Vikings vs. Bears: What Are Experts Saying About Minnesota?

The Minnesota Vikings (4-5) will travel to Soldier Field this coming weekend to face the Chicago Bears (3-6) in a critical division matchup. While the Vikings were on bye last weekend, the Bears were at Lambeau Field playing against the Green Bay Packers (6-3) on Sunday Night Football. 

After allowing 51 points the previous weekend to the New England Patriots (6-2), the result of the Bears' showdown with the Packers was equally as disappointing, as Chicago allowed 50-plus points and lost for the second consecutive week.

With Chicago quickly slipping out of playoff contention and Minnesota riding a hot streak, the Vikings will look to take advantage of a reeling Bears defense and climb closer to playoff contention.

Although the Bears have not won at home this season (0-3), they have won six straight matchups with the Vikings at Soldier Field. Minnesota will attempt to end this losing streak, but when it comes to divisional contests, anything can happen.

Let's see what the experts have to say about the Vikings this week.

Mark Schlereth, Jerome Bettis: Bears Will Defeat Vikings

Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

Despite the Vikings' recent winning streak and the Bears' current losing streak, NFL Live analysts Mark Schlereth and Jerome Bettis picked Chicago to defeat Minnesota this weekend.

After host Trey Wingo introduced the Bears with a narrative concerning their struggling defense, Schlereth jumped in:

"

Alright, I'm not even going to give you any analytical information here. This is about pride. This is a pride game. At some point, the Chicago Bears have to bow their back and say 'We're not going to take it anymore.' There is too much talent on the offensive side of the football for them to continue playing this poorly. If you have any pride at all, this is the game where you just bow your back and you win.

"

Immediately following Schlereth's comments, Bettis hopped in to support the former offensive lineman's take:

"

I agree with you 100 percent. I call this 'Custer's Last Stand.' They have to find a way to win this football game without question because if they don't, there are going to become those whispers of somebody needing to go. So you don't want to get that way, you know, in a situation where you have a second-year coach, you got a quarterback who just got a ton of money and now you gotta start changing the framework of this team. So, they've gotta win this football game, I'm going with Chicago.

"

Simply put, both Schlereth and Bettis picked the Bears because both former NFL players believe Chicago cannot afford to lose disgracefully again. Neither analyst supported his claim with any evidence—in fact Schlereth stated there was nothing behind his take. While both analysts make important points concerning the Bears' recent losing streak, there is nothing convincing about their related takes.

On paper, the Bears are the superior team on offense, and the Vikings are much better on defense. While the Bears are producing many more yards on offense, they are only averaging roughly three more points per game. In addition, the Bears defense is allowing an average of eight more points per game than the Vikings defense.

As a result, average team statistics suggest the Vikings will win this game. While Minnesota has struggled to beat Chicago at Soldier Field, the Bears have been unable to win at home against any team. For these reasons, I am going to, once again, predict against the NFL Live crew and pick the Vikings to defeat the Bears.

My Score Prediction: Vikings 31, Bears 17

Brian Hall: Special Teams Performance 'Unacceptable'

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Aside from kicker Blair Walsh, who has been exceptional this season, the Vikings have played miserably on special teams. From mistakes in return coverage to unnecessary penalties, Minnesota has consistently played average in a frequently unnoticed—but critically important—phase of every football game.

In his recent article, Brian Hall of Fox Sports North shared quotes from Vikings special teams coach Mike Priefer regarding his displeasure with his group's performance:

"

The biggest thing that I took away from our self-scout study was that right now I think we're an average special teams unit. We've played solid at times. We haven't really hurt our football team. We haven't really helped our football team. Not to the extent that we've done that in the past. 

I'm not disappointed in where we're at, but I expect a lot more from our guys. And I told them that this week. We're not an average group. We've got good players. We've got good returners. We've got good specialists. But right now we're playing at an average level and that's, to me, unacceptable.

"

Simply, Priefer expects more from his special teams group. In 2013, the Vikings' special teams group, led by then-rookie kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson, led the NFL in average yards per return and touchdowns. This season, however, Patterson ranks 11th in average yards per return and has yet to return a kickoff for a score.

On top of Patterson's impressive 2013 season, Hall also notes the work of punt returner Marcus Sherels, writing, "Patterson and Sherels each set single-season franchise records last season for their respective return averages. The opportunities haven't been the same this year."

While Hall notes that Priefer believes Patterson and Sherels are both making the right decisions, he did voice that penalties have been an issue for his team this season:

"

Penalties have also been an issue leading to poor field position. Minnesota has had a special teams penalty in all but one game this season and most have negated quality returns. 

Priefer essentially admitted Thursday that penalties led to rookies Antone Exum and Jabari Price being inactive in the last game. Exum and Price were both repeat offenders with penalties.

"

Exum and Price, who were late-round selections during May's draft, have been the culprits for multiple unnecessary special teams penalties. As a result, Priefer and head coach Mike Zimmer deactivated the pair of rookie defensive backs for the team's most recent contest against the Washington Redskins.

Coming out of the team's bye week, Priefer hopes the Vikings special teams will become more of an asset moving forward. If Minnesota can find a way to take an advantage on special teams—an area where it was elite in 2013—the Vikings should be able to defeat the Bears this coming weekend and compete with multiple other playoff contenders on their schedule moving forward.

Matt Vensel: Vikings Roll the Dice with Young Defensive Backs

Adam Bettcher/Getty Images

The Vikings pass defense currently ranks fourth in the NFL against the pass, just one season after ranking 31st overall. A lot of this success can be attributed to the growth of their young defensive backs and the leadership of Captain Munnerlyn, who was signed this past offseason during free agency.

While the Vikings pass defense has been very successful this season, the group is extremely young. As Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis Star Tribune notes in his recent article, the oldest player in the Vikings secondary, Munnerlyn, is only 26 years old.

"

Munnerlyn, mostly by default, is the oldest starter in a Vikings secondary that has grown up quickly during Mike Zimmer’s first season as head coach. With an average age of 24.6 in their starting nickel group, the Vikings have one of the NFL’s youngest secondaries.

"

Munnerlyn is in just his sixth NFL season—his first with the Vikings—yet he is considered the "geezer" of a very young Vikings secondary. While the Vikings defensive secondary is very young, this was a conscious decision made by the coaching staff. Vensel notes that the Vikings did have the option to roster veteran defensive backs Chris Crocker, Kurt Coleman and Derek Cox, but they ultimately went with the group of young men out there today.

When asked about this decision, head coach Mike Zimmer gave a very "Zimmer" response. 

"You know, I really don’t look at the age of guys," he said. "I look [at the fact] that they’re our players, and we have to figure out how to try and get them better and those things."

There have been growing pains. As Vensel notes, the collective group struggled a bit against big-name quarterbacks Tom Brady and Drew Brees early in the season but has played very well as of late.

"

Looking at progress individually, collective improvement is not always evident on a week-to-week basis. Rhodes graded out highly in the Atlanta game. Blanton got high marks in Buffalo. Gray really liked what he saw from Robinson in Tampa. But add it all together and compare it with, say, late September, and it’s easy to see how far this group has come.

"

Naturally, the beginning is always the most difficult part—as noted by defensive backs coach Jerry Gray—and the Vikings had the "luxury" of facing multiple high-profile quarterbacks early in the season. Although Kyle Orton and Mike Glennon generally are not considered top quarterbacks in the league, the Vikings' young secondary did its job very well. You simply cannot ask for much more than that, regardless of who the quarterback is.

"We just have fun, man," Xavier Rhodes said. “We learn from one another. We teach other things. It’s a good vibe, a family vibe."

If the Vikings want to have fun this weekend, they will need to shut down one of the best aerial attacks in the NFL, led by quarterback Jay Cutler and the top wide receiver tandem of Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery.

Only time will tell if the Vikings young secondary can past this test, but recent history suggests the group should be able to find success against the Bears' impressive passing offense.

Mike Wobschall: Everson Griffen vs. Jared Allen

Andy King/Getty Images

Even with all the reports surrounding running back Adrian Peterson and the significance of this matchup, it would be difficult to not mention Jared Allen in a discussion about the Vikings and Bears. Allen, who spent the last six years of his career with the Vikings, is in his first season of a multiyear contract with Chicago and will have his first chance to play Minnesota since his departure.

In his "Ticketmaster Hot Matchup" article for this week, Vikings.com reporter Mike Wobschall discussed Allen and Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen.

Wobschall opens his article by pointing to the importance of the quarterback position in today's NFL and how that makes players such as Griffen and Allen—those capable of neutralizing the quarterback—so important.

Allen was highly productive for the Vikings, as Wobschall notes, tallying double-digit sack totals in each season with the team and nearly surpassing the single-season NFL sack record in 2011 with a total of 22. However, Griffen has also been incredibly successful this year with the Vikings, notching nine sacks through his first 10 games in replacement of Allen as the Vikings' starting defensive end opposite of Brian Robison.

Wobschall writes:

"

Griffen’s 9.0 sacks this season dwarf the production Allen has been able to muster (1.5 sacks) in his first season with the Bears. But the Vikings know very well that Allen’s production will increase at a moment’s notice. At one point in his Vikings career, Allen had at least a .5 sack in 11 straight games and he had an incredible run of 23.5 sacks in 18 games during the 2010 and 2011 seasons.

"

The point I would like to highlight from this Wobschall quote is Allen's ability to increase production at a moment's notice. While Griffen has been the superior sacker in 2014, Vikings fans know very well that Allen has a tendency to increase performance in the heat of battle. One of the best—and most thrilling—showings of this came against Donald Penn and the Tampa Buccaneers in 2012.

Allen was a big part of the Vikings defense for a number of years. He may not be the same player he once was, but he still has an incredibly high motor and will give Matt Kalil all he has this coming Sunday.

With that said, the team that is able to better neutralize the opposing team's best pass-rusher could very well be the victor of this weekend's key divisional matchup.

Ben Goessling: Cordarrelle Patterson Looks to Spark Return Game

David Banks/Getty Images

While Patterson has not lived up to expectations so far this season, few have forgotten how he burst onto the scene last season with his explosive kick return ability. Patterson's recognition as one of the most dangerous kick returns in the NFL all began last season against the Bears.

In a recent article, Ben Goessling of ESPN.com noted this ability and both Patterson and special teams coach Mike Priefer's anxiousness to see the Pro Bowler take one to the house.

Goessling began his article by recounting Patterson's return against the Bears last season:

"

Patterson fielded the ball five yards deep in the end zone, surged through an alley sealed off by John Carlson and Joe Berger on one side and Zach Line and Matt Asiata on the other. He made kicker Robbie Gould miss, and raced down the right sideline for a touchdown, covering the distance in 13 seconds that showed the Vikings' kick return game was going to be just fine without Percy Harvin.

"

The Vikings, who had traded Harvin to the Seattle Seahawks before drafting Patterson, were looking for a player who could bring the same type of special teams burst without the "headache." Patterson made it quite clear early that he was capable of being that player, but he has yet to show this again in his encore performance.

A lot of the lack of explosion from Patterson has come from opposing teams doing an excellent job defending against him, per Goessling:

"

Teams are angling kickoffs to Patterson, occasionally squibbing the ball to avoid him altogether and doing a better job of hammering the ball out of the end zone. According to ESPN Stats and Information, 56.1 percent of kickoffs have resulted in touchbacks this season (up from 48.8 percent last season, though the touchback percentage could drop in colder weather).

"

Patterson has also made a few errors this season, as Goessling notes, but Priefer takes full responsibility for this, stating that he taught Patterson to be "too aggressive." He exemplifies this statement in Patterson's choice to bring out a kick during the Redskins game that resulted in Minnesota's offense beginning at the 10-yard line.

Fortunately, unlike some other Vikings who have had their confidence shattered by disappointing performances this season, Patterson remains confident in his ability to have an impact on kick returns:

"

It's been a struggle for me the last couple weeks on kickoff returns; I've missed some seams. I've been taking some out where I should have taken a knee. [But] I had one last year on them. If he kicks me the ball, I hope I just take one to the house.

"

While Chicago has struggled mightily on defense this season, it has done a nice job holding opposing team's kick returns to a minimum, allowing an average of just 20.2 yards per return this season. Patterson may feel comfortable against Chicago, as it is the place he truly began to establish himself as a special teams threat, but he will have his work cut out for him this weekend.

With that said, Patterson has not been "bad" this season; he just has not played up to the expectations he set for himself last season.

At the end of the day, the Vikings would take the "average" special teams performance from Patterson if he were able to have an impact on offense as a wide receiver. He has flashed the ability to do so, and the Bears defense has been dreadful this season. While this game may not feature a kick return touchdown for Patterson, look for him to play a big role on offense as he attempts to have more impact during the second half of the Vikings' season.

For more Vikings news and analysis, follow me on Twitter @RobertReidellMN