This is what we have been waiting for friends. This is like a mini Super Bowl. It's Robs Pears vs. our Redskins. It's going to be a loo loo. It's an important game for both teams as both are fighting for their division. The Bears are coming off of an embarrassing home loss to the Seahawks and the Redskins are coming off of a tough loss to Indy.
Here are the keys to the game:
1. Sack Cutler. The Pears O line is horrendous. They are starting a guy who was actually cut from the Redskins (Edwin Williams). They have been mixing and matching their O line all year and they have given up like 15 sacks in Cutler's last two games. Orakpo needs to have a field day. Haynesworth should get back in the fray and should get pressure as well. Send Landry in for the occasional blitz to knock Cutler's ass out (yeah, I said knock his ass out). If we can hit/sack Cutler a few times and get consistent pressure on him, we will get turnovers.
2. Get our running game going. The Pears have a decent defense but Torain runs very hard and does not go down often with one guy getting one hit. We need for Torain to keep plugging away and get those hard yards.
3. O line and backs need to pick up the blitz. Urlacher and Briggs consistently line up in the A gap and we need to watch out for these guys. They don't often blitz but if they do, we need to be ready for them. Also, watch out for Tillman on a CB blitz.
4. Play within the Tampa 2 defense. That defense is meant to keep everything in front of them. We should stick with shorter passes. Look for those crossing patterns and utilize Cooley and Davis.
5. McNabb's homecoming. McNabb should play within himself and not get caught up in the moment. Stick to the game plan. He's a veteran that has been in pretty much every situation imaginable so I don't worry too much about this.
6. Take the crowd out. The Pears are in a dangerous spot with their fans as they have lost 2 of their last 3 games. The offense is a mess and Martz has taken a lot of heat recently for the playcalling and particularly the lack of running. I am assuming Forte will get more carries this week and we have to make sure we stop him. If the offense struggles, the crowd could start to turn on the Pears and that would be ideal.
7. DO NOT LET DEVIN HESTER BEAT US. The one thing I absolutely could not tolerate is if Hester beats us. He is the most dangerous punt return man in the game so we have to be very careful with him. We have had excellent special teams on kick and punt return coverages so I feel pretty good about this but still I am sure other teams have been pretty confident about their coverage abilities but Hester is dangerous every time he touches the ball so we need to be very cautious with him.
In the end, I feel good about our chances. I think the Skins are the better team and we will get to Cutler a few times and he isn't the best at reading defenses and he is Jeff George like in that he wants to make the deeper throw even if it means throwing into double coverage and he's trying to thread the needle. Offensively, I think we will be very comfortable taking what the defense gives us. The main thing will be not settling for field goals in the red zone. We need to punch a few in which I think we will do. In the end, the Skins will win this one 24-13.
HAIL SKINS!!!
9 comments:
We'll see who is better.
I expect to see much more balance on offense which will help the very young Bears O-line get into rhythm. The Bears will move the ball against a suspect Deadskin D.
McNabb is not a particularly accurate QB and the Bears D feasts on turnovers against guys like him.
Mini-Devin (Banks) will get stripped. In the end the Bears will impose their will and win.
Bears 24 - Deadskin 13
The Pear O line is ridiculous. I imagine the Redskin defense will come out like gang busters. They will line up for the Pears first offensive play and Fletcher will yell across to Cutler, "THIS IS SPARTA!!!!!" sending shivers down Cutler's spine. He will panic and then Osakpo will hit Jeff Cutler so hard he'll start crying really hard. The game will pretty much be over then and there.
Get my $100 ready, pal.
I'm very comfortable that the O-line will play better and the play calling will be much better. It really can't be as bad as the Giants game.
A few adjustments will be enough to beat a fairly weak Deadskin team. If Martz calls a relatively conservative game the Bears will win.
The story of the game will be 5 Deadskin turnovers. (Banks fumble, Moss fumble, McNabb fumble, and 2 McNabb interceptions against one of the best NFL defenses)
The story of the game will be Cutler crying really hard as he gets hit so hard and contorted so badly his head ends up in his own butt (his head will include his helmet).
Surprised that no one mentioned the need to stop Julius the Beast! He is still a force.
Why is it that the Skins complete short to mid-range passes that don't really provide much opportunity for Yards After Catch? It may be a combination of inaccurate passes from McNabb and our receivers sucking. That's probably why they have so few touchdown catches.
Laron Landry is leading the league in tackles and London Fletcher is in the top 5. This is actually not a good stat. The Skins need to get the Pears off the field in several 3 & outs.
Good point about Peppers. Williams will again have his hands full as will Brown since Peppers switches sides. We will need the TE to get a chip on him just to help out.
The ultimate vindication will be if McNabb gets hurt and Rexy comes in and lights it up.
Stopping the Pears on three and outs is key as well. The Pears will want to run the ball more this week so we have to be prepared for that. I think getting Haynesworth back will be a big plus. I expect him to have a big day against the Pears porous line.
First of all, I doubt either team will win 24-13 only because that's not how the Skins operate. The game will be closer, but the 'Skins will prevail, 20-17. Here's why...
1) Williams will do fine against Peepers. I don't recall Freeny lighting him up and Freeny is much quicker than Poopers. Running may be a bit of an issue with the Bears strong LBs, but I'm confident that Williams is athletic enough to deal with any DE.
2) Jeff Cutler is holding on to the ball too long. Combine this with him being behind the '09 Skins O-line and you have a disaster on your hands. Buttersworth is back. Osakpo has been unstoppable. Andre Carter is being used more effectively on passing downs. I won't be surprised if Cutler leaves with another concussion.
3) The 'Skins O is coming together. Armstrong is establishing himself as the 2nd receiver. Torain is running hard. McNabb is becoming more comfortable running the offense. The Bears are aggressive, but that aggressiveness comes from a bit of desperation, which I believe McNabb will exploit.
In the end, the game will remain close because the Pears are fairly balanced on offense with Forte in the backfield and balanced teams tend to cause some problems for the 'Skins. Their miserable O-line, however, will be the difference. Sorry Pears Fan. You'll be having nightmares with Hail to the Redskins playing in your head when this is over.
The skins havnt played well on the road this year.
This might be their chance. I think the Skins are getting better everyweek. I havent been really impressed with anything the Bears have done this season. They are in the bottom third in almost every category offensively and 29th in total offense.
I dont think the Carebears will score more than 10 points, maybe 13(because they are at home). Can the Skins score more than 13 points? My prediction is yes.
Itll be close as usual for the skins. 16-13 Skins.
Go Washington Redskins! Help the Vikings get within half a game of the NFC North Lead.
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