Chicago Bears keys to an upset of Miami Dolphins
Bears coach Matt Eberflus says he enjoys the challenge of working with a group of unestablished players on defense.
He doesn’t have much of a choice, regardless, because without Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn this defense will closely resemble the generic aisle at your local supermarket.
There isn’t much favor here. Aside from Jaylon Johnson, Eddie Jackson and possibly Justin Jones, not much is known about many of their defensive players to average NFL fans.
“We’ve had that before,” Eberflus said of his Indianapolis days. “It takes me back to 2018 a little bit where you’re playing with a lot of rookies, four guys or five guys at one time. I like it. I think it gives them a great opportunity.
“I love the way they learn. When a guy learns and progresses in the game, to me that’s very exciting.”
Eberflus was also touting the skills of one A.J. Klein, the player they got back with two draft picks for Roquan Smith.
Klein is 31, has played for Carolina, Baltimore, New Orleans and Buffalo. And despite being a resident of five NFL cities, most people who follow the league couldn’t pick him out of a crowd.
He’ll fit right into this no-name, faceless approach to defense that the Bears are pursuing until next year’s draft and free agency.
When you go generic, there are specific keys that must be achieved to pull off an upset, even against a warm-weather team in November at Soldier Field.
Here are the three keys for a Bears win over the Miami Dolphins at Soldier Field.
1. Safety First
Aside from taking the tarp off the field if it’s raining, there’s not much the Bears are going to be able to do to slow down Miami speed demons. Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill play like they stepped right out of a video game and into a stadium.
To contend with this speed, the Bears need as much zone coverage as possible. They might be better off scrapping their traditional cover-2 look to get a third safety back and prevent the deep stuff as much as possible.
They have to keep play in front of them, rally to the ball and make fundamental, hard tackles. They must use outside leverage to force everyone back to the inside where there should be other tacklers, and be willing to concede the short passes to running backs and tight end Mike Gesicki.
So far this season Gesicki has had more than four receptions only once. The Bears need to play defense in a way that yields as many open, short passes to him as possible, then knock him down because as good an athlete as he is, he isn’t outrunning them like the two wideouts will.
The approach must be live to fight another play.
2. Be Big Tippers
The NFL rosters are notorious for exaggerating a player’s height. A good example with the Bears is N’Keal Harry, who might be 6-foot-2 on a good day, but NFL rosters have said he is 6-4. Not all are this way. Chase Claypool, on the other hand, actually is 6-4 and looks it.
The rosters say Tua Tagovailoa is 6-1. Based on seeing him at ground level practicing at Halas Hall last year, it would seem a generous measurement, as well.
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The Bears don’t have much pass rush and didn’t even when Quinn was in Chicago, as his single sack for 2022 says. But what their pass rush has done well is knock down or tip passes. They get into lanes if they can’t get there and they tip passes.
Bears defensive linemen have 10 tipped passes. Justin Jones has four. He’s had his hand on the ball more times than wide receiver Byron Pringle, who was given $4 million in free agency to catch passes.
Trevis Gipson has tipped three of them, Dominique Robinson two and Angelo Blackson one.
If they get into lanes and have their hands up, they can cause trouble for a shorter quarterback.
Tips can result in interceptions and this gets the explosive Dolphins receivers off the field.
3. Let It Ride
Justin Fields is hot as a runner at the moment, and not to bad as a passer now either.
The Bears need to leave their chips on his square, so to speak.
Miami has a stout run defense and a poor pass defense. Fields has been extremely effective with RPOs, but also with QB counters that might look like they’re setting up for a different play. They need to continue this approach and Fields.
The Dolphins are sixth in the league against the run, but that’s at stopping conventional running attacks.
When they faced the Baltimore Ravens, they gave up 119 yards rushing to QB Lamar Jackson. You can’t stop everything and they did hold Baltimore running backs to 33 yards rushing. However, Jackson really hurt them and it took a miracle comeback for Miami to win that game or the Dolphins would be 4-4.
The Bears certainly can imitate the Ravens look. They did it successfully against the New England Patriots and against Dallas.
Fields running is not such a bad idea in this game. And Fields pulling it back out and throwing isn’t a bad thought either, since Miami’s pass defense ranks 26th overall and 27th in net yards allowed per attempt.
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