FA - Gabe Carimi

[dailar]

Gabe Carimi has been released by the bucs. Only 25 and has played tackle and guard. Now before anyone comes out with the "I've heard of him, he must be good, sign him" stuff, I just want to say I dont understand where this kid went wrong. He looked a sure fire star coming out of college. His head has never seemed in the game at the pro level. Is it fixable? Would a move to guard suit him?

[BigBuff423]

Gabe Carimi has been released by the bucs. Only 25 and has played tackle and guard. Now before anyone comes out with the "I've heard of him, he must be good, sign him" stuff, I just want to say I dont understand where this kid went wrong. He looked a sure fire star coming out of college. His head has never seemed in the game at the pro level. Is it fixable? Would a move to guard suit him?

 

He's been cut, but I still think he's worth a look-see and bring him in for a visit...Guard, not Tackle, IMO

[thebandit27]

Bargain basement for a camp body? Sure.

 

I wouldn't, under any scenario, count on him to make the team...he's been brutal as a pro.

[Maury Ballstein]

Turnstile. Killed the bears w his rookie year. Now cut again. Huge no just like Martin from me.

[dailar]

Turnstile. Killed the bears w his rookie year. Now cut again. Huge no just like Martin from me.

Terrible injury in week 2 of rookie year but i know what you mean. He was one of the guys coming out of college who just looked like he was going to be a star.

[YoloinOhio]

Turnstile. Killed the bears w his rookie year. Now cut again. Huge no just like Martin from me.

I have a friend who is a Bears fan and he thinks this guy is way worse than anyone the Bills have put out there this past season including Colin Brown.

[dailar]

I have a friend who is a Bears fan and he thinks this guy is way worse than anyone the Bills have put out there this past season including Colin Brown.

 

There's always one who takes it too far!

 

This is an evaluation of Carimi after this season. Ouch.

 

Size: 6-7, 314

 

Production: 218 snaps, 1 QB sack, 1 QB hurry

 

Positives: Size. Average athleticism.

 

Negatives: Misses with initial punch consistently. Gets lifted off his feet by

defenders at times. Lacks upper body strength. Waist bender. Drops head and

doesn’t see what he’s hitting. Completely whiffs on some blocks. Ends up on the

ground on nearly every play. Base is too wide and feet stay too parallel to the line of

scrimmage. Doesn’t extend arms or leverage position. Gets tossed around like a

ragdoll.

 

Summary: Sadly, there isn’t a lot to like with Carimi. He played poorly early in the

season as the left guard filling in for an injured Nicks. He eventually lost the job and

became the extra offensive tackle the Bucs would bring in for unbalanced

formations. He didn’t succeed there. His play was really pretty embarrassing. Some

might attribute his lack of production due to a knee injury and an infection that

hampered him throughout the season. He just doesn’t seem to “get it” and doesn’t

want to hit. He takes the easy way out on plays and doesn’t get physical. Will be paid

$1.33M+ in 2014 (salary, roster bonus, and workout bonus) if he remains on the

roster. Cut candidate if room is needed on the roster

[YoloinOhio]

There's always one who takes it too far!

 

This is an evaluation of Carimi after this season. Ouch.

 

Size: 6-7, 314

 

Production: 218 snaps, 1 QB sack, 1 QB hurry

 

Positives: Size. Average athleticism.

 

Negatives: Misses with initial punch consistently. Gets lifted off his feet by

defenders at times. Lacks upper body strength. Waist bender. Drops head and

doesn’t see what he’s hitting. Completely whiffs on some blocks. Ends up on the

ground on nearly every play. Base is too wide and feet stay too parallel to the line of

scrimmage. Doesn’t extend arms or leverage position. Gets tossed around like a

ragdoll.

 

Summary: Sadly, there isn’t a lot to like with Carimi. He played poorly early in the

season as the left guard filling in for an injured Nicks. He eventually lost the job and

became the extra offensive tackle the Bucs would bring in for unbalanced

formations. He didn’t succeed there. His play was really pretty embarrassing. Some

might attribute his lack of production due to a knee injury and an infection that

hampered him throughout the season. He just doesn’t seem to “get it” and doesn’t

want to hit. He takes the easy way out on plays and doesn’t get physical. Will be paid

$1.33M+ in 2014 (salary, roster bonus, and workout bonus) if he remains on the

roster. Cut candidate if room is needed on the roster

Championship!

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

We need productive players, not names we've heard of. This board seem to always be focused on bringing in the next big name available. Did you ever stop to ask yourself why this name player is available? I'm sure there are many other O-linemen available we don't know what their names are who more productive.

[dailar]

I started this thread saying it was not about picking him up and was about wondering where he went wrong and was it fixable.

We need productive players, not names we've heard of. This board seem to always be focused on bringing in the next big name available. Did you ever stop to ask yourself why this name player is available? I'm sure there are many other O-linemen available we don't know what their names are who more productive.

[Mark Vader]

Some guys are just better players in college than they are in the pros.

[ColdBlueNorth]

I watched Carimi when the Bears picked him up from Wisconsin in hopes of shoring up pass protection for Cutler.

 

One game in particular against the 49ers he was so awful it was hard to watch, as he was bull rushed and tossed aside by DEs and LBs that were giving up 50-60 pounds on him. I was amazed because he was such a highly-touted sure-fire pick by the so-called experts.

 

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. wrote that Gabe Carimi is “a guy who loves to run block and will sustain those blocks. But he can also take on great pass-rushers, and has shown enough that it figures he could fill in at either tackle position early, potentially starting on the right side with the goal to become a starting left tackle.”

 

I think he is the poster child example of player evaluators being mesmerized by height and size and just not looking close enough to see what kind of a football player he really was. But he really did not seem to have the issues or the horrible reputation in college that he garnered in the pros.

 

The only sure thing about the draft is that it is never a sure thing.

[TheLynchTrain]

He's an interesting case. I seem to remember last year that it wasn't just the Bears that wanted to dump him - he was actively requesting a trade. He was so bad in Chicago that he was even replaced his last year by Bills whipping boy Jon Scott (that's rough).

 

Last year in Tampa, he reunited with his line coach from college and still couldn't get it done. I'd definitely kick the tires for camp fodder, but third chances rarely work out.

 

Sometimes, guys just suck at the next level, which is too bad because he had the best nickname in the NFL!

[BringBackFergy]

I watched Carimi when the Bears picked him up from Wisconsin in hopes of shoring up pass protection for Cutler.

 

One game in particular against the 49ers he was so awful it was hard to watch, as he was bull rushed and tossed aside by DEs and LBs that were giving up 50-60 pounds on him. I was amazed because he was such a highly-touted sure-fire pick by the so-called experts.

 

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. wrote that Gabe Carimi is “a guy who loves to run block and will sustain those blocks. But he can also take on great pass-rushers, and has shown enough that it figures he could fill in at either tackle position early, potentially starting on the right side with the goal to become a starting left tackle.”

 

I think he is the poster child example of player evaluators being mesmerized by height and size and just not looking close enough to see what kind of a football player he really was. But he really did not seem to have the issues or the horrible reputation in college that he garnered in the pros.

 

The only sure thing about the draft is that it is never a sure thing.

Mel Kiper rules!!!!

[Bob Malooga]

All it takes for some of these guys is a change of scenery...look what Buffalo was able to do for Jerry Hughes, once he got an opportunity.

 

Not to mention, working with someone like Marrone, might be a good thing for him...he is at least worth bringing in for training camp.

 

If he pans out, great, it'd be like an extra draft pick (to an extent, due to age)...and it would allow them to look elsewhere in the draft.

 

If he fails, oh well...nothing lost...and now they know they might need to draft another guard.

 

It sure cannot hurt to bring him in...same with Jonathan Martin. They were once (not long ago) good football players...surround them with people who WANT to help/see them to succeed.

Edited February 11, 2014 by Bob Malooga

[3rdand12]

Amazing that he couldn't be coached up to the NFL.

 

the thing about bringing guys like this in is the team is using valuable time evaluating and then investing effort into what has already been a very poor showing.

Some of you guys keep the one legged mutts too i suspect , and find the good within them.

i am like that , sure.

But the NFL is about now more than potential.

Those long gone days of a Father type coach working one on one after class helping a kid develop confidence are far far from what is on the field today.

Martin and Carimi who have Failed should Not be Bills pet projects. The game moves too fast to find gems in the bushes these days. for better or worse

[boyst]

Ok but who's going to thrown him the ball?

[FluffHead]

Carimi is no Chas Reingold that's for sure.

[NoSaint]

All it takes for some of these guys is a change of scenery...look what Buffalo was able to do for Jerry Hughes, once he got an opportunity.

 

Not to mention, working with someone like Marrone, might be a good thing for him...he is at least worth bringing in for training camp.

 

If he pans out, great, it'd be like an extra draft pick (to an extent, due to age)...and it would allow them to look elsewhere in the draft.

 

If he fails, oh well...nothing lost...and now they know they might need to draft another guard.

 

It sure cannot hurt to bring him in...same with Jonathan Martin. They were once (not long ago) good football players...surround them with people who WANT to help/see them to succeed.

 

There are a lot of good college players that end up poor pros- what makes you choose carimi and Martin over the others?

[Formerly Allan in MD]

Turnstile. Killed the bears w his rookie year. Now cut again. Huge no just like Martin from me.

He was seriously injured.

[Dragonborn10]

6'7" Guard? No thank you.

[GunnerBill]

Not for me but wouldn't be a huge surprise to me if the Bills sought to bring him in and have a look. One of the things Doug Whaley has talked about is keeping an eye on guys that you have high draft grades on when they hit the pros. I don't know how Whaley had Carimi graded coming out but if he had a high mark on him don't be surprised if he thinks it's worth trying the turnaround. They had a high first round grade on Jerry Hughes which was a factor in pursuing him last offseason. Having said that Doug Marrone seemed pretty committted to trying to develop one of the young PS guys.

[C.Biscuit97]

1) As I had said in the Martin thread, I have no problem with the Bills kicking the tires on a former high pick if the price is right.

 

2) He's been really bad. You don't get cut and traded in 2 years as a 1st rounder if there aren't major red flags.

 

3) For whatever reason, 1st Ts bust at a surprisingly high rate. The folks who want a 1st round T should keep that in mind because I think some believe it is a safe position to draft. It's not.

[YoloinOhio]

1) As I had said in the Martin thread, I have no problem with the Bills kicking the tires on a former high pick if the price is right.

 

2) He's been really bad. You don't get cut and traded in 2 years as a 1st rounder if there aren't major red flags.

 

3) For whatever reason, 1st Ts bust at a surprisingly high rate. The folks who want a 1st round T should keep that in mind because I think some believe it is a safe position to draft. It's not.

I have noticed this as well. Do you think it is, similar to QBs, because OT (specifically LT) is such a critical position on a team that they tend to be "overdrafted"?

[C.Biscuit97]

That's a good point. Also, you don't see the DEs on an every game basis in college like you do in the pros. you can get by with physical gifts in college. A guy who gets a giant red flag from me is Lewan from Michigan. I love his attitude but I can see him in for a rude awakening at the pro level.

[YoloinOhio]

That's a good point. Also, you don't see the DEs on an every game basis in college like you do in the pros. you can get by with physical gifts in college. A guy who gets a giant red flag from me is Lewan from Michigan. I love his attitude but I can see him in for a rude awakening at the pro level.

+1

[starrymessenger]

1) As I had said in the Martin thread, I have no problem with the Bills kicking the tires on a former high pick if the price is right.

 

2) He's been really bad. You don't get cut and traded in 2 years as a 1st rounder if there aren't major red flags.

 

3) For whatever reason, 1st Ts bust at a surprisingly high rate. The folks who want a 1st round T should keep that in mind because I think some believe it is a safe position to draft. It's not.

 

Re 1) I doubt he's worth the time you would have to spend to figure out if he could play, meaning he's a bust IMO

2) Agree

3) I can think of players who might be (reasonably) safe to draft in the first, but I don't know of any positions, as such, that are.

I think Matthews and Robinson are good risks and would be delighted with either.

[thewildrabbit]

1) As I had said in the Martin thread, I have no problem with the Bills kicking the tires on a former high pick if the price is right.

 

2) He's been really bad. You don't get cut and traded in 2 years as a 1st rounder if there aren't major red flags.

 

3) For whatever reason, 1st Ts bust at a surprisingly high rate. The folks who want a 1st round T should keep that in mind because I think some believe it is a safe position to draft. It's not.

By the same token OG's & centers have the second highest rating to make the pro bowl at 42.8%, next to safety's drafted in the first round who had 56.2%.

 

I'm not certain of the actual bust rate. Dib. Dibs, Dub, or whatever his name did a detailed study of the first three rounds for all positions and stated that O linemen that are drafted in the first three rounds tend have longer careers.

 

READ THIS: "The safety valve of the top 10 Offensive Tackle pretty much vanishes outside the top 10."

 

http://nyjetscap.com/round13.html

[Maury Ballstein]

He was seriously injured.

 

Fair enough. I constantly heard terrible things about him on radio/podcasts etc.

 

Didn't he come back and stink it up then get benched ? Why they giving up on high draft pick so fast ? Thought it was bust city for him.

[Bring Back Kelly]

Gabe Carimi has been released by the bucs. Only 25 and has played tackle and guard. Now before anyone comes out with the "I've heard of him, he must be good, sign him" stuff, I just want to say I dont understand where this kid went wrong. He looked a sure fire star coming out of college. His head has never seemed in the game at the pro level. Is it fixable? Would a move to guard suit him?

Mike Williams looked like a beast at Texas. But that one did not really work out now. You never know who will pan out. But a bust is a bust. Being released is never a good sign. It means they can go without, meaning your not that good.