Chicago Bears vs. the Minnesota Vikings Game Preview
Published by Bryan Dietzler on December 17, 2010
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The 9-4 Chicago Bears, coming off of a crushing 36-7 loss at the hands of the New England Patriots, will travel to take on the Minnesota Vikings who themselves are coming off of a loss, losing a 21-3 decision to the Giants.
This game will be played at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. The field is outdoors and seats about 15,000 fewer people. Perhaps the Bears will take advantage of the outdoor weather and take care of the Vikings. Hopefully they play better this Monday night in the outdoors than they did against the Patriots on Sunday.
The Bears loss to the Patriots could have been a wake up call to the Bears and may have made them realize that they need to play all out 100 percent of the time in every game. It should have also made them realize that they have to play hard, play smart and win games because they are very close to making it into the playoffs.
The Vikings are a team that is in a serious state of disarray and they have problems all over the place from the coaching staff to both offense and defense. The Bears should be playing them at just the right time which is ideal for their purposes. They need to win to stay on track to win the NFC North.
Can the Bears win this game? Will they get one more step closer to the playoffs on Monday night?
Let’s find out in this extended in-depth preview of the Bears game against Minnesota this coming Monday night.
When the Bears have the Ball
Forget the debacle that happened against New England last week. The Bears are a much better team than that and they won’t suffer the same kind of problems that they did against the Patriots this coming Monday night against the Vikings.
Being that this game will be played outdoors in cold conditions, the Bears may want to try to establish the run early. They can easily do this with the two running backs that they have (Matt Forte and Chester Taylor) and as long as they stick with the running game and not give up when the running game stalls on a drive they should do well.
Chicago’s rushing attack is averaging 98 yards per game but this number is skewed a little bit because the Bears have had some games with a lot of rushing yards and then some games where they either barely ran the ball or were shut down. The Vikings are allowing teams to gain 101 yards per game so Chicago can run against them and should have some success doing it.
The Bears passing game has been running hot and cold this season. Early in the year it was working well but then Chicago’s passing game went into a funk. The Bears then came out of their bye week and played very well on offense because they had balance. They ran the ball almost just as much as they passed it.
Chicago’s offense is averaging 192 yards per game through the air. Chicago can move the ball up and down the field at ease passing the ball for the most part and have had a lot of success doing that especially during their five-game winning streak. They got off track last week but can get it put back together again this week and get back to being effective in that aspect of their offense.
The short to intermediate passing game has worked well for the Bears, especially when Cutler is in sync with guys like Earl Bennett and Johnny Knox. They can take short passes and turn them into long gains especially when they catch the ball in a seam and take it straight up the field. The Bears need to use this as part of their passing game in order to keep the ball moving and not let the Vikings defense beat them.
Minnesota hasn’t been as strong rushing the passer this season as they have in season’s past. Through 13 games, the Vikings have managed to get 23 sacks. In their first meeting this season, the Vikings sacked Cutler two times (both by Jared Allen) and with the Bears allowing 47 sacks this season (an NFL high) sacks could come again this Monday night.
When the Vikings have the Ball
The biggest question we have right now is who is going to start at quarterback for the Vikings. As of this writing, it is not clear who will start, it could be Brett Favre (highly unlikely), it could be Joe Webb or it could be the newly signed Patrick Ramsey. Whoever it is, the Bears need to make sure that they don’t have the same kind of game that they had in Detroit a couple weeks ago in allowing a third string quarterback to basically out-duel their defense.
So what is the key to the Chicago’s defense of the Vikings offense? Pass pressure. The Vikings offensive line hasn’t been that good this season allowing 27 sacks (in the first game these two teams played, Chicago had just one sack) so the Bears need to ratchet up the pressure and get the quarterback to the ground or at least force him to make mistakes.
The Bears need to get their front four to get pressure so that they can allow for their linebackers and guys in the secondary to drop back into coverage. They also have to be aware of who is responsible for covering certain parts of the field and not blow coverages like we saw in the New England game and in their first game against the Vikings (remember the Percy Harvin touchdown).
A perfectly executed cover two would work well against the Vikings. That would take away those long passes, force the passing game to go short and leave the Bears some chances to intercept the ball and end the drive.
The Vikings rushing attack had been working well for them but it’s been hot and cold during the latter half of the season. Through 13 games, the Vikings are averaging 122 yards per game on the ground (in their first game the Vikings gained 70 yards against the Bears defense) so the Bears need to be ready for the Vikings rushing attack.
The Bears need to play the run the same way that they did in the first game and that means getting some aggressive play from the Bears linebackers. They need to fly to the ball carrier and take him down at or behind the line of scrimmage not allowing him to get outside where he can gain extra yards. The Bears have been good at doing that but have suffered breakdowns at times (see Jahvid Best) and have allowed runners to get some long gains against them.
They need to make sure that they tackle well also. Tackling was shoddy in the first half of their game against the Lions and was horrible against the Patriots. Hopefully the Bears have learned their lesson and get their tackling straight and do it well against the Vikings on Monday night.
Special Teams
Special teams were a big part of the game on Sunday as the Patriots were able to get great field position due to their ability to get good yardage on runbacks. The Bears got their only score of the game after a nice runback by Devin Hester. Since the conditions will be cold field position will be very important so look for the Bears to work hard to get good field position in this game.
The coverage units also need to play better and we saw what can happen when they aren’t playing as well as they normally do (in their game against the Patriots). The Bears cannot afford to allow the Vikings to get good field position on returns so they need to ensure that their coverage teams are playing well and not allowing big gains.
Injury Update
The Vikings and the Bears list the following players on their injury report as of Thursday:
Minnesota Vikings
DE-Ray Edwards-Ankle-Questionable; CB-Asher Allen-Ankle-Probable; G-Steve Hutchinson-Thumb-Doubtful; QB-Brett Favre-Shoulder/Ankle/Chest-Doubtful; RB-Adrian Peterson-Knee/Ankle-Questionable; S-Tyrell Johnson-Knee-Doubtful; QB-Joe Webb-Hamstring-Probable; S-Jamarca Sanford-Concussion-Doubtful
Chicago Bears
CB-Charles Tillman-Foot-Questionable; LB-Pisa Tinoisamoa-Knee-Questionable; RB-Chester Taylor-Knee-Questionable.
The Vikings injury report is pretty interesting. It shows that Peterson is injured, supposed starter at quarterback Joe Webb is hurt and of course Favre is hurt and not practicing. Peterson will be less effective with a knee injury. If Hutchinson can’t play, the Vikings offensive line will be that much more vulnerable on Monday night.
Analysis
Unless there is a last minute change, this game will be played at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The game time temperature (as it stands right now) is going to be nine degrees above with a chance of snow. The field does not have any heating coils underneath it so it will be cold and hard as a rock.
The Bears need to get the field conditions out of their head and focus on the task at hand. Remember that Chicago can win the NFC North with a win against the Vikings and a loss by the Packers to the New England Patriots so the Bears know they have to win this game and that’s all that they should be worried about.
Since the Vikings will be playing a third string quarterback in this game things should be pretty easy for the Bears on defense but we have thought that before. They need to keep pressure on the young and inexperienced Webb and force him to make mistakes and not allow him to pick them apart like Stanton did a couple of weeks ago.
The cover two is a good defense when it’s properly run and the Bears didn’t run it right last week against the Patriots. They will have to play that defense very well in order to contain the Vikings passing game as well as the running game and not allow receivers or ball carriers to break free and gain a lot of yards after the play starts.
Good tackling should also be the order of the day for the Bears and they need to concentrate and wrap up and stop the ball carrier quickly. Not allowing those extra yards will go a long way towards helping them win this game.
Prediction
The Vikings are in a rough state right now and with injuries affecting several of their key players, it’s tough to expect them to play well in this game. Weather and field conditions may play a role but it will affect both teams and not just one. Knowing that they have to win this game to win the NFC North (with a Packers loss) the Bears will be ready.
Chicago 24 Minnesota 10
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