Banged-Up Bears Need Improvements from Ground Game to Contend in NFC North
Published by Gary Davenport on September 26, 2014
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are 2-1 and tied for first place in the division heading into their big NFC North showdown with the Green Bay Packers, in large part due to the outstanding play of star wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery.
However, if the Bears are going to keep the good times rolling and stay in contention for the playoffs as fall turns into winter, then the team needs to get the ice-cold ground game heated up.
And that means getting Matt Forte going, starting this week against the Packers.
After gaining only 54 yards over the past two games combined (at an anemic clip of 2.2 yards per carry) Forte admitted to Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com that he’s frustrated by the team’s inability to move the ball effectively on the ground:
It is frustrating during the game. It’s not that we’re not calling runs. We are calling run plays. But sometimes, the defenses are set up so that the run play we call is not going to work against that defense. Each week we’re continuing to work on it, and we’ve got to get everybody on the same page up front.
Some guys that are stepping in for injured players, we have to get everybody on the right page where we’re blocking the right looks so if they change the personnel or change to a different defensive front, we know how to block that as well.
It’s a far cry from last year, that’s for sure.
Granted, the Bears’ 16th-ranked rushing attack a season ago wasn’t awe-inspiring, but it was a sight better than this year’s—64 yards a game…dead last in the league…down by nearly half from last year’s production.
It’s not like there’s necessarily one glaring reason why the Bears are struggling to run the ball. There have been injuries to starting center Roberto Garza and left guard Matt Slauson, although Forte was quick to quell that as an excuse.
It’s just sometimes we might have blocked it wrong or didn’t block somebody or whatever the problem was. There is a little bit of a learning curve when we’re so used to having Slauson and Garza in there, and those five [offensive linemen] solidify that line.
There is a little bit of a learning curve, but that’s with every team in the league. Everybody has injuries, and everybody has to step up. We have to figure that out and make it work.
There’s also been an early hole against the San Francisco 49ers and matchups with three of the NFL‘s six best run defenses.
Whatever the reason, 64 yards a game isn’t getting it done, even in today’s pass-wonky NFL. If the Bears continue to be this one-dimensional on offense, it’s going to come back to haunt them, especially once the weather takes a turn for the worse in Chicago.
Home-field advantage in the Windy City isn’t much of an advantage, if you can’t run the ball.
With all that said, though, this week would appear the prime chance to get Forte and the ground game going.
While the Bears’ first three opponents have each allowed less than 90 rushing yards a game in 2014, the Packers have been a bit more forgiving on the ground. In fact, only two teams in the league have been more so, with the Packers allowing 156.3 yards per game.
That’s 20 more yards than Forte has this season.
The Bears and head coach Marc Trestman need to remain as committed as ever to the run, despite their early struggles in doing so. It can be an easy thing to let slip away, especially when your star tailback is averaging only 3.2 yards a carry and you have a pair of elite options at wide receiver.
The Packers are giving up a full yard more per carry, so the stage would appear set for a Forte rebound this week. That rebound would come in handy for one more reason.
Despite a number of pricey additions up front, the Bears defense is struggling again to contain opponents, especially on the ground. The Bears are 23rd in the league defensively and 26th against the run.
If the Bears can’t run the ball or stop the run, then there goes any real chance to dictate the tempo of the game or to close teams out.
Every game will turn into a track meet, which once again can be a bit problematic by the shores of Lake Michigan in December.
Mind you, this isn’t to say that the Bears’ ground game is beyond repair—far from it. It’s entirely possible that the “problem” has more to do with a couple of ill-timed injuries and some bad matchups to begin the year.
However, the Bears need to resist the urge to go pass-happy, stick to their guns and stay committed to Forte and the running game.
Or sooner or later that ground game “problem” will be their undoing.
Gary Davenport is an NFL Analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter @IDPManor.
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