Bears Blitz

Published by Bear Heiser on September 26, 2014
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears have gotten to two wins without having to run the ball. So far, the Bears feature the NFL’s worst rushing offense, gaining just 192 yards through three games. Matt Forte has been extremely ineffective with the ball in his hands, aside from a few moments during the Week 1 loss to Buffalo when he rushed for 82 yards on 17 carries.

Forte is frustrated, and it’s perfectly understandable. The running back talked about his frustrations Thursday, via ESPN Chicago’s Michael C. Wright:

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.

Well, Mr. Forte, you can say that run plays are being called, and yes, they are being called. But they’re being called at a much lower rate than in past years. Sure, it’s only three games, but we saw the writing on the wall last season.

The Bears’ run game ranks No. 30 in attempts and No. 32 in yards, playing against Buffalo, who ranks No. 6 in the NFL in rushing yards allowed, San Francisco, who is No. 7, and New York, who is No. 1.

Coach Marc Trestman’s offense has been extremely pass heavy, relying on Jay Cutler’s arm 68.3 percent of the time. That’s a 10 percent increase over where the Bears were pass/run-wise in 2013.

Much has been made of late of the Bears’ lack of balance on offense, but the above numbers should give you some insight into Trestman’s decision-making process.

To break it down, Chicago’s offense was plus-94 in terms of passing plays from 2012 to 2013, Trestman’s first season as head coach. In those 94 extra pass plays, the Bears gained an average of 13.6 yards per play.

Ninety-four more passing plays led to 66 fewer run plays in 2013. Losing 66 run plays only cost the Bears 2.15 yards per play.

In terms of efficiency, the Bears’ offense operates with a much higher margin, plus-11.45 yards per play, when Cutler drops back, despite the higher chance of turning the ball over.

It certainly appears as if Trestman is comfortable with the current balance on offense. But if that comfortability were to waver, Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers might be a good time to see if Forte has anything up his sleeve.

The Packers’ run defense ranks No. 30 in total yards allowed, averaging 156.3 yards per game, to the Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets and Detroit Lions.

It’s been a struggle all around for Dom Capers’ unit. The only lineman to hold a positive Pro Football Focus grade is defensive end Mike Daniels, who is rated the No. 1 3-4 DE in against the rush (subscription required).

Green Bay is giving up an average of 3.96 yards per carry on called run plays inside the tackles and 4.31 yards per carry outside the tackles, according to PFF (subscription required).

This bodes well for the Bears, as Forte historically has been a better runner when he gets stretched outside the tackles, using zone-based schemes. Running to the outside allows Forte to push the ball up field while looking for lanes to cut back through the defense with his blockers leading the way. Forte has good receivers blocking for him, too, as Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery both have become some of the league’s best in run blocking.

Some have said the Bears’ rush attack has suffered due to the losses of left guard Matt Slauson and center Roberto Garza, and there is some validity to that argument. However, Garza’s replacement, Brian de la Puente has been the best run-blocking center in the NFL, according to PFF. Slauson’s replacement, Michael Ola, on the other hand, has struggled quite a bit in the run game. Ola tends to be slow getting off his block. He doesn’t do a great job of engaging and discarding his assignment in order to move on to the next block.

Forte, via ESPN Chicago, even alluded to the replacements as a reason the run game hasn’t been as effective:

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.

Trestman, however, isn’t making excuses for his team’s lack of success rushing the ball, via ESPN Chicago:

Everybody’s gonna have an opinion on that. We’ve had two very difficult weeks against two extremely strong fronts. That doesn’t mean we’re making excuses for it. We recognize we’ve got to get better. We had a reasonable start in Game 1. We’ve been bogged down the last couple weeks. We’re cognizant of that. We’re making it a point of emphasis. But we think we’ve got to work through the next few games and try to get a sense for where we really are with things. I can tell you we’re working at it. The fact of the matter is Brian de la Puente has played a lot of football. Michael Ola hasn’t, but I don’t think having two new guys in there has taken away from our ability to run the football. I think it goes a lot deeper than that.

As previously stated, now is the time for the Bears to “make it work,” as Forte put it. Get him involved in the passing game, too. Green Bay’s linebackers, A.J. Hawk, Brad Jones and Nick Perry, rank near the bottom of the league in pass coverage. And Clay Matthews, the team’s best coverage linebacker, has been battling a groin issue and has been limited this week in practice.

Regardless of how many run plays are called, Trestman should take advantage of Forte’s pass-catching abilities this week. Forte has had some big receiving games of late against Green Bay. In his last four games against the Pack, Forte has 18 receptions for 214 yards with a touchdown.

Despite the reasons that support a greater use of Forte, Trestman has to be saying to himself, “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”

“Matt understands,” offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer said, via ChicagoBears.com. “He’s a very intelligent football player. He understands game plans and winning and losing. When winning is more important than stats, he’s all in.”

The Bears seem to have found a game plan that works. But with Marshall still battling an ankle injury, maybe now is the time to try something different, rely on someone else this week.

There will come a time when the Bears will need Forte to shoulder a larger load. If that doesn’t happen Sunday, then we’ll know where Trestman stands on how balanced his offense needs to be.

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