Cutler won't have to worry about his blind side.

Level of Difficulty: Medium

Week 12 at Raiders RE Lamarr Houston/Kamerion Wimbley

Carimi will get a dose of two different RE's as Houston is much more of a RE that specialize in run support while Wimbley is the edge rusher.

Level of Difficulty: Medium

Week 13 vs. Chiefs RE Tamba Hali

Hali might be Carimi's toughest match-up this season as he is clearly one of the best pass rushers in the league.

Level of Difficulty: High

Week 14 at Broncos RE Elvis Dumervil  

If this was 2009 I would be a little concerned about this match-up, but with the Broncos switching back to the 4-3, it will be a mystery how Dumervil adjust from rushing in a two point stance to a three point stance.

Level of Difficulty: Low

Week 15 at Seahawks RE Raheem Brock  

Brock is still a solid veteran DE, but Carimi at this point in the season shouldn't be struggling against DE's the likes of Brock.

Level of Difficulty: Low

Week 16 at Packers ROLB Frank Zombo 

This shouldn't be a tough contest for Carimi, as Zombo is not as good as his teammate Clay Matthews. The difficulty for Carimi will be adjusting to Dom Capers many blitz schemes, and you can bet that he will call many overload blitz's on Carimi side.

Level of Difficulty: Low

Week 17 at Vikings RE Jared Allen

Allen will always be someone to be concerned about, but if Chris Williams and Frank Omiyale can contain to shut him down a man of Carimi ability shutting him down is not farfetched.

Level of Difficulty: Medium