Much on the line for Bears against Lions

Mike Tice knows he doesn’t have many choices when it comes to slapping together an offensive line Monday night, not with right tackle Gabe Carimi out (partially dislocated knee cap) and guard Chris Spencer playing with a fractured right hand.

“Well, we have two choices, right?” said the Bears’ offensive-line coach. “We can pout about it and say, ‘Poor us,’ or we can sit down with the guys and tell them, ‘You’ve got to (play) over here.’

“Then we have to look at it as coaches and make sure that we put them in good positions, give them some help, slide the line, if the center leaves, go help on the three (technique tackle), all of those things you see teams doing all over the league.

“We think those things through and try to help the guys that need the help,” Tice continued. “We have to do a little more of that right now, as do all teams that have injuries upfront, like the Jets, Pittsburgh; there are some banged-up teams out there.”

The Bears are surely one of them.

The rookie Carimi is at least a couple of weeks away from playing. Spencer finished last week’s game at right guard despite the injury he suffered in the second quarter.

But matching him up across from Detroit Lions terror Ndamukong Suh seems like a recipe for disaster.

Fortunately for the Bears, Lance Louis, who started the season opener at right guard but suffered a sprained ankle in the second quarter, is back to full strength.

Louis probably is better equipped to handle Suh than anyone else, although he will get plenty of help from center Roberto Garza.

As dominant as Suh can be, the Bears cannot afford to use two linemen to block him on every snap with edge rushers Kyle Vanden Bosch and Cliff Avril to contend with.

“If you double him every play, then I don’t have enough guys,” Tice said. “Guys have got to earn their money sometimes. We’re going to try to give guys help, but we also have to give help to 93 (Vanden Bosch, who leads the Lions with 3 sacks), we’ve got to give help to Avril.

“There are only so many guys we can help at the same time. At a certain point, guys have to earn their checks.”

The 6-foot-4, 307-pound Suh led NFL tackles with 10 sacks last season, when he was the defensive rookie of the year.

He’s rough on quarterbacks, drawing fines in his young career for hits on Jay Cutler ($15,000), Jake Delhomme ($7,500) and Andy Dalton ($20,000).

But there are times when Louis or whoever lines up across from him will be going mano-a-mano. Bears coach Lovie Smith doesn’t want to make too big of a deal over it.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve played him,” Smith said. “He’s a heck of a football player, but you can’t start double-teaming every great player you play. There are some times when we’re going to have to block him 1-on-1 and get the job done.”

Cutler took the same approach when asked if there was an intimidation factor with Suh.

“I don’t know,” Cutler said. “I don’t have to block him. You should talk to Lance and those guys. I don’t go against the guy every play.”

Louis isn’t the excitable type. So he wasn’t sweating his matchup with Suh, or at least he wasn’t letting anyone see him sweat.

“He’s a football player,” said the 6-3, 320-pound Louis. “He’s a good player. Every week you’re going to line up against somebody like that. He’s human. He puts his pants on one leg at a time just like everybody else. That’s what it is.”

Suh isn’t the only concern for the Bears’ offensive line this week.

Last week right tackle Frank Omiyale was benched in the second half for poor play. Louis filled in, but if he’s back at right guard, as expected, the Bears have to sink or swim with Omiyale across from Avril.

The only other option would be Chris Williams, the starting left guard, who’s playing there because he was ineffective at tackle.

When Tice was asked late last week if Omiyale would be the starter against the Lions, he said: “Stay tuned. It’s a national-TV game. Everyone is going to find out at the same time.

“We’re working some combinations. I’ll sit down with Lovie, and I’ll suggest the lineup I think gives us the best opportunity. We’ll get the best five guys in there, and we’ll have at it.”

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