4th and Goal(s): Bears Have No Time To Chill In Tampa
With added time to prepare, Brady, Bucs are in position to get revenge for 2020 upset
Football, like life, is sometimes just not fair, especially for the Chicago Bears.
After getting beaten badly by Green Bay, the Bears now head to Tampa Bay with the fear that another great quarterback will own them this week. The Buccaneers, complete with the signal calling GOAT, are one of the best in the NFL as well as the reigning Super Bowl champions.
Tampa has been preparing since last Thursday for this Bears team — Tom Brady may have been preparing since he mistakenly put up that “four” with his fingers in Soldier Field last fall — which puts Chicago at a disadvantage in the preparation category.
The Bears do not need any more disadvantages. Unfortunately, the time to prepare is one of many advantages the Bucs have over the Bears.
Make no mistake, this Bears team is only going to win with an unbelievable team effort from both its coaches and players. So lets take a look at the blueprint for the Bears to get a win Sunday in the Sunshine State.
Can’t lose your identity - This match up is really rough for the Bears, by far the biggest problem the Bears have is once again being unable to score points.
Currently the team ranks 30th out of 32 teams in points scored. Primarily the reason for the lack of scoring is how bad the Bears are at throwing the football but more on that later. What has been working for the Bears offense is running the football and committing to the run. Tampa is by far the best run defense in the league just allowing 54 yards a game.
It may feel like the Bears rushing attack will be hitting a brick wall over and over for the tiniest of gains, but it doesn't matter because its what the Bears have to do. Fans will no doubt remember the Cleveland game and this game could turn into that, with Vita Vea playing the role of Miles Garrett, if the Bears get discouraged by giving up on the run and over committing to throwing the ball.
But you still got to throw it - As important as it is for the Bears to commit to the run game, it is equally important that they devise some ways to attack the Bucs secondary.
This Bucs secondary is decimated by injury and there’s a lot of bottom of the depth chart players who will start and play other important minutes for Tampa. It will just be too hard to score enough points if the Bears are unable to complete multiple downfield throws.
The fear in this game is that the Bears running game is shut down and the scoreboard starts getting away from them. Therefore, it’ll be important for the Bears to take some downfield shots early in an ideal attempt to get a lead. Falling behind the Buccaneers will only force the offense to be more pass happy and allow the ferocious pass rush of Tampa to take over.
All big plays welcomed - Per usual, it's another one of those weeks where the Bears need to create chaos for the Buccaneers or take advantage of an opportunity because the offense can’t score. Somehow, someway the team has to figure out a way to give the offense some short fields through defense and special teams.
The Bears need some opportunities to pop up for them and when those opportunities the Bears have to take advantage. Also, don’t forget about the little things like penalties. Too many times this year and in head coach Matt Nagy’s tenure have we seen a good drive derailed by a holding penalty or false start.
The defense will be pressed to get some takeaways but it has to be a smart aggression, can’t commit a roughing the passer or a penalty in the secondary in hopes of creating a play. Being an underdog on the road is so tough in the NFL because teams need to press the issue some to make things happen, but pressing too much can cause more harm than good.
Defense has to stand up - Last week against the Packers featured a good defensive performance by the Bears, who contained the Packers’ passing attack. The bad from last week was the defense inability to stop the run or create takeaways. When a defense holds Green Bay to 24 points, you feel good about it overall knowing how explosive they are.
Life isn’t fair though in the NFL and this Bears defense has to be even better than that on a week-to-week basis. Imagine if the Bears had stopped the Packers rushing attack, would we be singing a different tune this week?
In this game, the Bears will be in it for as long as the defense plays great. But as soon as the defense slips to good or okay then the show’s over folks. Once again, fans have to ask the defense to hold strong regardless of the injury report.
If the defense can get after quarterback Brady, not allow big plays from the Bucs offense or special teams, and keep them out of the end zone then its possible the Bears can leave Florida with a big time win.
Ryan Bukowiecki covers the Chicago Bears and professional football for WARR