Chicago Bears vs. Philadelphia Eagles: 10 Keys To Stopping Vick and the Eagles
Another week, another win for the Bears. Another week, another win for the Eagles. Yet in each case the winning team feels it isn't getting the respect it deserves. The Bears haven't played anyone except the Packers. Miami was banged up. Michael Vick is the only reason the Eagles are winning. And so on.
But there is no doubt that if the Bears beat the Eagles on Sunday, they will be taken for real. At 8-3 they would own the tie-breaker over Green Bay and have a lot of confidence in the toughest part of their schedule.
But the story seems to be Mike Vick vs the Bears defense.
Vick, who had a monster game against Washington two weeks ago and a good game against the Giants, is 5-1 on the season. He's running as well as ever but now he's throwing the ball more accurately than ever. Yet the Bears defense is stout, so this should be a terrific matchup.
I guess that's why they changed it to a 3:15PM start!
Avoid The Shootout
1 of 10
Mike Martz and Jay Cutler need to avoid the whole Cutler-Vick shootout talk and instead focus on doing the things the Bears offense has been doing since the bye week. A balanced offense, with plenty of running plays, short drops, and quick-release throws keeps Cutler form making the mistakes that kill this team.
If Martz can continue utilizing the Bears offensive strengths and not get carried away with the home run ball, they can let their defense and special teams win the game.
The Eagles picked off Eli Manning three times and also recovered two fumbles so Cutler does not want to have to force it downfield.
By running, they keep the defense fresh and control the time of possession.
Bears Have a Good History With Vick
2 of 10
History shows the Bears fared well against Vick during his time in Atlanta. The Bears beat Vick on multiple occasions in both the Dick Jauron and Lovie Smith era, holding the quarterback relatively in-check in every meeting.
Vick went 13-for-32 with two interceptions in the Bears 16-3 victory over Atlanta in 2005.
In three meetings against Vick and the Atlanta Falcons, Brian Urlacher sacked the quarterback three times and registered 35 tackles. Now, this isn't the same Vick, but maybe it will get into his head a little bit.
Urlacher needs to have a big game.
The Student Has Become The Teacher
3 of 10
The way Jay Cutler was talking it would seem that he was the teacher and Mike Martz was the student.
Per ESPNChicago.com, Cutler's mobility has become a weapon for the Bears. And offensive coordinator Mike Martz, who's in his first year with Cutler and the Bears, is becoming more flexible.
"I've been doing it since high school, obviously with [Mike Shanahan] in Denver," Cutler said. "That was one of his staples.
"It's a little new to Mike. He's never really done that. He's never really called it. In the heat of the battle of a game, that doesn't click with him to dial those up. But he's learning real quickly. He's definitely incorporating those, putting emphasis on that to get me out of the pocket and call some plays that way."
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Show Vick He's Not The Only Mobile QB
4 of 10
Jay Cutler is no Michael Vick, but he can run the ball a little bit and he needs to continue using his legs to escape the rush and keep the drives going.
Since Cutler has started using his feet more, the line looks better and the Bears have suddenly started converting third downs, something which was a huge problem before the bye week.
Pressure & Contain Vick
5 of 10
The Eagles running game success has been skewed by the running of Mike Vick. The Bears can stop the run, they just need to pressure Vick and stop his runs, especially on third down. Sure, LeSean McCoy finished the game with 14 carries for 111 yards, but most of his yards came on runs late in the game.
So far this season the Eagles have not won a game when they have rushed for fewer than 106 yards. Meanwhile, the Bears defense holds teams to a 78 point yard average.
You do the math.
And the Bears have to get pressure from Israel Idonije in addition to Julius Peppers. As ESPN's Michael Wright noted, "When the Giants sent a defensive back, Vick completed just 6 of 16 for 66 yards, in addition to suffering two sacks. When New York elected to not pressure from the secondary, the quarterback completed 18 of 22 for 192 yards."
The Bears have noticed another trend — forcing Vick to scramble to his right is tougher on the lefty QB.
The three times Vick scrambled right, the quarterback gained 13 yards, no first downs, and never attempted a pass.
A Healthy Dose Of Devin Hester
6 of 10
Special teams may be the difference in this game. If Devin can run one back, it would not only set a record but it would be a welcome sight. But even if they are smart and try to kick away form him, that often results in good field position.
Secondary Needs To Continue To Man Up
7 of 10Michael Vick's NFL-leading passer rating of 115.1 would be the third highest in a single season all-time if it holds.
The defense normally counts on taking the ball away, but Vick has not thrown an interception in 180 straight passing attempts. To show just how efficient the Eagles are at protecting the ball, they have just nine turnovers, tied for second-lowest in the NFL. Their plus-12 turnover differential is the best in the league.
Offensive Line Needs To Protect Jay
8 of 10
The Eagles have at least one sack in 28 straight games, the longest current streak in the NFL.
Eagles cornerback Ellis Hobbs, who was down on the field for 11 minutes during Sunday night's 27-17 win over the New York Giants, suffered a disc injury in his neck, an MRI revealed Monday, and will be out at least one week so that may help slightly in the Bears passing game.
Sure, Jay using his feet helps avoid the rush and prolong drives, but the blocking has been better of late and this needs to continue.
Stop The Big Play
9 of 10
Interesting nugget from the Philadelphia Inquirer: The Eagles have scored 11 TDs from outside the red zone, which ranks first in the NFL. That shows that the big play is definately a big part of the Eagles arsenal.
The Bears defense needs to stay disciplined, because Vick has a strong arm and can throw the ball deep. The defense has to play fundamentally sound because Vick has been more accurate than he ever was.
For Once, The Cover-2 Is a Friend
10 of 10
As ESPN's Jon Greenberg wrote, "As expected, the Bears said to a man they won't change the fundamentals of their defense to challenge Vick. Yes, the Bears will be playing mostly Cover 2. No surprise there, but you can believe there will be some spies and some extra focus on discipline this week. A few Bears noticed how much time Vick has had to throw this season. Making him scramble when he's looking to throw is key, while respecting he can break out at any time."
"We've played Michael Vick before, he's a great player," Smith said. "We normally do what we do with our defense. We're not going to change up what we do. We believe in our defense and it's set up to play guys like him."
It's believed the best way to defend Vick is to keep the safeties deep to eliminate big plays from Philadelphia's receivers, which would force the quarterback to settle for shorter gains in the passing game. That's already one of the basic tenets of Chicago's defensive system.. Here's what Chris Harris had to say:
"We've been talking about it already," Harris said. "We've got to make sure we stay deep, in Cover 2 especially. We've got to get back, and not come up until you know for sure that it's a run or that he's broken the line of scrimmage. Man, with a guy like DeSean Jackson, when you see him building up [speed] you've got to open up [and run], man. You've got to go. We play Cover 2, so our job as safeties is to be as deep as the deepest, and not let anything behind us. Up to this point in the season, we've done a good job of that."
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Post-June 1 Trade Candidates ☎️")
.JPG?w=600 "TO Talks Cowboys Relationship")
.jpg?w=600 "Taylor Heinicke Retiring")
.jpg?w=600 "49ers OC Hypes Mike Evans 🤩")