Bears OC Mike Tice: 'We have to be able to run the ball' vs. Lions

The Chicago Bears are a run-first football team, regardless of players like Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall on the offense. Matt Forte is one of the premier backs in the league and the Bears are a better team when they're running him. Against the Detroit Lions, the Bears are adamant that they need to continue running the ball. Mike Tice had some thought on it, via ESPN Chicago:

"I think there was a guy that was calling plays in Green Bay that didn't call the run enough," Tice joked. "I think that was a part of the problem. Hopefully he's not showing up this week."

Tice is the team's offensive coordinator, so there's a bit of a joke there. At any rate, running the ball against Detroit's tough front seven isn't actually as tall a task as some have made it out to be. The Lions are very focused on getting to the quarterback, and as such, they're prone to give up runs.

Given the Bears' issues against the pass rush, running solves a dual purpose of getting the ball out of Cutler's hands to prevent big losses. They're just the aggressive front you want to hurt with those big runs. We'll see if Tice sticks to the game plan this time around.