Bears Blitz

Published by Bryan Dietzler on January 6, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

In the first part of our look at the three teams that the Bears could possibly play when they play their first playoff game on the 16th of January, we took a look at the Seattle Seahawks and the Bears possibilities against them if those two teams were to meet.

Let’s now take a look at the New Orleans Saints.  The Seahawks will play the Saints this Saturday in the NFC’s Wild Card round and the winner of that game (depending on whether or not the Eagles can beat the Packers) will travel to Chicago to play the Bears.

So, assuming that the Saints win in Seattle this Sunday and the Eagles lose to the Packers that would bring New Orleans to Chicago.

Let’s see how these two teams match up and try to discover if the Bears could beat the Saints if they end up meeting.

The New Orleans Saints have one of the most potent passing offenses in the NFL.  They are led by quarterback Drew Brees and while he hasn’t had his usual “spectacular” season, he’s been very effective and is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.

Their passing game has struggled at times this season due to problems with the running game as well as the fact that teams put more pressure on Brees this season than they did last season (and the pressure was successful). 

The Saints have averaged 277 yards per game through the air which makes them one of the most potent passing offenses that the Bears could face.  Are they up to the challenge?

Chicago’s defense is allowing teams an average of 210 yards per game so the Bears could have some success containing the Saints passing game.  The key will be getting pressure on Brees. 

Brees has been sacked 26 times this season and has thrown 22 interceptions so there are some opportunities there for the Bears to take advantage of mistakes and stop the Saints passing offense.

Chicago’s defense has managed to get 32 sacks this season and they can get pressure on the quarterback with just their front four.  They do occasionally throw a linebacker or even the nickel back (D.J. Moore) into the mix but when they are on, they are on and they can put some good heat on the quarterback.  And it looks like they can put some heat on Brees.

The Saints rushing attack has been much maligned this season with injuries and it looks like they have been hit again as running back Chris Ivory is out for the rest of the season and Pierre Thomas isn’t at 100 percent yet.  They still have Reggie Bush, but Bush isn’t a grind it out between the tackles type player and not having someone in that capacity (at 100 percent) will cause the Saints problems.

The Saints offense is averaging 94 yards per game while the Bears second ranked rushing defense is allowing 86 yards per game.  The Saints won’t find much success against the Bears rushing defense if these two teams do end up meeting in the playoffs.

The Saints defense has been deceptively good this season even though not a lot of people recognize it.  Granted, they have had their problems but overall they have done a decent job this year.

The Bears offense has been hot and cold this season but has been pretty good during the second half of this season and has given teams a lot of problems.  The passing offense has improved greatly and their rushing attack has been serving them well.  But do they have what it takes to beat the Saints defense?

Chicago is averaging 181 yards per game through the air while the Saints defense is giving up 193 yards per game.  New Orleans defense has sacked opposing quarterbacks 33 times while the Bears have allowed a record 56 sacks this season.  Chicago’s offensive line really needs to tighten up and play well in this game.

Chicago’s rushing attack has been doing very well during the second half of the season and running back Matt Forte has been helping head the effort.  Forte is not only a threat running the ball but he’s also a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield and can gain a lot of yards after the catch.  He will definitely pose a problem for the Saints if they meet the Bears on the 16th.

Chicago’s rushing offense is gaining 94 yards a game on the ground while the Saints defense is allowing teams to rush for 112 yards per game.  If the Bears can get their running game going (and offensive coordinator Mike Martz calls more running plays) they could find that balance on offense, control the ball and the clock and take the Saints offense out of the game.  That would be the best case scenario.

So would have the edge if these two teams were to meet on the 16th of January?  It really depends on which Bears team shows up.  The offense that played hard and put out a lot of offense in against the Jets just a few weeks back is the kind of offense that the Bears need to have if they end up facing the Saints.

The Saints offense is very good and can move the ball down the field quickly through the air so Chicago’s passing defense would need to be playing at its best.  They would need to get after Brees, force him to make mistakes and then take advantage of those mistakes.  They would need all three units (defensive line, linebackers and secondary) to be on top of their game and not have any breakdowns.

The nice thing about playing the Saints is that they don’t have much of a running game.  If they don’t have any early success running the ball, Chicago can sit back and rush the passer on a regular basis and that would be ideal against the Saints.

On offense, Chicago needs to keep the ball in their possession as much as possible and this will work if they can use the same kind of ball control offense that they have used to great success earlier this season.  Short passes mixed in with some runs would be a great way to keep the ball moving and keep it out of the hands of the Saints offense.

Cutler needs to limit his mistakes and not give the ball away because the Bears need to have possession of the ball as much as they possibly can.  If he doesn’t make any mistakes then he should be able to lead the Bears to victory.

Their offensive line needs to protect Cutler at all costs and hopefully they will be able to do that. If Cutler has time to throw and his receivers have time to get open the Chicago will be able to win this game.
The game would also be played outside in cold weather and the Saints have struggled when they have to play outdoors in the cold.  That could be a big factor in this game.

As long as the Bears don’t allow big plays on defense and keep the mistakes to a minimum on offense they should be able to beat the Saints and advance to the NFC Championship game.

Of course, that’s if they play the Saints.

Advantage: Bears

To check out my review of the Bear’s possibilities against the Seattle Seahawks, click HERE. 

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