Dissecting Most Crucial Matchups in the Bears’ Week 6 Contest with Atlanta
Published by Matt Eurich on October 8, 2014
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears currently sit with a 2-3 record—tied for third in the NFC North with the Minnesota Vikings—following their 31-24 loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 4. They will head to Atlanta to take on the Falcons this Sunday. The Falcons hold an identical 2-3 record but sit in second place behind the Panthers in the NFC South.
Even though football is viewed as a team game, every contest inevitably comes down to individual matchups. While many like to analyze one team’s defense going up against another team’s offense, or vice versa, games typically come down to two players squaring off in one-on-one battles throughout the game.
In order for the Bears to win Sunday and keep pace in their division, they are going to need to win these crucial one-on-one battles against the Falcons.
Lamarr Houston vs. Gabe Carimi
After signing a five-year, $35 million deal this offseason, defensive end Lamarr Houston has been a disappointment for the Bears so far this season.
In the team’s first five games, Houston has registered just five total tackles. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), he leads the team with six quarterback hits and 11 quarterback hurries, but he has been unable to register a sack this season.
Following the team’s loss to the Panthers in Week 5, Houston turned to Twitter to voice his displeasure with the team’s fanbase:
Luckily for Houston, he will have a chance to get back into the fans’ good graces when he squares off against Atlanta’s Gabe Carimi this Sunday. Carimi, Chicago’s first-round pick in 2011, had arguably his best performance as member of the Falcons this past Sunday in their loss to the New York Giants.
Carimi has allowed just one sack in 275 combined snaps at left tackle, guard and right tackle this season, but he has proved he is susceptible to giving up pressure, particularly against defensive ends with strong swim moves.
Despite registering one of his best performances of the season against New York in Week 5, Carimi struggled at times against Mathias Kiwanuka.
On this 4th-and-1 play near the end of the game, the Falcons gave Carimi help in the form of running back Antone Smith to help combat Kiwanuka off the line of scrimmage.
Carimi and Smith initially held their own on the play before Kiwanuka was able to dip his shoulder and use his swim move to get past Carimi on the inside.
The play did not result in a sack for Kiwanuka, but it should give Houston some ideas for how to attack Carimi on Sunday afternoon.
Houston registered only 16 sacks for the Oakland Raiders in four seasons, but he was most effective as a pass-rusher when utilizing his speed to dip below an offensive lineman’s pad level and use his swim move to disengage toward the quarterback.
In order to utilize some of his strengths, defensive coordinator Mel Tucker could try using Houston in a two-point stance at the line of scrimmage instead of always having his hand in the ground as a 4-3 defensive end.
In a Week 17 game against the Denver Broncos last season, Houston stood up along the line of scrimmage opposite of left tackle Chris Clark.
Houston dipped to the outside before using his swim move to force himself back toward the inside, resulting in him bringing down Peyton Manning for a sack.
If Chicago wants to slow down Matt Ryan and Atlanta’s passing attack, it will all start up front with Houston versus Carimi. If Houston can dip past Carimi and use his swim move effectively, he has a chance to notch his first sack of the season.
Matt Forte vs. Prince Shembo
After a slow start to his 2014 season, running back Matt Forte is back to being one of the NFL‘s most dangerous running backs. In the team’s first four games this season, Forte has rushed for 319 yards on 82 carries and has 36 catches for 299 yards.
Forte has faced the Atlanta Falcons three times in his career and has had mixed results.
Chicago’s offensive line has struggled at times this season to open up running lanes for Forte, but he has terrorized opposing defenses as a pass-catcher. He currently has the second-most receptions in the NFL this season, behind Atlanta’s Julio Jones.
Forte has been most effective as a receiver in the screen game. Expect the Bears to attack Atlanta’s young linebacker corps, particularly Prince Shembo, on Sunday afternoon.
Shembo has seen his snaps increase on defense from week to week this season.
He has done an admirable job against both the run and the pass this season, grading out with a plus-0.2 against the run and a plus-0.5 in pass coverage, via Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
While the fourth-round pick deserves credit for what he has done in the early part of this season, he will face a difficult task in trying to slow down Forte in the passing game.
Against the Panthers in Week 5, Forte hauled in 12 catches for 105 yards and did most of his damage on this screen pass in the second quarter, which resulted in a 56-yard gain.
The offensive line did a terrific job of getting out in front of the play to open up space, but the most impressive part of Forte’s run and catch was his ability to bounce off Carolina linebacker Thomas Davis’ tackle.
Shembo has registered 31 tackles on the season, including 14 against the Giants in Week 5, but if he wants to slow down Forte, he will need to do a better job of wrapping up than Davis did Sunday afternoon.
With Shembo likely getting another start for the Falcons at inside linebacker Sunday, look for Forte and the Bears to try to attack the rookie all afternoon.
Kyle Fuller vs. Julio Jones
Few rookies have made the impact Kyle Fuller has made through the first five weeks of the NFL season.
After receiving the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Month honors for September, Fuller went out and shut down Offensive Rookie of the Month Kelvin Benjamin in Week 5.
Fuller spent the majority of his day shadowing Benjamin and held him to just three catches for 38 yards on 11 targets. Fuller received praise from Bleacher Report’s Matt Bowen and 670TheScore.com’s Dan Durkin during the game:
Eric Galko of Sporting News was complimentary of Fuller’s performance following the Carolina game:
Fuller was able to have success in three areas against Benjamin, as he has throughout his rookie year so far: physicality with his hands, fluidity to turn and run, and finishing ability at the catch-point. These skill sets are the most important for a young cornerback, especially in a zone-based defense, because it makes up for issues in footwork, timing or athletic limitations.
Fuller is going to need to continue to have success in all three of those areas this Sunday when he squares off against Atlanta’s Julio Jones.
It is unlikely Fuller shadows Jones throughout the game like he did Benjamin, but he should have plenty of opportunities to match up against him Sunday afternoon.
A first-round pick out of Alabama in 2011, Jones has developed into one of the league’s best wide receivers, and he currently leads the league in four major receiving categories.
In addition to leading the league in those categories, Jones has a knack for making difficult catches look routine.
The scary thing for Fuller and the Bears is that Jones told reporters last month that the game is starting to slow down for him:
The game is coming to me slower now. It’s slowed down a lot for me. Just when I’m out there running around, I kind of see everything. I had tunnel vision early on when I was younger. I couldn’t really see anything. I didn’t really know the concept of the plays. Why am I running this route? But now I do. I have a better understanding of it.
Fuller will likely not be able to entirely shut down Jones, but he has a chance to keep Jones from being the deciding factor Sunday afternoon.
Record/statistical information provided via email from the Chicago Bears or NFL.com.
Matt Eurich is an NFL/Chicago Bears Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.
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