Chicago Bears: 3 Keys Against the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football

The Bears head into Detroit to face the Lions on Monday Night Football with three looming questions:

Can Chicago’s injured blockers hold up against Detroit’s talented defensive line? Nick Fairley might see action this week, making a tough matchup even harder.

Will Calvin Johnson play nice against the Chicago secondary? His eight touchdowns in four games have the Bears concerned their safety-go-round is just another playground toy.

Can Devin Hester, the reigning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week, provide another spark?

If the Bears want to escape the Lion’s den with a win, they’ll need answers…

Chicago Offensive Line

Bears Projected Starters:
LT – J’Marcus Webb
LG – Chris Williams
C – Roberto Garza
RG – Chris Spencer/Lance Louis
RT – Lance Louis/Frank Omiyale

Webb, Williams, Garza and Louis will play. Spencer (broken hand) and Omiyale (Mr. False Start) will both see action. But whether any combination will work against the Lions fearsome front remains to be seen.

If Bears offensive line coach Mike Tice thinks the one-handed Spencer can be effective against Ndamukong Suh, he will start at right guard with Louis at right tackle. That’s the Bears preferred group.

If Spencer can’t go, or can’t be effective with one hand in a cast, Louis will slide inside to guard and Omiyale will play right tackle.

Truth is, until five guys play consistently well, the Bears O-line is more like a buffet line: a little of this, a little of that and nothing great.

Lions Defensive Line

Lions Projected Starters:
LE – Cliff Avril
DT – Ndamukong Suh
DT – Corey Williams
RE – Kyle Vanden Bosch

The Detroit line is the most talented the Bears have seen. But that talent doesn’t always translate to production; the Lions didn’t sack Romo last week until late in the fourth quarter, when everyone in the stadium knew they were passing.

The Lions are most concerned about stopping Matt Forte and the run first. 

As Suh said on Wednesday, “I definitely think the Bears are going to try to run the ball, and they’re smart for that. They probably know that crowd noise is going to have a big effect for Jay Cutler to be in passing situations, but they can be in pretty solid run situations and run downhill.”

If Suh, Cliff Avril and Kyle Vanden Bosch play well against a banged up Bears line it could get ugly. Worse, Nick Fairley and the Lions are being coy about his potential debut so don’t rule him out either. Just one play from the big man could be the difference.

Key 1: Bears O-Line vs. Lions D-Line

What to watch:

Right side of the Bears line

Chicago will run to the right side to combat the blitz with blockers. An effective Chris Spencer and an aggressive rushing attack would neutralize the Detroit pass rush. Whether that happens is the question. 

QB Pressure

Detroit doesn’t have to sack Cutler to be effective. Hurrying throws, getting knockdowns or quarterback hits add up, too. A jittery Jay Cutler makes moves that would get him tossed from Dancing With the Stars. And it signals a Bears offensive collapse.

Chicago Safeties

The Bears allowed 181 yards to Steve Smith last week.

Calvin Johnson had eight catches for 96 yards that same day, with five receptions in the fourth quarter alone. And he caught two touchdown passes for the fourth game in a row. 

181 + 96 (Two TD) = Trouble.

Multiply that by the number of starting safety combinations the Bears have employed this season and you’ve got a problem Chicago must solve.

Unfortunately, injuries to Chris Harris and spotty play by Major Wright, Craig Steltz, rookie Chris Conte and newcomer Brandon Meriweather, leave the Bears with poor solutions.

The answer could be Harris, who pronounced himself healthy enough to play. The Pro-Bowler would be a welcome return to a starting rotation including Meriweather and Wright. Steltz could see some playing time, too, but the Bears hope he and Conte stay on the bench—that would mean the starters are healthy, rested and playing well.

Megatron

At 6’5” and 240 lbs, Calvin Johnson is the fastest, pass-catching linebacker ever to line up at wide receiver.

And he’s the toughest test for the Bears secondary so far this season—a statement considering what Steve Smith did to them (again).

By now you know: he’s caught two TD passes in four straight games. Yup, that’s a record. Cris Carter also accomplished the feat but Johnson is the only one to do it the first four games of a season.

Some think Calvin has a shot at Randy Moss’ all-time record of 23 TDs in a season. Unbelievable as that would seem, he's on pace to do it in Week 12.

He has to slow down, right?

Not against Chicago.

Johnson has beat man coverage, zone coverage, double-teams and triple-teams (see video) for four straight weeks. It’s hard to believe the Bears can stop him.

Containment plus luck seems be the only game plan in the NFL. It's currently 0-4.

Key 2: Johnson vs. Bears Coverage

What to Watch: 

Bears’ Safety Rotation
 

Harris is coming off a hamstring pull. Meriweather is still learning the playbook but offers muscle and experience. Major Wright, Craig Steltz and Chris Conte must be capable back-ups because all five Chicago safeties could play.

 Seam routes up the hash marks, especially by tight ends and bigger receivers, have been a problem for every Bears safety combo through four games. 

Calvin Johnson in the Red Zone
 

The Lions look at Jahvid Best, Brandon Pettigrew and Titus Young between the 20-yard lines.

But Calvin owns the red zone. (He probably sleeps there.) 

And the Bears must be vigilant for 60 minutes: last week Johnson did his damage in the fourth  quarter.

Dangerous Devin

The Lions are second in the NFL in scoring, averaging 33.8 points per game. The problem with scoring against Chicago is teams must then kick to Devin Hester.

Surprisingly, the new kickoff rule may increase Hester's totals.

Expect the Lions to try and punt away from him and aim for the endzone on kickoffs.

Then remember: every team plans to do that against Hester. Every week.

So where do his returns come from?

Punts intended for the sidelines are often shanked, putting them out of bounds too quickly or right down the middle of the field (and easily returned). The Bears get good field position either way.

On kickoffs, Jason Hanson averages a touchback 55 percent of the time when playing at home. That’s close to the league average and means kicks are returned about half the time. Those opportunities count, too.

Like most teams, the Bears have return packages for each type of kickoff (left, center or right, deep vs. short, etc). But Chicago is willing to take more chances because of Hester. So, even if the ball goes seven to nine yards deep in the end zone they’ll bring it out if they like their blocking call.

Simply put, the Bears actively try to let Hester do what he does better than anyone in history: return kicks.

Key 3: Hester and Field Position Battles

What to Watch:

Devin Hester

 He can score every time he touches the ball. Look for one of his signature moves: a hesitation after the catch to let coverage commit, followed by a cutback and explosive acceleration. Tacklers who dive at Hester don’t last long in the NFL. For the Lions to be successful they must contain him first and tackle as a team.

Field Position

 Detroit’s return game is not great; they’re 25^th in kick return average at 21.4 yards and 23^rd in punt return average, with 8.2 yards. The sample size is small, however, and they don’t return deep kicks. 

On the other side, the Bears return game is arguably the best in the NFL. They rank third in total kick return yards and second in punt return average, at a ridiculous 21.8 yards. That should consistently give the field position edge to Chicago.

Overall

How the Bears handle Calvin Johnson could determine the outcome on Monday.

They survived Steve Smith and the Panthers but can't win an offensive shootout against Detroit. Preventing the big play against CJ is top priority. It may also be impossible. 

The Chicago offensive line will be given a chance to dictate the game. But they must overcome injuries and talented defenders, a tough combination.

Don't be surprised to see the Bears try running straight up the middle—Dallas found yards there last week. If the Bears can be successful on the ground in the first quarter they will gladly ride to victory on the legs of Matt Forte. (Again.)

On special teams, a big play by Hester may be the difference. But he doesn't have to score to make an impact. A couple of long returns gives the offense good field position and still provides a momentum boost.

True, the Bears probably need success in all three matchups to beat the Lions. But even two out of three will keep them in the game. 

At least, the Bears hope so.

In the NFL's toughest division the only guarantee is facing each team twice.

The Bears have to win this one just to stay in the hunt.