Day: September 24, 2013

Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune does a nice job of summarizing the performances on film from Sunday nights game:

“Offensive line

“Grade: 6

“There was a premium placed on getting the ball out quickly and rookies Kyle Long and Jordan Mills held strong against an exotic scheme in a hostile environment. Cutler was sacked only twice in a game in which six wouldn’t have been a surprise in the past. There wasn’t an adequate push in the running game with the exception of Matt Forte‘s 55-yard run, when Mills delivered a nice block on Lawrence Timmons. Power O was a popular call by [Bears head coach Marc] Trestman.”

It’s true that the Bears line has been getting a lot of help the first three games. Its rare when tight end Martellus Bennet isn’t in the game along with one of the two running backs, Matt Forte or Michael Bush. Nevertheless, Biggs nails it when he says that this was a type of defense where a lot of sacks would have been racked up in the past. Help or not, the offensive line, along with the coaching staff, deserves a great deal of credit. They did a wonderful job picking up the blitz, something they’ll need to continue to do with other 3-4 teams, not the least of which is the Packers, ahead on the schedule.

Adam L. Jahns at the Chicago Sun-Times on the frequency with which the Beas resorted to the blitz Sunday night to get pressure on the quarterback:

“[Bears head coach Marc] Trestman acknowledged the Bears increased their number of blitzes against the Steelers, going from roughly 25 percent of their plays in Weeks 1 and 2 to around 33 percent. It resulted in two sacks by D.J. Williams and one by Lance Briggs.

“‘It was just two or three more blitzes than we probably normally run in a game,’ Trestman said.”

It seemed like a lot more than that. In any case the frequency was too high. The lack of pressure from the front four is a major concern. The Bears gave up huge chunks of yardage in the second half as the Steelers burned then repeatedly when they blitzed to make up for the deficit.