Chicago Bears VS. Atlanta Falcons - Game Preview

by ChiFan13 on Oct 10, 2008 8:22 PM CDT Comment 13 comments

The Falcons, like the Bears, are a tough team to get a grip on. They’ve beaten the Lions, Chiefs, and Packers and have lost to TB and Carolina. But, the difference is that their losses to TB and Carolina have been blowouts, not close games like ours were.

Us vs. Them – Defense

No secret about Matt Ryan and Michael Turner. Ryan’s been consistently throwing in the 150 – 200 yard range and Turner (when on) has been running all over the place. But, there’s a problem with their offense. When Turner has been held under 100 yards, they’ve gotten blown out. In other words, when a team makes Ryan do all the work, they lose. Badly. So, if we key in stopping Turner and not focus solely on getting to Ryan, history states we’ll win. Problem is, that history is only five games long.

Besides those two, their top receiver is Roddy White (26 receptions for 454 yards and 2 TD’s). Two other receiver’s names you might hear on Sunday are Michael Jenkins and Jerious Norwood.

Us vs. Them – Offense

Same old story, different game: We need to establish the run. If we can establish the run and take some pressure off Orton, we will be successful. If Orton has to do all the work, we might run into trouble. The Falcons like to use their front four to disrupt/stop the run and the back seven to drop back. I really hope they use this strategy on Sunday, because Forte will throw them for a loop.

I also hope that our OL is planning on playing well, because we’re going up against their DE, John Abraham. He’s leading the NFL with seven sacks this year.

Final word

Both teams need to establish the run to take pressure off their QB’s. The Falcons are a little worse off with this strategy than we are. If Turner fails, they’ll have to go to Ryan, who is a rookie going up against a ferocious defense. If Forte fails, we go to Orton. Orton’s played in the league before and handles pressure about as well as you can expect from an NFL QB.

Welcome to the NFL, Matt Ryan. You get to meet Lance Briggs & Co. this weekend.

Bears 24, Falcons 10

Poll

Bears vs. Falcons - Who do you have?

Bears by 15+

39 votes

Bears by 7-14

91 votes

Bears by 1-6

30 votes

Falcons by 1-6

35 votes

Falcons by 7-14

14 votes

Falcons by 15+

8 votes

217 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 13 comments | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Read More: chicago bears, atlanta falcons

Comments

what about special teams?

i dont think it was spoken enough last week, but the lions average starting field position was inside their 20. While hester didnt score he did get some kicks to the 50 and with out a doubt we won the field position battle quite convincingly last week.

i like our chances with our d this week if maynard and crew can keep pinning the rookie qb back and as you said briggs and co. can get some serious pressure.

the more and more you watch the bears, the field position battle a lot of times determines the game. Forcing opposing offenses to drive the length of the field against our d is an uphill task, certaintly not feasable for an entire game and starting our offense with good field position has allowed orton too display his strength which is accurate passes in a short field.

against a young team like atlanta, i feel like the game can be won in this area and help us get ahead early and hopefully encourage some mistakes later in the game by the falcons. The last thing i want to have happen is this young team hanging around in a tightly contested game, which would only fuel their confidence and their fans.

by rahulsriram on Oct 10, 2008 10:13 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

You're exactly right about field position

I’m not like many Bears fans who think Maynard’s been doing a bad job. His monster punt against the Eagles was huge, and I don’t doubt his ability to control the LOS for us.

But, Ryan’s not been great this year, Turner has. I’m worried about shutting him down.

I'M A MAN! I'M 22!

by ChiFan13 on Oct 10, 2008 10:47 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Don't worry

We’ll never have field position if you punt it right at Adam Jennings. He’s the worst punt returner in the NFL today.

by Dave the Falconer on Oct 10, 2008 11:41 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Is it that bad?

BTW – I’d love for you to correct my preview if necessary. The more info, the better.

I'M A MAN! I'M 22!

by ChiFan13 on Oct 11, 2008 12:04 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Technically

Norwood’s a running back, though the team likes to have him run routes because he’s so versatile. Roddy White is about 50/50 to play, which leaves us with literally no one of consequence in the passing game.

And while you’ll need the run to win, the Falcons have a very young secondary that has struggled at times. I could see the Bears having some success riding Orton, but Forte will probably have to pick up at least 80 yards for you guys to win this one easily.

by Dave the Falconer on Oct 11, 2008 1:17 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for clarifying

Seems like your DL is ok. Forte’s not to going to shoulder as much as I thought.

I'M A MAN! I'M 22!

by ChiFan13 on Oct 11, 2008 1:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maynard.

The Maynard hate constantly amazes me. What’s the average return on one of his punts, three yards?

—d

by itsugly on Oct 11, 2008 11:52 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I like how you closed with Lance Briggs & Co.

Not enough has been made of the outstanding play by Briggs and where the Bears would be if they did not resign him. With Urlacher not making all that many plays(all though in fairness, he is restricted in Lovie’s scheme) and Tommie being as big of a disappointment as anyone, Briggs and a few other players have picked up the slack. Peanut and Alex brown are also at the top of their respective games right now. This defense is still good, but the roles seem to be changing a little bit.

by dakoose on Oct 10, 2008 11:04 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree

Briggs has been nothing short of awesome this year so far…really a fun time watching him play. I also like #44, Payne’s making some good plays and not whiffing much at all from what I can see on TV. I think the 3 points the Bears are favored by is a gimme and seems like an easy payout

by reefermadness3 on Oct 11, 2008 3:06 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Schematically speaking

Lovie’s defense is designed for Briggs to make most of the plays. He’s doing it very well right now because everyone is staying in their gap and being disciplined enough. Thus, the WLB is usually the only one of the front seven not blocked.

"I'm not so mean. I wouldn't ever go out to hurt anybody deliberately - unless it was, you know, important, like a league game or something." - Dick Butkus

by propheteer on Oct 11, 2008 3:15 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I don't know about that.

While the Bears’ base defense is often labeled as a cover two(or tampa two or what the Bears call it, the Bear2), the truth is that they are using it less than they ever have while Lovie has been here. You’re right in that the cover two allows the WLB to make most of the tackles and pushes a lot of the action towards him, but I just don’t think that is happening all that often. Cover two or no cover 2, Briggs has been the stud of the defense so far.

by dakoose on Oct 12, 2008 12:37 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Alex Brown...

… is the most underrated player on the Chicago Bears. He has made enormous plays throughout his career, and continues to do so this year.

by k97rr02 on Oct 11, 2008 11:59 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

like the semi-chokeout

of buckhalter on the 4th n goal. that was sweet and doubly so because no ticky-tack flag got thrown there. hooboy i hope the d entertains us again today, go bears!!! 27-10

by reefermadness3 on Oct 12, 2008 9:20 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs