Chicago Bears: 10 Keys to Winning the NFC

Seen as a bit of an outsider from the outset of the 2011-12 season, the Chicago Bears have garnered new found believers after their thrashing of the Atlanta Falcons. It certainly will not always be smooth sailing, but the Bears look like a team to reckoned with this year.

The road will be tough, but if a few things go their way and they can keep playing at a high level, the Bears could be playing in the Super Bowl in Indianapolis next February. All teams have similar needs and certainly with a list like this most teams will fall under the criteria, but for the Bears especially these issues will be paramount if they want to be kings of the NFC.

10. Stay Healthy

A key to any team and something that cannot really be taught avoiding injuries is paramount. Particularly for a Bears team does not have great depth and can ill avoid players going down. They are already thin at the offensive line and if Lance Louis cannot play and Chris Spencer has to fill in, the Bears are left with very little on the bench beside a shaky-at-best Edwin Williams.

The linebacking core, while still one of the best in the NFL with Lance Briggs and Brain Urlacher, has virtually no one else who could fill in for an injury. Urlacher is expected to play Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, which is huge because the Bears do not have a solid No. 2 middle linebacker. 

9. Special Teams

With Dave Toub at the helm, the Bears special teams unit is the best in football. They have great kick and punt returners, very good kick coverage and an excellent field goal kicker in Robbie Gould. New punter Adam Podlesh was very good in his Bears debut, with six punts that went for an average of 48 yards.

The Bears need continued production out of the special teams unit like they did last year and in 2006-07 when they went to the Super Bowl.  

8. Creative Play Calling

Mike Martz specialty is being creative with his offenses and asking them to learn complicated schemes and plays. The screen pass to Forte that went for a touchdown against the Falcons was a great play call on a fake reverse. If the Bears continue to throw those wrinkles into the offense the team will flourish this season and be difficult to defend against.

The Bears must get time from the offensive line to run them and everybody must to able to sell the plays, but when it all clicks it works beautifully. They must continue to try and push the envelope and get yards with clever play-calling.

7. Limit Turnovers

This is obvious, and it applies to any team in the league. However, this has been a problem spot for the Bears and famously for any Mike Martz offense.

Cutler can be erratic at times, but few quarterbacks do not have that problem. Matt Forte can be relied on to hold onto the ball and has only fumbled 10 times in 827 games. The Bears are a field position team, especially in the winter, so holding onto the ball will be key in order for them to have shorter fields and keep the opponents' offense from having a short field.

Every team turns the ball over, but the team that wins the turnover battle usually will win the game.  

6. Find Different Receivers

Jay Cutler hit eight different receivers against Atlanta without a definitive No. 1 wide receiver, which went a long way toward the offense's success. With questions abound among the receiver core, taking pressure off of any one player will remain a priority, and it also keeps the defense guessing.

Even though there is no top receiver, the Bears do have three or four players who can be relied upon to catch passes. And with the tight ends and running backs also being able to catch, Cutler and Mike Martz can draw up plays for all different players.

While other teams have a definitive No. 1 receiver who has to be doubled team or at least have a safety cheat over the Bears have everybody on the offense able to catch. This will be the best way for the Bears to gain favorable matchups in the secondary. 

5. Screen Game

The Bears run the screen as well as anybody in the league, and they proved it against the Falcons.

Against the athletic and pursuit heavy defenses in the NFC North, it will be even more important for them to keep sprinkling in screen plays. With the athleticism the Bears have on offense they can run a screen not only to Forte, but also Devin Hester or Johnny Knox and even Dane Sanzenbacher.

The screen is a great weapon to have, and the Bears definitely have it.

4. Takeaways

The Bears forced three turnovers against the Falcons, which were huge in securing the game.

Head coach Lovie Smith has created a Bears defense that is predicated on being able to force turnovers and to capitalize on offensive mistakes. With the Cover-2 defense, teams can pick up a few first downs. But the Bears will allow that and try to punch out the ball when tackling or step into a throwing lane for a pick.

If the front four can consistently get pressure on their own they will force opposing quarterbacks to rush themselves and make errant throws. Just like with not committing turnovers, the Bears must force takeaways to win. 

3. Balanced Offense

The Bears ran the ball 27 times against the Falcons and threw it 32 times. That is great balance for the Bears, and it keeps the defense on their toes.

Even though they only ran for 3.3 yards per carry, the Bears showed throughout the game that they would not give up on the run. Almost more importantly, though, the Bears had 9.8 yards per pass play. This forced the Falcons to honor Chicago's passing down the field and short throughout the entire game.

The Bears were balanced as far to run and pass is concerned, but also as far as throwing downfield, short and medium was concerned as well. A well-balanced offense, like a well-balanced diet, is always good for the health of a team.

2. Protect Jay Cutler

Protecting the quarterback is absolutely the number one priority for an offense. In the Bears' case, a much publicized and maligned offensive line amplifies it.

They protected Cutler well in the game against the Falcons, and they created holes for Forte and Khalil Bell to run through; but they did not answer every question. If the Bears can get consistent protection without having to leave an extra back or tight end in to block, then Cutler can tear apart defenses.

It will not be easy, though, and both tackles, Gabe Carimi and J’Marcus Webb, had some blocking woes in the first game. Still, I was impressed with the line, and if they keep improving, this Bears team will have double-digit wins.  

1. Pressure the Opposing Quarterback

The Bears were great at harassing Matt Ryan in Week 1 and need to keep up the pressure against the great Saints offense. This will be a running question for the Bears throughout the season. They have to face the Saints, the Packers twice, a good Lions offense twice, the Eagles and the Chargers.

Henry Melton looks to be a true pass rusher. With all the attention Julius Peppers gets on the end Melton, Amobi Okoye and Matt Toeaina will have opportunities to burst through the middle being blocked one on one. As well, Israel Idonije and Nick Reed will also have one-on-one chances when Peppers lines up opposite them, and it is vital for Idonije and Reed to get pressure on the quarterbacks.

One of the positions the Bears have true depth at is the defensive line and with their ability to rotate the line should be healthy and able to get consistent pressure and that will be a necessity.