Thread: McClellin's best trait also most valuable: Pass rush

Originally Posted by soulman

I vote that we just kick the ever lovin' crap outta every team we face including those pansy ass 49'ers and those "cheeseheads" in the baby shit yellow pants from up north until we get to the SB. Then we rest for a week and kick the ass of some sniveling AFC dung bucket and take home a big old trophy.

How's that for a simple approach?

I like your approach to this season, soul! It's a real possibility that all of this could happen. I don't have a lot of respect for San Francisco or Detroit, though I think we might lose to the Niners simply because they are the best team in the NFC West and we'll be playing in San Francisco. That game will probably be low scoring because both the Bears and the Niners have excellent defenses. Where the Bears will have the advantage will be the passing game - frankly, Alex Smith is just a serviceable game manager who doesn't make a lot of big plays. The Bears are pretty good about stopping the run, and I think we can shut down the passing game if our pass rush is what we think it will be.

If we lose to Detroit, it will be at Detroit, not in Chicago. I wouldn't be at all shocked if those two games are just absolute track meets up and down the field, and since Ford Field is an indoor facility with artificial turf, it will benefit Detroit as much as it will benefit the Bears. The Lions secondary is pathetic, so I see Jay Cutler having big days against the Lions in both games. The question is going to be whether or not we can contain Calvin Johnson and Brandon Pettigrew. They are going to get their yards because they are big targets who are fast and physical, plus we really don't have anyone other than Conte and Hardin in the secondary who can lineup and defend against Johnson in the situation where Matthew Stafford throws up a pop fly. I doubt we will see a game against the Lions like we saw at Soldier Field last year where we just absolutely kicked the dog shit out of them by the score of 37-13. Rather, the game will either go like the first game in which the score is something like 24-13, or you could see, again as I said before, a track meet where the team who has the ball last will win.

The Packers will no doubt be our toughest challenge, but I think we will win the game against them in Chicago. The game up in Green Bay, unfortunately, doesn't look too good, as playing up there seems to make the Packers almost invincible. This game, too, will be a track meet as Aaron Rodgers is one of the top three quarterbacks in the league along with Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. The good thing is that unlike San Francisco, Detroit (who has a first round pick at running back in Jahvid Best and a third round pick in Mikel Leshoure also at that position), and Houston (who will be mentioned later), the Packers are totally one dimensional offensively in that they rely on short, quick passes to do what Hank Stram used to say and "matriculate down the field" rather than having a balance of pass and run. Unfortunately, that "matriculation" works to near perfection for them as Rodgers gets the ball out of his hands quickly as he moves around in the pocket. If the Bears have as strong of a pass rush as I believe they will have, they can take at least the game in Chicago due to it being a big home field advantage for us. Again, I wouldn't be shocked if the games we play against the Packers are high scoring like the ones against Detroit might be as well.

Lastly, the one home game that I don't think home field advantage will help us with is the one against the Texans. Matt Schaub will be returning from a lower body injury, plus there is the running back tandem of Arian Foster and Ben Tate, and let's not forget that they have on their roster the most prolific wide receiver of the past several years in Andre Johnson (who, by the way, is also returning from injury). Their defense, under the tutelage of defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, is not your grandpa's Texans "D", as it ranked among the top units in the league last year. The Texans' offense will be among the most balanced the Bears' defense will face all season, as was said before that Houston sports Pro Bowlers at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver. I don't think the Bears will win this game because the Texans are going to spread the secondary thin. If we apply too much pressure on the quarterback, Schaub will simply run a lot of screens and draws, and if we play the pass too much, he will carve our secondary a new asshole.