The Chicago Bears are expected to showcase a more potent passing attack on Thursday night in their Week 2 matchup against the Green Bay Packers, but running backs Matt Forte and Michael Bush should still play a big role in the game as well. The 3-4 defense employed by the Packers can leave holes for RBs to break through the first level of the defense, so the question is whether Bears offensive coordinator Mike Tice can get the looks he wants and help the Bears keep the ball out of Aaron Rodgers' hands.
Steve Ronkowski of Bears blog Windy City Gridiron has taken a look at some specific plays and formations that Chicago may employ on Thursday:
Someone more clever than me will need to name this new player set: the Bears come out with Forte ("F") lined up as a fullback and Michael Bush ("T") lined up as the tailback. The red lines show the pre-snap motion. Forte motions out of the backfield, and the strong safety swings over to cover him. At the snap, all four receivers head pretty much straight upfield. The key to preventing the pass rush is Kellen Davis' ("Y") route: Davis gets a good jump off the line and quickly comes open, forcing the linebacker across from him into coverage. With Forte now occupying the flat and Bush a threat to creep out of the backfield, the linebacker on the left edge of the line has to stay in a short zone to defend against these two running backs.
For more of this excellent chalk talk, be sure to check out the full article.
During Week 1 the Bears produced 114 yards and three touchdowns on 33 rushes against the Indianapolis Colts' 3-4 defense.
For more on the Packers, check out Acme Packing Company. For your Bears updates, head to Windy City Gridiron. And be sure to get all your football updates at our NFL hub.
