Chicago Bears vs. the Minnesota Vikings: Game Preview
Published by Bryan Dietzler on November 13, 2010
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The 5-3 Chicago Bears, coming off of a 22-19 win over the Buffalo Bills in Toronto will take on the 3-5 Minnesota Vikings who are coming off of a 27-24 win over the Arizona Cardinals last week.
The Vikings have clearly not lived up to preseason expectations as there were many that felt that this team was Super Bowl bound. Things haven’t quite worked out for them in many different ways so far this season and the Vikings are not living up to expectations.
The Bears, on the other hand, have been winning some games and have been slowly trying to improve their offense with new offensive coordinator Mike Martz at the helm.
The team started out the season pretty well, winning three straight games but took a bit of a tumble after that losing three of four along with having their star quarterback, Jay Cutler, miss a game as a result of a concussion. Things have been looking up for the Bears but not too many people are sure about them yet.
Games between the Bears and Vikings are always good games and this one promises to be just as good or better as some of their recent games.
So which team will win? What do the Bears need to do to win this game?
Let’s find out in this extended game preview of the Bears versus the Vikings game this Sunday at Soldier Field.
When the Bears have the Ball
The Bears have really tightened things up on offense over the last game-and-a-half, and as we saw in the Buffalo game, they have really improved their pass protection. Cutler wasn’t sacked one single time during the game and made some great decisions with the ball. He had a little help from the coaching staff which had clearly scaled back the offense in order to help keep things simple, but overall, it was a good move for the Bears.
The offensive line should remain the same in this game, but there has been a development that may end up shaking things up this week. Center Olin Kreutz has not practiced for a better part of the week, but the team says that he will play and should be healthy enough to play well on Sunday.
If the offense is able to provide Cutler with the same protection they have for the last game-and-a-half, then the passing game should find a lot of success in this game. The problem is they are going to be going up against one of the most feared pass defenses in the NFL.
Not only do the Vikings have defensive end Jared Allen, but they also have the famed “Williams Wall” among other strong defenders on defense. The Bears haven’t faced this kind of defensive talent since playing against the Giants a few weeks back, and we all know what happened in that game.
So what do the Bears need to do on offense to handle the Vikings pass rush?
Well, one of the good things for the Bears is that Allen hasn’t been having a great season. He seems to disappear at times during games and is not playing with the same intensity that he has played with in the past. And the two members of the “Williams Wall,” both Kevin and Pat Williams, look like their age is really showing as we have seen them struggle at times in rushing and pass defense.
Perhaps we are seeing the last of the “Williams Wall” and the kind of performances that they have been able to put together over the years. This would be great for a Bears team that is still struggling to block and keep their quarterback clean.
Other things that the Bears could do to help keep Cutler safe and the passing game moving would be to keep Cutler rolling out of the pocket (which worked very well last Sunday against the Bills) and take shorter drops. Those three step drops that Cutler has used before also help get the ball out quicker and help with thwarting the pass rush.
Statistically, the Bears are averaging around 198 yards through the air in each game, while the Vikings are allowing teams to throw for around 208 yards of passing per game. Things look like they may be pretty even in that department heading into this game.
Can the Bears run against the Vikings?
The Bears didn’t run a lot against the Buffalo Bills last week, but when they did, they had some success. Chicago is averaging around 90 yards of rushing per game while the Vikings are allowing 96 yards per game on the ground. The Bears don’t rush the ball that much anyway, but it would be a good idea if they could at least try so that they can keep some of the pressure off Cutler in this game.
The Vikings have had a total of 12 sacks on opponents so far this season while the Bears have allowed a whopping 32 sacks so far this season, and they cannot allow the Vikings to get to Cutler a lot in this game. Sticking with what they did against the Bills last week should help reduce sacks and keep Cutler upright, completing passes and healthy.
So look for the Bears to try to keep things simple in order to avoid the Vikings pass rush and keep the offense moving down the field.
When the Vikings have the Ball
In the past, the Bears have struggled to keep containment on the Vikings deadly running back Adrian Peterson. When Peterson first came to the Vikings, he gashed the Bears defense on a regular basis, making it difficult for the Bears to win games against them. In recent games, Chicago has been able to keep containment on Peterson for the most part and force the Vikings to beat them through the air.
Remember when Peterson would seemingly fumble the ball at critical times in the past? That’s not happening anymore as he has not put the ball on the ground once this year. The Bears were masters at stripping the ball out of Peterson’s hands in the past, but this year, he’s holding the ball higher and not fumbling. Let’s see if the Bears can work it loose from him in this game.
Peterson is also catching the ball very well and is a threat out of the backfield in the passing game. The Bears will concentrate their linebackers to stop Peterson as well as the Vikings tight ends. Both Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs have been key to stopping the run all season, and hopefully, they will be able to contain Peterson and keep him from tearing up the defense.
The secondary will need the Bears to put some pass pressure on the Vikings in order to keep them from being exposed. If Julius Peppers can get something going against the Vikings, either by sacking or putting pressure on Favre, then the secondary will not struggle as much as they will without pass pressure. If Peppers is double teamed, then hopefully, someone else on the defensive line will be able to take control and get some pressure on Favre. The more pressure they put on Favre the better off they will be.
Special Teams
This game will feature two of the more dangerous return specialists in the NFL with Chicago’s Devin Hester and Minnesota’s Percy Harvin. The Bears have excellent coverage units but will make sure they don’t allow Harvin any big returns or the Vikings good field position. The Vikings may choose to kick away from Hester thus giving Chicago prime field position which they can’t really afford to do.
Injury Update
The following players are listed on both the Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings injury report.
Minnesota Vikings
S-Jamarca Sanford-Hamstring-Doubtful; CB-Asher Allen-Concussion-Doubtful; DE-Everson Griffen-Shoulder-Probable; OT-Phil Loadholdt-Knee-Probable; WR-Bernard Berrian-Groin-Questionable; CB-Lito Sheppard-Hand-Probable; WR-Percy Harvin-Ankle-Questionable; CB-Frank Walker-Hamstring-Probable; DT-Pat Williams-Elbow-Questionable; QB-Brett Favre-Ankle-Questionable.
Chicago Bears
CB-Zachary Bowman-Foot-Questionable; CB-Tim Jennings-Knee-Probable; CB-D.J. Moore-Head-Probable; C-Olin Kreutz-Hamstring-Questionable.
The Vikings list a lot of players with various aches and pains, but most of those players will end up playing this Sunday. Guys like Harvin and Favre will definitely play in this game.
The only player on the Bear’s list that may not play may be Bowman. The Bears could use him in this game with the group of wide receivers they are about to face.
Analysis
The Bears face a tough opponent this weekend despite their record. The Vikings are much more talented than their record says they are and are poised to try to make a run at the playoffs and know they have to beat the Bears in order to get into the playoffs.
Can the Bears stop a team that says that they are determined to turn things around and get back into the mix?
The answer to that is yes. As long as Chicago keeps mistakes happening on offense and don’t allow the Vikings to pile up the yards against them on defense then the Bears will win this game.
Chicago needs to do the same things they did against the Buffalo Bills the previous week to win this game. They have to control the ball and the clock, and they can do this by trying to run the ball even though the Vikings don’t allow a lot of yards on the ground. They should still try to run the ball just to see what they could do. If they can’t run, then it will be up to Cutler to win this game.
The offensive line will need to play very well in order to protect Cutler from the Vikings pass rush, but unlike last season, the Vikings haven’t been as well adept rushing the passer. They are still dangerous but less dangerous than they were before.
On defense, the Bear’s first objective will be to stop Peterson from letting the Vikings gain a ton of rushing yards and thus control the ball and the clock. Look for Urlacher and Briggs to be very active in this game.
The pass rush has to “show up” in this game, and the Bears know that they have to pressure Favre as much as they can in order to have success against the Vikings passing attack. Pass pressure will be absolutely necessary in order for the Bears to win this game. If they can’t get pressure on Favre, then the Vikings will have a lot of success passing and will most likely win the game.
Special teams could be a factor in this game as well because both teams have dangerous return specialists that can change the complexion of any game in an instant. One mistake on special teams could swing the game for the team that takes advantage of it.
Prediction
This game is going to be a close game. The Bears and the Vikings usually always play each other tough (and the Bears always play the Vikings tough at Soldier Field) so it promises to be a close game with the team that makes the fewest mistakes winning this game.
Chicago 28 Minnesota 23
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