Chicago Bears Insider: Chicago Will Face Seattle Seahawks Next Sunday
Published by Bryan Dietzler on January 10, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
By virtue of their 41-36 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Saturday and the Packers 21-16 win over the Eagles on Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks will travel to Soldier Field to take on the Bears this coming Sunday at noon.
The Seahawks and the Bears met earlier this season, in Week 6, and the Seahawks defeated the Bears at Soldier Field, 23-20. The Bears struggled on both sides of the ball but have improved a lot since that meeting and should have the edge in this game.
The Seahawks have had some success in recent weeks with their short passing game, and their running game, as evidenced on Saturday, has improved a lot over the course of the season. The Bears defense will have to be sure that they play the run tough (they are second in the NFL in rushing defense coming into this game) and not allow Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck to complete short passes on his way to the end zone.
If Chicago’s Cover 2 defense can work to perfection, they should be able to stop Seattle’s passing game and win on Sunday. In order for this to happen, the Bear’s front four must get plenty of pressure on Hasselbeck and not give him time to throw the ball. With that, the secondary needs to keep the play in front of them and not allow Seattle wide receivers to gain a lot of yards after the catch.
Limiting the big plays will help the Bears win this game.
On offense, Chicago needs to protect quarterback Jay Cutler, especially from the secondary blitz. The Seahawks used their secondary to beat the Bears blocking tight ends and offensive tackles to put pressure on and get to Cutler. The Giants did it, as did the Packers, so the Bears will need to be sure that they can block those guys and not allow them to disrupt the Bear’s passing game.
Chicago’s rushing attack was virtually nonexistent in that game and has been much improved since. Chicago will want to control the ball and the clock to keep Seattle from having very many opportunities with the ball, and if the Bears have success on the ground, they will win.
These two teams boast two of the best special teams units in the NFL, and if it’s a close game, it’s possible that the team with the best unit will win. The Bears have to keep things tight on coverage units because they haven’t been their best lately, and one long return (like they had in the Green Bay game) could end up giving Seattle good field position, allowing them to score and win the game.
This will be a very interesting game, but as the Bears are well-rested and a much better team now than when these two teams first met, Chicago should be able to win this game and advance to the NFC Championship Game.
With the way that things are going in the playoffs, there just might be a Chicago Bears versus Green Bay Packers championship game.
Stay tuned for a full preview of this game coming later in the week.
Early Prediction: Chicago 24, Seattle 13
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