Chicago Bears vs. Washington Redskins: Preseason Preview
The Chicago Bears face the Washington Redskins this evening at Soldier Field. If head coach Lovie Smith holds to his standard practice, we will see more of the starters tonight. Fans will get to see quarterback and proud new papa Jay Cutler for the first time since his thumb injury last season against he San Diego Chargers. The Soldier Field faithful will also see Matt Forte‘s first Bears action since injuring his knee last season (he did participate in the Pro Bowl) and Julius Peppers. Brian Urlacher will obviously not play after going through an arthroscopic procedure earlier in the week on his still-injured left knee. The Bears are sticking to an opening game return for Urlacher, but many of us aren’t holding our breath.
Discussing preseason football is like talking about politics. There are those that overreact to everything and others that say it is nothing more than a glorified scrimmage. Whatever side you come down on, one has to admit there are things we can learn during these games (besides the fact an NFL team can charge its fans full-price to watch several guys that will not be in the NFL soon).
Here are some of my observations from last week…
- The Bears ran a lot of the 46 Defense last week. I believe they did this to test out the secondary. Smith is known for the Cover 2 Defense. However, he will throw in the defense that made the 1985 Bears famous. The 46 Defense brings up a safety into “box” or close to the line of scrimmage. Two outside linebackers line up to one side with the strong safety playing close to the line of scrimmage on the opposite side. While Smith may vary this slightly from the 1985 version, it essentially turns the strong safety into a fourth linebacker. This puts a bit more pressure on the defense but also creates matchup problems for the offense. When executed properly, it will force quicker throws and a fewer running lanes. But it also can give the offense more opportunities for big plays because there’s obviously less defenders are in coverage. The Bears were testing their already maligned secondary putting different guys on an Island. Rookie Brandon Hardin (#35) was tested regularly and failed miserably. In addition to taking bad angles to the football, when the Bears did fall back into the Cover 2, Hardin’s positioning was regularly off. The Cover 2 is designed to force plays inside and things aren’t supposed to get behind the safeties. On one play in particular, Hardin’s responsibility was the middle-left quarter of the field and he stood three yards deep in the end zone and witnessed a Broncos receiver catching a pass at the two and scoring easily. His field vision, position recognition and understanding of playing a basic defense all come into question. While he’s a young player and new to the position, this isn’t the Freshman B Team and there’s little time for a learning curve.
- Offensive tackles J’Marcus Webb and Chris Williams played well into the second half. This is quite uncommon for the first preseason game. Webb played left tackle and Williams played on the right side relieving Gabe Carimi. Considering both are in competition for arguably the most important position on the offensive line, it isn’t a good sign that the coaching staff is dealing with two guys that aren’t showing them enough at the position. If the Bears have any hopes of contending this season, the offensive line has to be average. Based on my game observations from last week (and things I saw at training camp), I am just not sure if this will be the case. A huge failure of the organization.
- I actually thought that Nick Roach played well in the middle for the Bears. Considering he is in a difficult position potentially replacing Urlacher, Roach is a smart player that should have a solid understanding of the defense. Getting extended playing time during training camp and the preseason isn’t the worst thing in the world.
- Alshon Jeffrey is a heck of a receiving prospect. He has size, strenghth, speed and field recognition. I love how he learned to break off his route and come back to the quarterback when the quarterback rolls out of the pocket. This has been my complaint with Bears receivers for years. Finally, a rookie comes in and understands Receiving 101. With Brandon Marshall, the Bears seem to finally have wide receivers that understand how to play the position. It is important that I also give Earl Bennett credit as well. He is a very smart player.
One final thing…my good friend and blogger to the hated Green Bay Packers CD Angeli wrote a great piece on the 2012 Packers. Check it out here (http://cheeseheadtv.com/blog/the-question-we-dont-want-to-ask).
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