Chicago Bears Week 2 Stock Report

The first week of the NFL regular season is officially in the books, and the 0-1 Chicago Bears are set to take on the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2 at Soldier Field.

Chicago's offense played consistent football against the Green Bay Packers in Week 1, but the defense could not stop quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Bears gained 402 yards of total offense, but Rodgers tossed three touchdown passes en route to a 31-23 Green Bay victory.

Some of Chicago's starters stood out against the Packers, but others took a step back in their development.

Whose stock is rising and whose stock is falling as the Bears head into their Week 2 matchup with the Cardinals?

Rising: Matt Forte

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On Sunday against the Packers, running back Matt Forte looked like a new man in offensive coordinator Adam Gase's scheme. Forte carried the ball 24 times for 141 yards and scored one rushing touchdown, and he also hauled in five catches for 25 yards.

“It felt good,” Forte said after the game, per Larry Mayer of ChicagoBears.com. “It felt like that’s how it’s supposed to be. This offense runs to be effective out there so that we can open the passing game more."

Chicago's offense slowly become one-dimensional under former head coach Marc Trestman between 2013 and 2014, and Forte was used more as a receiver than a running back during that time.

With Gase now calling plays, the Bears proved on Sunday they are committed to running the football. Forte only carried the football 20-plus times in a game three times last season, but he proved how effective he can be running the football against the Packers.

The Packers continually stacked eight men in the box to slow down Forte, but he was still able to pick up yards against Green Bay's defense.

"Impressive thing about Matt Forte and the run game is Packers often had eight in box, still found daylight and avoided tacklers," tweeted Bleacher Report's Dan Pompei.

Forte did drop a catch that would have resulted in a touchdown, but he said head coach John Fox helped calm him down, per ESPN.com's Jon Greenberg:

"

I couldn’t believe I did that. Coach Fox, he talked to me like, ‘It’s all right, it’s all right, just make up for it.’ So when I scored on the run, he was like, ‘You made up for it.’ That’s another thing playing in this game: Against a team like that, you can’t make those type of mistakes. I got to focus in on the ball better. I knew I was open and got a little too antsy about it.

"

Despite his miscue in the passing game, Forte played a nearly flawless game in Week 1. If the Bears want to make some noise in the NFC, they would be wise to hitch their wagons to Forte and the running game.

Falling: Lamarr Houston

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The Bears signed pass-rusher Lamarr Houston to a long-term deal during the 2014 offseason, but the former Oakland Raider struggled in his first year in Chicago.

After recording just seven total tackles in the first seven games last season, Houston recorded four tackles in Chicago's Week 8 matchup against the New England Patriots before he tore his ACL celebrating his first sack of the season late in the fourth quarter.

Houston spent all offseason rehabbing his injury and adjusting to a new position at outside linebacker, and he finally got back onto the field during the preseason. He did not dress for the preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins, but he played in the final three games and recorded six total tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble.

Pernell McPhee and Jared Allen started at outside linebacker for the Bears on Sunday afternoon, and according to Pro Football Focus, Houston played just four snaps. 

"John Fox said the Packers' hurry-up offense limited Lamarr Houston’s reps," tweeted WGN Radio's Adam Hoge on Monday. "Made it hard to sub."

Houston showed flashes of his ability in the preseason, so it is a bit odd that he received limited snaps on Sunday. Fox's explanation makes sense, but the team appears to like Willie Young at the position over Houston right now.

Young also suffered a season-ending injury last season and moved to outside linebacker this offseason, but according to Pro Football Focus, he played 21 of the team's 60 snaps on defense and finished the game with one quarterback hurry.

Green Bay's hurry-up offense forced Houston to stay on the bench in Week 1, but if he does not see his reps increase in Week 2 against Arizona, he may end up spending much of the season watching from the sidelines.

Rising: Alshon Jeffery

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Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery sat out the entire preseason with a calf injury, but the former Pro Bowler hauled in five passes for 78 yards against the Packers.

“I feel pretty good,” Jeffery said after the game, per the Chicago Sun-Times' Adam Jahns. “The biggest thing is the more I play the better I feel and more confident and with the conditioning of the game, getting in football shape.”

According to Pro Football Focus, the Bears ran 77 plays on offense, but Jeffery played just 60 snaps. He was in and out of the lineup to begin the game, but his snaps increased once the game went on.

He appeared to be laboring at times and did not look 100 percent healthy, but he put in a solid effort in the loss.

In addition to making plays in the passing game, Jeffery also was a factor in the running game. The former South Carolina Gamecock helped clear the way for Forte on a handful of running plays. According to Pro Football Focus, Jeffery played 37 passing plays and was used as a run-blocker on 23 plays.

Even though Jeffery was not at full strength in Week 1, he still made an impact. The Bears are without first-round pick Kevin White for the foreseeable future, and veteran Eddie Royal and third-year man Marquess Wilson are both coming off injuries they suffered in training camp. 

If Jeffery can produce like he did in Week 1 against the Packers and Royal and Wilson can stay healthy, Chicago has a chance to have a productive passing game this season.

Falling: Alan Ball

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

The Bears released veteran cornerback Tim Jennings before the start of the regular season and named veteran Alan Ball as a starter at cornerback opposite of second-year man Kyle Fuller for the regular-season opener.

Ball flashed at times against the Packers and played with good technique, but according to Pro Football Focus, he was targeted five times in the passing game and allowed four catches for 51 yards and two touchdowns. The majority of the catches he allowed came when he went up against Green Bay's James Jones.

Jones—who recently re-signed with the team after spending the 2014 season with the Oakland Raiders—caught all four passes thrown his direction on Sunday—including two touchdowns—when he squared off against Ball.

Jones' first touchdown grab came in the end zone on a beautifully thrown ball by Rodgers. Ball defended the route well, but Rodgers' ball placement was ideal, and Jones came away with the touchdown.

On the second touchdown, Ball gave up the inside on a slant route near the goal line, and the Packers made him pay.

"James Jones is eating up Ball today…can't give up the inside on the [goal line]," tweeted ESPN.com's Matt Bowen at the time. "Slant will get you every time."

Overall, Ball had tight coverage much of the afternoon on Jones, but he struggled once the ball was in the air. Ball is a strong cornerback who has great size (6'2", 195 lbs) for the position, but he spent much of the game playing off coverage.

If the Bears want to get the most out of him moving forward, they would be wise to have him play more bump-and-run coverage on the outside to play to his strengths as a cornerback. Chicago is set to go up against a Cardinals offense that features one of the league's best receivers in Larry Fitzgerald. Expect Arizona to try to exploit Ball's struggles on the outside early in the game.

Rising: Adrian Amos

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The Bears have struggled to develop talent at the safety position over the years, but 2015 fifth-round pick Adrian Amos took a step in the right direction in the team's Week 1 loss.

Amos started the game at free safety, and according to Pro Football Focus, he played every snap on defense against the Packers. He was credited with five total tackles, including one tackle for loss, and he finished with a plus-0.9 overall grade, per Pro Football Focus.

The former Penn State Nittany Lion was not asked to do a lot against the pass, but he did make plays against the run down in the box. 

Before he was drafted, Amos' ability against the run was questioned by NFL.com's Lance Zierlein.

"Doesn't display great sense of urgency in run support," Zierlein wrote in his scouting report. "Takes suspect angles against run from high to low and when lined up near line of scrimmage. Will throw body at runner, but carries no sting behind pads, sliding down target and finishing tackle near ankles at times."

The rookie safety was one of the team's best defenders against the run in Week 1, and he made stops against Packers running back Eddie Lacy in the open field.

Amos paired up with former All-Pro Antrel Rolle in the secondary, and the veteran safety said he has chemistry with the young defensive back.

“We definitely have to have that chemistry, where when we look at each other we know what we’re thinking,” Rolle said, per the Chicago Sun-Times' Patrick Finley. “It comes with practice."

Both Amos and Rolle played well against the run in Week 1, but neither was forced into doing much in the passing game.

"Rolle said safeties weren't very involved because more iso/pick routes than crossers and working middle of field," tweeted ChicagoFootball.com's Arthur Arkush.

The Packers opted to use the middle of the field to gain ground in the passing game, but expect Chicago's safeties to have bigger responsibilities against the pass versus Arizona. In addition to having one of the league's best receivers in Fitzgerald, the Cardinals also have a speed threat in the passing game in receiver John Brown.

If the Bears want to slow down an Arizona offense that totaled 427 yards in Week 1 against the New Orleans Saints, then Amos needs to have a solid game against both the run and the pass.

Statistical information and measurables courtesy of NFL.com unless otherwise noted.

Matt Eurich is a Chicago Bears featured columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.

Follow @MattEurich.