Today I ask the questions and guess the answers; Monday, I’ll provide the real answers.
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1. How bad is Chicago’s line? The Bears are very weak up front, partly because of injuries and also because of youth. They’ve started eight different players along the line already this season. But they will start this five for the second straight game. That will help, however, they have ex-Redskin Edwin Williams at RG and rookie J’Marcus Webb at RT. They haven’t exactly seen a whole lot. LT Frank Omiyale has had his problems, too. C Olin Kreutz has been a good player for a long time.
2. How can the Redskins take advantage? Lots of different looks up front. The Bears have struggled with stunts and basic blitzes. But the Redskins don’t have to blitz to generate pressure. They’ve been good at overloading a side with four-man rushes and creating one-on-one chances. They need to do that to the Bears right side. Obviously the Bears will anticipate this. Regardless, they will create one-on-one opportunities and they must capitalize. Brian Orakpo was way too silent last week, aside from one play.
3. What impact will Albert Haynesworth have? Hard to say because he hasn’t played in two weeks. But he’ll be more effective than, say, Jeremy Jarmon who is ill-suited at this stage to play nose. He’s willing and he has skills, but not sure he’s experienced yet to handle this role. Anyway, Haynesworth, in the nickel and dime, should create problems for this front. But this is also the sort of game that Vonnie Holliday, if active, should do well in rush situations because of how well he sets up others. His savviness would hurt some of these players, not resulting in sacks for him, but he’s like the hockey player who gets credited with the first assist.
4. How dangerous is the passing game? It’s an effective one because of quarterback Jay Cutler. But offensive coordinator Mike Martz is doing his best to get him killed. He calls for a lot of deep passes and the result is that he averages a hefty 8.52 yards per attempt. And he has speed to throw to with receiver Johnny Knox (18 catches, 21.8 yards per reception). Devin Hester has speed, but most of his catches came on short routes as they try to almost create a punt return situation for him. But Cutler will hang onto the ball to let plays develop. Playing behind a bad line, this is a dangerous strategy. However, he has taken care of the ball with only three picks after 26 a year ago.
5. How good is Matt Forte? He’s a good multi-purpose back who can hurt the Redskins if they’re not careful. I like his footwork, which is vital in the open field. He leads the team in rushing and in receptions and he averages 12.9 yards per catch, a good sum for a back. He also averages 3.9 yards per carry, not bad considering how bad the line has been.
6. Who will win the battle of punt returners? Devin Hester was quiet for a couple seasons, but not this year. He’s already returned two punts for scores and is averaging 17.0 yards on 16 returns. Meanwhile, Brandon Banks is averaging – on eight punt returns. However, though the Redskins have done better covering punts of late, the Bears are better. They’re allowing just 5.6 yards per runback. They’ve allowed a 62-yard return for a score. Minus that runback, they’ve allowed just 38 yards on the 17 other returns. The Bears have the edge here.
7. Will the Redskins be able to run this week? Chicago’s D-line does a good job of letting the linebackers run free. Chicago ranks third in the NFL in yards allowed per game (84.0) and they’re tied for third in yards per carry (3.5). Lance Briggs loves to run blitz and that makes a big difference. Middle linebacker Brian Urlacher runs very well. Those two key this defense. Ryan Torain will have a much more difficult time running this week than last; can’t imagine Chicago misses as many tackles as Indy did.
8. How good is the pass rush? Not very. The Bears have only recorded nine sacks. They will blitz – but it’s usually Urlacher and Briggs. They’ve combined for 2.5 sacks. Believe it or not, Julius Peppers does not lead the Bears in sacks; he only has two. D-lineman Israel Idonije has a team-best 3.5 sacks. This is not a good pass-rushing front.
9. Will Peppers be disruptive? Depends on how the Bears use him. He does flip-flop, but plays mostly at right end where he’ll face LT Trent Williams. If Williams can handle him solo – he needed a decent amount of help last week as he struggled vs. Dwight Freeney – then the Redskins will stop the rush. But Peppers also will line up at left end where he’ll face Jammal Brown. The Redskins would have to counter with a back or tight end to that side. The fear would be leaving the A gaps vulnerable to blitzes. In case you haven’t noticed, blitzes have been successful coming through the left side, too.
10. Will Donovan McNabb light it up in his hometown? The Bears use cover-2 and Tampa-2 because of Urlacher’s ability to drop and cover. That means he’ll have to be patient. Though Chicago’s secondary is not that strong, the Bears haven’t allowed a pass play of longer than 30 yards and they’ve surrendered just three touchdown passes. This will be a win-ugly game for McNabb and the offense. Think the Eagles game.
11. Who will win? I’m not sure how Chicago has won four games. After losing at home to Seattle last week, makes you wonder if they’ll come out with a little more urgency. Then again, maybe that game was just a sign of who they are. This game will be low-scoring, so any turnover will be huge. Hear that Carlos Rogers? My guess is they pick Cutler and that’ll be the difference. Chicago’s O-line just scares me enough to pick against the Bears. Redskins 17, Bears 14.
