Bears Blitz

Published by Ross Read on September 17, 2014
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

The Bears get their second straight prime-time game as they travel to face the New York Jets on Monday Night Football. 

Head coach Marc Trestman’s team is looking to build off their inspiring come-from-behind win against the San Francisco 49ers and start a winning streak against a feisty Jets team. 

When you look at the key matchups in this game, the Bears are going to have to get pressure on Jets quarterback Geno Smith, allow running back Matt Forte to operate in space and slow down the athletic outside linebackers on the Jets. 

Geno Smith came out firing in his first game against the Oakland Raiders and completed 80 percent of his passes. In Week 2, he struggled against the Green Bay Packers, only completing 50 percent of his pass attempts. 

Even though Smith and the Jets jumped out to a big lead against Green Bay, the Packers made adjustments to get into Smith’s face a lot more in the second half. He’s not a great pocket passer and really struggled to go through his progressions with a few hands in his face. 

This means defensive end Jared Allen plays a huge role. After struggling in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills, Allen rebounded nicely to apply some good pressure on 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who turned the ball over four times. Allen forced a fumble on Kaepernick during a scramble attempt.

Standing in Allen’s way is three-time Pro Bowl left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson. The two veterans will be front and center in what is one of the important battles in the game. If Allen can get around Ferguson and force Smith to make poor decisions, the Bears will win the all-important turnover battle on the road. 

On offense, the Bears are going to have to get Matt Forte going again. With Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery hobbled, they are going to have to establish the running game. He had only 21 yards on 12 carries against the 49ers. 

San Francisco knew the injured Bears receivers couldn’t go deep, so it compressed its defense and took lanes away from Forte. Screen passes were shut down because the linebackers and defensive linemen were able to penetrate through the offensive line and attack Forte without any issues. 

Getting Forte out in space in the short-passing game plays to the Bears’ advantage. Jets middle linebacker David Harris is a fine player but cannot keep up with Forte. Angle routes out of the backfield allowing Forte to make sharp cuts against Harris could open up the box area for more misdirection runs and draw plays. 

It’s important to keep Bears quarterback Jay Cutler upright and protected every week. When Cutler’s on like he showed in the second half of Week 2, he can take over a football game and put points on the board even in a hostile environment on the road in prime time. 

You want to keep Cutler clean in this game? The Bears are going to have to slow down the outside rush of hybrid pass-rushers Quinton Coples and Calvin Pace. 

Coples and Pace won’t rush every time, but when they do, they will come quick off the edge, and it could be a nightmare situation for Bears offensive tackles Jermon Bushrod and Jordan Mills. Both players have already recorded a sack, and Coples has a forced fumble. 

The Jets play a base 3-4 defense. Coples and Pace are the two players relied on to make plays on the edge and slow down the sideline-to-sideline speed of an offense. This is a great game for Bears guard Kyle Long to use his own speed and athleticism and keep them honest. 

Long can be used in various kick-out, trap and counter runs. It again allows for more space for Forte to run and makes Pace and Coples think twice about recklessly rushing the quarterback. After seeing it for two straight games, the Bears might be inclined to run some of their own zone-read offense. 

Football is still about the basics no matter how much the NFL and its players and playbooks evolve. The Bears will win on the road if they put pressure on the quarterback and establish the run. Let’s see if they can win the matchups come game time in MetLife Stadium Monday night. 

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