Texans J. J. Watt will be a handful for the Bears’ offensive line. (US Presswire)

Right tackle Gabe Carimi has suffered through a few down weeks, and it certainly doesn't promise to get better with the possibility he will have to play at least some of Sunday night's game against Houston Texans' defensive player of the year candidate J.J. Watt.

If anyone knows what this can mean, it's Carimi, who faced Watt in practice at Wisconsin on a regular basis.

“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’s where he does a lot of his good plays is on the inside. I don’t think it pertains as much because he does line up at defensive end sometimes, five-technique, but a lot of times he’ll be on (guard) Lance Louis.”

Watt has been at his best using his long arms and leaping ability to knock down throws at the line of scrimmage.

"We have to be aware of where he's at," QB Jay Cutler said. "He lines up in a lot of different positions. I think Wade (Phillips, Houston D-coordinator) does a great job of moving him around and using his athletic ability to their advantage. We just have to be aware of him up front.

"We've gone against some pass rushers this year and I think we've done a better than average job so hopefully we can continue with it."

Describing the line's performance as a "better than average job" might be a reach. Cutler has been sacked 28 times, ranking the line third worst at protecting the QB in the league. They're on pace to allow 56 sacks, which would equal the most allowed since Cutler became Bears starting QB.

In fact, the big difference between Houston and the Bears coming into Sunday's game is that Houston has a more polished O-line to go with weapons like QB Matt Schaub, WR Andre Johnson, and RB Arian Foster.

Carimi had a problem three weeks ago with penalties and the past two weeks with pass protection. Offensive line coach Mike Tice said Carimi had a certain approach in mind for his blocking technique and didn't adjust against Tennessee Sunday, leading to a spotty effort.

"Gabe works hard," he said. "I thought Gabe probably didn't have one of his better games."
Lack of consistency, Tice said, is the big reason the line has struggled in pass protection or to open the running attack up early in games.

"There's not the consistency there with some of our guys that we'd like too see, and really, at the end of day that's what hurts us," he said. "That's what keeps us from being rhythmic."

Follow Bears reporter Gene Chamberlain on Twitter @CBSBears.