by GratefulJet Sat 20 Sep 2014 - 5:48
Have to admit I'm pretty concerned about this game. Bears offense is stacked, best we can hope to do is the usual gameplan: contain it, slow it down, and look for a turnover opportunity. Pressure Cutler, get in his face, try to get him to force a throw into too tight a space. Turnovers is not something we excel at, however. Their WRs could have a really big day against our secondary. Forte is a beast in the open field, and Martellus Bennett is the receiving TE we all wish Cumberland was. I don't think holding them under 25 points is at all realistic. Holding this team to 30 would be a really good job.
The Bears weakness has been their defense, but they have improved it this year. We will have to run the ball, but I think their run defense is better than GB's. Best guy to attack in their secondary is S Conte, who has a little Eric Smith in him. Kyle Fuller had two picks vs. SF. How many does our entire team have so far in two games? Can Geno put up 30+ points? Anything is possible, but if Decker can't play, it's not very likely. If we fall behind early, MM will have to throw the ball, and I'm not sure we have the WRs to catch it. Take away Kerley and who is left that even needs to be double covered?
Conclusion: even if we slow down Trestman's offense, we still don't have the horses to keep up. Only way we win is with turnovers and big plays on ST, and we don't have a tendency for either, while Chicago does. Really hope I'm wrong, but not getting my hopes up at all here. I think this Bears squad could end up going deep into the playoffs. They traveled to the west coast and took care of the 49ers in their home/new stadium opener, finishing the game with 21 4th quarter points. I don't think a 2-hour flight to Newark is going to faze them at all.