Game 7 preview: Redskins at Bears

1. Who: Washington Redskins [3-3] v. Chicago Bears [4-2]
What: Week 7 of the 2010 NFL season
When: Sunday, 24 October at 1 PM ET
Where: Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois
Why: You got something better to do than watch football on Sunday?

Position Comparison

POSITION
BEARS
REDSKINS

Quarterback
EVEN
EVEN

Running Back
EVEN
EVEN

Receivers

Advantage

Offensive Line

Advantage

Defensive Line
Advantage

Linebackers
Advantage

Secondary

Advantage

Special Teams
EVEN
EVEN

Coaching

Advantage

Home Field
Advantage

Redskins on Defense

The bad news is that the Redskins are dead last in the NFL in yardage defense, giving up 420 yards per game. An inability to stop teams on first and second down has forced Redskins defenders to play 420 plays from scrimmage this season, tops in the NFL. The Redskins give up 5.9 yards per play, 29th in the NFL. Only the Buccaneers, Jaguars, and Texans are worse. THe Redskins are ranked 31st against the pass and 24th against the run. The Redskins give up 4.7 yards per carry, 27th in the NFL. These are all causes for considerable concern, perhaps even pessimism, going into Sunday’s game.

On the other hand, the passing statistics are somewhat skewed because the Redskins have faced four of the top five offenses in the NFL in the first six games — Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, and Philadelphia. And the Redskins won’t face a top offense this Sunday in Chicago — the Bears are the 29th-ranked offense in the NFL. The passing offense is ranked only 22nd, in the league, though that’s a bit misleading since 6 quarters of the season were played with backup quarterbacks who may never see the game against the Redskins. However, the Bears have given up an NFL-high 27 sacks this season, including 16 in the last two weeks against the Giants and Seahawks — both losses. The Mike Martz offense is predicated on sending 5 receivers into patterns, leaving only five blockers to protect the quarterback. In addition, the Bears have had to shuffle their offensive line constantly this season, mostly due to performance issues. Edwin Williams, whom the Redskins cut in the offseason, is a starter in Chicago.

Expect the Redskins to blitz early and often against the Bears and QB Jay Cutler. The Bears have demonstrated they cannot handle a strong pass rush so Defensive Coordinator Jim Haslett will move OLB Brian Orakpo [team-high 5 sacks] around, searching for the most advantageous angle. Expect Orakpo to mostly face LT Frank Omiyale, who has been overpowered at times this season. Haslett is also likely to mix in blitzes from the secondary, sending CB Carlos Rogers, SS Reed Doughty and SS Laron Landry. Cutler is mobile and athletic so he won’t be easy to tackle, but recent history indicates Cutler simply isn’t yet ready to throw the ball as quickly as the Martz offense requires.

The Redskins must pay attention to RB Matt Forte, not so much as a runner, but as a receiver. Forte is playing the Marshall Faulk role in this offense and while he’s not Faulk, he has demonstrated he can move the chains and go the distance as a receiver. Washington’s linebackers are not good in coverage so Forte should be able to make some plays.

The Bears don’t run the ball much — only 5 times in the second half of a close game last week — but they may try to do so against the Redskins. Washington gives up 4.7 yards per carry, a terrible number, and even the Colts were able to run very effectively against the Redskins. The best way to slow down the Redskins pass rush is to run the ball at its weak defensive line. Expect Martz to swallow his pride a bit and try to run the ball against the Redskins. If he can do it, Washington will be in for a long day. The Redskins need much stouter run defense from NT Maake Kemoeatu, DE Adam Carriker and DL Albert Haynesworth than they have gotten so far.

Redskins on Offense

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