Bears' Six-Pack Keys to Victory Over the Rams

1) Zac Stacy

With a backup quarterback, one of the biggest things to worry about is his running game support. The Rams have gotten a pretty fair amount out of Zac Stacy in his rookie season, especially recently - 26 carries per game over his last three with two games of over 125 yards. Against a Bears' front seven that couldn't stop CloudyFuture's grandma from rushing for 75 yards, Stacy can be expected to play pretty well. The Bears can't allow that to happen.

2) Pump Up the Jam

The Rams have very physical cornerbacks - they play tight and close coverage and they get off very effective jams. Fortunately, the Bears have very big, physical receivers that can fight off those jams and get into their routes. Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall will have to do just that to get open and make plays downfield.

3) Get to Kellen Clemens

The Rams have gotten sacked 24 times, which isn't the worst total in the world, but there's an interesting disparity here - Sam Bradford was sacked 15 times before going down for the season. Clemens, in three starts (four games) has taken nine. The Bears' pass rush has gotten a little more resurgent the last few weeks, and they get back Shea McClellin in his first game action since his three-sack day against the Packers.

4) Jared Cook

Hey, remember when the tight end used to be listed here every week? Running backs may have taken the spotlight there, but Jared Cook also happens to be the second-most-productive target on the Rams this season. Cook's stats are largely influenced by his 7-reception, 141 yards, 2 touchdowns effort in week 1; however, Cook can still get things done.

5) Special Teams

Tavon Austin did some scary things last week, in both pass catching and special teams (both his catches last week went for long touchdown scores). I say "both" because he only got those two receptions on the day, and 10 in his last five games (five of those came in one game). The point is, after 18 receptions in his first three games, the Rams have struggled to get him the ball. So the majority of his work will be done in specials, where he's coming off a pretty decent performance. Given how the Bears' special teams have performed on occasion this year, Austin bothers me a bit. Their tackling and block-shedding will need to be on point.

6) Edge Rushers

And then we finally get to these guys. As I mentioned on PTMY, Robert Quinn's having himself a season (twelve sacks) and Chris Long's got six and a half. By the way, did you know Chris Long and Kyle Long are brothers and they will be playing each other and Howie Long's probably going to be seen on TV in one of those dreadful half and half jerseys? Okay, that last part's made up. Anyway, the Bears' pass protection kept Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil off Josh McCown last week, so maybe they can do it again this week.