Sean Desai broke a precedent against the Cleveland Browns when he decided to stop playing sides with his cornerbacks and use Jaylon Johnson to follow Odell Beckham Jr. The Chicago Bears have been playing sides since before Vic Fangio and through the Fangio which is why it is surprising that Desai, a Fangio disciple made that in-game adjustment. Even this season in Denver Fangio has typically played sides with his corners.
In the past two weeks, the Bears have not necessarily faced an outside threat that deserves shadow treatment. However, on Sunday the Bears will face the ultimate test in Davante Adams.
It seems obvious that the team has to follow Adams considering Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb are the other options. If they beat you fine, but you cannot lose because Adams is torching Kindle Vildor all day. Not to say that Johnson will shut down Adams, but he has been one of the best corners in the league to date. To hold Adams in check is a win. They have to go with this decision.
Should Chicago Bears give Jaylon Johnson help?
Johnson has been one of the best corners in the NFL to date, but of course, will have his toughest matchup yet. The Chicago Bears should absolutely follow Adams with Johnson, but beyond that, they may even want to shade their coverage to the side of Adams.
Adams still had a decent game but was held in check against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He had just 64 yards and had his lowest catch percentage since 2019. The Steelers played sides with their cornerbacks, but one thing that they did was shade coverage to Adams. They were adamant that they did not respect anyone but Adams, and Adams even said as much.
Davante Adams says Pittsburgh Steelers' defensive plan Sunday might have been the most he's ever been doubled. Watch the film, and that sure seemed plausible. It was, in a word, blatant.
— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) October 6, 2021
If you watch the film it was blatant. Here is an example of how Pittsburgh shaded towards Adams. The Packers had two wideouts and a running back on one side. They had a wideout and a tight end on the other. With two players staying near the line, it is essentially two on one side, and one on the other. No matter what, the heavier side was the opposite of Adams.
"View post on imgur.com"
The Steelers are playing man, and single high, but that safety is shaded hard to the side of Adams, almost in a way that you would see opposite a cornerback on an “island”. Except, for this, the Steelers were not putting their top corners on an island, but rather putting the Packers wideouts on an island.
They did not fear Cobb, and Lazard, and did not put safety help over them. Instead, they went to the side with just one wideout because that is Davante Adams. Their free safety was not going to disguise and even pretend to respect the others.
To be fair, Randall Cobb caught two touchdowns but had just 69 yards on five catches. Mainly because Cobb cannot kill you like Adams can for 200 yards.
The question becomes do you want Adams to shred you up and down the field, or do you want the shot that Cobb may or may not make a play? The Chicago Bears should not only shadow Adams with Johnson, they should give Johnson help, and completely eliminate him from the game.