If the Chicago Bears want to defeat the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night, this is the biggest key for that to happen.
The Chicago Bears hype is through the roof right now. After a crazy offseason that included a brand new coach, several new offensive weapons, a great draft and acquiring none other than Khalil Mack, Bears fans are pumped and they should be.
The regular season is here and it’s time for actual Bears’ football. It might be nice to start off the season with someone like the Buffalo Bills to ease into the season, but that’s not on the schedule. The Bears kick off their most optimistic season in years with their longtime rival, the Green Bay Packers.
The Packers are expected to be a playoff team this year, and why not? Aaron Rodgers is still under center and as long as that’s the case, they’ll be in the mix for the playoffs every year. But one thing we’ve learned about the Packers last year, their team can truly only go far as Rodgers can take them.
Last year when Rodgers was out, the Packers’ warts were exposed and there were plenty. Last year the Packers went 4-1 to start the year, but after Rodgers was injured, the team went 3-8 to finish the year (yes, one of those losses included Rodgers playing who rushed back from injury to try to salvage their playoff hopes). The Bears went 5-11 last year which basically means they had a better winning percentage than the post-injury Rodgers’ Packers.
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That means their rosters last year were comparable, minus the quarterback position. This past offseason, the Packers did very little to improve their roster while the Bears made massive strides. Logic would tell you that when you take Rodgers out of the picture, the Bears’ roster is superior to the Packers.
If the Bears want to kick off the season with a win, the plan is simple, try to neutralize Rodgers. While it’s a simple plan, the execution of that plan isn’t so easy.
The Bears can’t get into a shootout with Rodgers on his home field and expect to win, the defense is going to have to keep him somewhat contained. How can you do that? The answer is pressure.
That isn’t some crazy statement. Of course you have to put pressure on the opposing quarterback but with guys like Rodgers and Tom Brady it’s not that simple. If you need to use blitz packages to bring that needed pressure, Rodgers will see the blitz coming and exploit that part of the defense every single time.
If you don’t blitz and fail to bring pressure, Rodgers will sit back all day and rip apart your defense. The key is being able to bring pressure without rushing extra men. Ten days ago, that seemed almost impossible with the Bears roster but with the acquisition of Mack, that is very possible and critical to winning in week one.
Yes, the Bears need to convert third downs on offense and keep the chains moving. They’ll have the element of surprise on offense as well which will also help, but they need to put pressure on Rodgers with standard rush packages. That means, Mack, Leonard Floyd, Akiem Hicks, even Eddie Goldman, they need to be collapsing the pocket, they need to keep Rodgers hurried and off-balance and if they do that, a week one victory at Lambeau is definitely in the cards.
The excitement for this season is through the roof. If they win their first game on the road against the Packers, it will launch the hype into another stratosphere. The Bears have the roster to do it, now they just have to execute and slow down one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play. No problem, man.