Bear Dawn: Chicago Bears Pernell McPhee Battling Injury

Per Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio, Pernell McPhee took himself out of the San Diego Chargers game due to a sore knee. In the past weeks, McPhee has been limited because of this injury. With the Chargers double and triple teaming him, it finally gave out. McPhee is a warrior and the heart and soul of our defense. He will play but I suspect he will be more limited this Sunday against the St Louis Rams. The Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers are on the horizon and we need Pernell at his optimum for those games.

With McPhee needing some rest, this is were that depth comes in=- I’m talking to you Lamarr Houston and Willie Young. We know Houston finally came through with two huge sacks to seal the win over the Chargers. He is also known to be better against the run so that bodes well because the Rams will try and run it often with Todd Gurley. Young will get more reps and should have a field day against a weak passing team like the Rams. McPhee will be there, but he will rotated more often to keep his knee from wearing out.

Sep 13, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears linebacker Pernell McPhee (92) during the second quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

The Rams sit at 4-4 and are favored by seven. The Bears offense will be facing one of the best defenses in the league. The Rams are ranked fourth by Football Outsiders in both run and pass defense. While the Bears offense is ranked in the middle of the pack in both passing and running the football. This is not to imply the Bears will struggle, but they will have to play a error free game.

Defensively, the Bears are getting better and slowly moving up the rankings. They will face a tough running team led by Gurley so Fangio will keep the defensed focused there. The Rams passing offense is at the bottom of the league, so this could be the game were we see some key turnovers by the secondary- they are due. In the end, this will be a defensive struggle and won by either team on turnovers. On Saturday’s edition of Bears Dawn, the keys to the game will be reviewed.

Kyle Long spoke to the media and he gave good insight to the difference with this team under John Fox compared to previous seasons with Marc Trestman.

"“Well, Foxy always tells us ‘don’t flinch, don’t blink.’ Things are going to happen, that’s the nature of the game. It’s not going to be all uphill or downhill for us. It’s going to be: You’re going to have some tough spots throughout the game and you need to be able to survive the body blows and keep working.”"

Bear Dawn: Pernell McPhee Hurting

By John Vassar | Nov 13, 2015