Bears Blitz

Published by Bryan Dietzler on November 21, 2010
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

The Bears have just handled the Vikings and the Dolphins very well on defense, allowing only 13 points in those two games.  We all know that the Bears defense is fast and that its players swarm to the ball, never allowing players to get too many yards after contact.  Their defense is predicated on keeping the play in front of them and not allowing it to go for too many yards down the field.

We also know that the Bears haven’t faced a quarterback like Michael Vick of the Philadelphia Eagles.  Vick, the former star of the Atlanta Falcons who fell on hard times and ended up in prison for a while, is bringing his red hot Philadelphia Eagles to Solider field next Sunday to take on a Bears team that has been playing some solid football lately.  Can the Bears keep up their streak against the Eagles?

Philadelphia’s Vick brings a whole new dimension to any offense, a dimension that the Bears haven’t seen out of any quarterback so far this season.  Vick can throw the ball well, he can throw well on the run, and he can just plain run.  There aren’t too many quarterbacks out there that can do all of that and do it as well as Vick.

The biggest question on the minds of Chicago’s fans and media is how, if possible, the Bears can stop Vick and the Eagles.  If you remember back when Vick and the Falcons played the Bears several seasons ago, Chicago kept middle linebacker Brian Urlacher in the game as a “spy” to shadow Vick and make sure that he didn’t get the best of the Bears.

As it turned out, that worked very well—Vick was pretty much a non-factor in that game.

Time has passed, players have gotten older and slower and things have improved for both teams.  The Bears defense is even better than it was when Vick last played against them, but the Eagles offense as a whole has gotten better as well.  And when Vick last met the Bears, he didn’t have the kinds of weapons that he has now.

There are a few things that the Bears defense—and even their offense—can do to help stop Vick and win this game.  Here are some of those things outlined in detail.

1.  Keep Vick off the field: Here is where the offense can help.  The Bears offense needs to repeat what it was capable of doing against the Dolphins: controlling the ball and the clock.  The less Vick is on the field, the better, and the less the Bears defense is on the field, the better.  The more well-rested they are, the better shape they will be in to face Vick and the Eagles offense.

2.  Rush the passer: The Bears did a good job of rushing the passer with just their front four against the Dolphins. They need to get that same kind of rush in this game.  Luckily they have Julius Peppers, a guy that can create mis-matches and double teams to help out.  Peppers and the rest of the defensive line need to keep the rush going in order to confuse Vick and force him to make mistakes—or force him to run, where our next scenario takes hold.

3. Put a spy on Vick: This is something that the Bears will probably have to do.  But who will be the lucky player to spy on Vick?  Most likely it will be Urlacher, the same guy that shadowed him in the first game he played against the Bears.  Urlacher may have lost a step or two since then, but he still has the speed to keep up.  The other two linebackers on defense, Lance Briggs and Pisa Tinoisamoa (or Nick Roach depending on whether or not Tinoisamoa is healthy or not) can help shadow Vick as well.  

4.  Keep containment on Vick: The defensive line can help keep Vick in the pocket, and then, with the pass pressure, sack him while he is in the pocket.  Keeping Vick in front of the defense and within sight is what the Bears need to do in order to defend him.

5.  Cover the Eagles wide receivers well: The Bears secondary needs to cover the Eagles wide receivers very well in order to keep Vick from completing passes down the field, thus moving the ball and putting the Eagles in a prime position to score.  If Chicago can take away his options down the field, it will win this game.

So, as you can see, there are several things that the Bears can do to stop Vick and keep the game in their favor.  If they can do these things and keep Vick and the Eagles under control, they should be able to win this game and stay on a path towards the playoffs.

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