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Bears had good plan vs. Rams
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_2c606b5e-7ffe-5361-8f53-b014df444a75.html
Forget about the Rams’ offensive woes and quarterback change for a moment. Did Chicago offensive coordinator Adam Gase uncover the key to containing the Rams’ highly-ranked defense last Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome?
The Bears changed character against the Rams and went almost exclusively to two-tight end sets. They threw underneath stuff all day; their wide receivers could’ve stayed home. Seventeen of quarterback Jay Cutler’s 24 throws, and 15 of his 19 completions went either to running back Jeremy Langford or tight ends Zach Miller and Martellus Bennett.
The Bears ran the ball 37 times, a season-high against the Rams’ defense. Even in the first half, before the Bears had breathing room on the scoreboard, they never threw passes on more than two consecutive plays.
“They had a good plan,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “Their plan was to come out with the two-tight end stuff just to kind of reduce our defensive plan. You come out with three wides, you’re gonna get a lot more exotic stuff (from the Rams’ defense).
“We anticipated that. The ‘two tight’ package made sense for them.”
It made sense with slot receiver Eddie Royal out with a knee injury and star wide receiver Alshon Jeffery limited during the practice week because of a groin injury. So the Bears kept it basic and used lots of two-tight end sets, also known as “12 personnel.”
The Bears used two-tight end formations on their first 16 plays against the Rams, and on 50 of 63 plays total — not including two kneel-downs by Cutler at the end of the first half.
“Well, they weren’t going to get Jay hit,” Fisher said. “That was their deal. They were getting rid of the ball. Run the football, get rid of it quick. It was a good plan.”
And less simplistic than it looked. Gase, a protege of former Rams head coach Mike Martz, didn’t give the Rams the same look from down to down even though he used the same personnel basically 80 percent of the time.
He deployed tight ends Miller and Bennett just about every way imaginable:
• One on each side of the tackle box, on the line of scrimmage.
• Two on the left side of the offensive line.
• Two on the right side of the offensive line.
• Both deployed wide right like wideouts.
• One split out wide right and one split out wide left, with wide receivers in the slot on both sides.
• At various times, Miller also lined up as a wingback or in the backfield.
As Fisher mentioned, by staying out of three- and four-wide receiver sets, it eliminated some of Rams defensive coordinator Greg Williams’ most effective packages in terms of blitzes.
And in theory, it’s more difficult for a blitzer to get around a bigger-bodied tight end than a wide receiver anyway.
Even so, the Rams tried to do some blitzing against the Bears’ two-tight end sets, and on this day, it backfired in a big way.
On Miller’s 87-yard TD catch and run, the Rams sent six pass rushers, including safety/linebacker Mark Barron from Miller’s side. We all know what happened next.
What should have been a short gain turned into a bigger gain when linebacker Akeem Ayers — who had coverage on Miller — took a bad angle and missed the tackle.
What should have been a “bigger gain” turned into an 87-yard TD when cornerback Janoris Jenkins couldn’t shed a downfield block by Jeffery, and free safety Rodney McLeod came in out of control, slipped, and missed the tackle.
“Since the start of the season, we’ve been tackling good,” Fisher said. “I referenced Rodney’s (strong) tackles on AP (Adrian Peterson) last week up in Minnesota. We’ve done a really good job minimizing gains.
“Here, we give up two giant plays on what is in essence a two-yard flat route by a tight end and a screen pass to a back. That’s not good defensively.”
On the screen pass, an 83-yard catch and run by Langford, the Bears also had two tight ends in the game. Including tight ends, three receivers were deployed to the right, and one to the left. All four ran deep routes, taking four defenders with them.
The Rams blitzed on this play, sending six pass-rushers at Cutler. Do the math: six defenders rushing, four covering deep routes. That left plenty of wide-open space in between for Langford once he caught the screen pass with three blockers in front of him.
What could’ve been called an illegal crack-back block by Miller on Barron helped keep Langford going before he got to midfield.
There were other less dramatic plays where the Bears either caught the Rams in a blitz, or made the most of two tight end formations. For example, at the start of the fourth quarter when the Rams were still within striking distance trailing 24-13, the Bears faced a third-and-10 from the St. Louis 47.
Cutler checked out of a pass play, with the Rams blitzing from his right and pitched left to Langford for an 11-yard run and a first down on what ended up being a field goal drive.
But it’s those 80 yards-plus TDs that remain singed in the Rams’ brains long after the “24-hour rule” has come and gone.
“Those two explosive plays, I’m still thinking about those,” Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson said Wednesday after practice.
Of even more lasting impact, however, will be if other teams imitate the Bears’ game plan, using extra tight ends to help neutralize both the Rams’ pass rush and Williams’ blitz packages.
The Rams’ next opponent, Baltimore, certainly has the talent at tight end to do so in youngsters Crockett Gillmore, Maxx Williams, and Nick Boyle. But the Ravens aren’t as strong of a running team as Chicago.
In addition, Ravens offensive coordinator Marc Trestman has pass-happy tendencies. Does he have the patience to stick with the running game?
“Quite frankly, I expect Baltimore to do the same,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “It’s a copy-and-paste league.”
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_2c606b5e-7ffe-5361-8f53-b014df444a75.html
Forget about the Rams’ offensive woes and quarterback change for a moment. Did Chicago offensive coordinator Adam Gase uncover the key to containing the Rams’ highly-ranked defense last Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome?
The Bears changed character against the Rams and went almost exclusively to two-tight end sets. They threw underneath stuff all day; their wide receivers could’ve stayed home. Seventeen of quarterback Jay Cutler’s 24 throws, and 15 of his 19 completions went either to running back Jeremy Langford or tight ends Zach Miller and Martellus Bennett.
The Bears ran the ball 37 times, a season-high against the Rams’ defense. Even in the first half, before the Bears had breathing room on the scoreboard, they never threw passes on more than two consecutive plays.
“They had a good plan,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “Their plan was to come out with the two-tight end stuff just to kind of reduce our defensive plan. You come out with three wides, you’re gonna get a lot more exotic stuff (from the Rams’ defense).
“We anticipated that. The ‘two tight’ package made sense for them.”
It made sense with slot receiver Eddie Royal out with a knee injury and star wide receiver Alshon Jeffery limited during the practice week because of a groin injury. So the Bears kept it basic and used lots of two-tight end sets, also known as “12 personnel.”
The Bears used two-tight end formations on their first 16 plays against the Rams, and on 50 of 63 plays total — not including two kneel-downs by Cutler at the end of the first half.
“Well, they weren’t going to get Jay hit,” Fisher said. “That was their deal. They were getting rid of the ball. Run the football, get rid of it quick. It was a good plan.”
And less simplistic than it looked. Gase, a protege of former Rams head coach Mike Martz, didn’t give the Rams the same look from down to down even though he used the same personnel basically 80 percent of the time.
He deployed tight ends Miller and Bennett just about every way imaginable:
• One on each side of the tackle box, on the line of scrimmage.
• Two on the left side of the offensive line.
• Two on the right side of the offensive line.
• Both deployed wide right like wideouts.
• One split out wide right and one split out wide left, with wide receivers in the slot on both sides.
• At various times, Miller also lined up as a wingback or in the backfield.
As Fisher mentioned, by staying out of three- and four-wide receiver sets, it eliminated some of Rams defensive coordinator Greg Williams’ most effective packages in terms of blitzes.
And in theory, it’s more difficult for a blitzer to get around a bigger-bodied tight end than a wide receiver anyway.
Even so, the Rams tried to do some blitzing against the Bears’ two-tight end sets, and on this day, it backfired in a big way.
On Miller’s 87-yard TD catch and run, the Rams sent six pass rushers, including safety/linebacker Mark Barron from Miller’s side. We all know what happened next.
What should have been a short gain turned into a bigger gain when linebacker Akeem Ayers — who had coverage on Miller — took a bad angle and missed the tackle.
What should have been a “bigger gain” turned into an 87-yard TD when cornerback Janoris Jenkins couldn’t shed a downfield block by Jeffery, and free safety Rodney McLeod came in out of control, slipped, and missed the tackle.
“Since the start of the season, we’ve been tackling good,” Fisher said. “I referenced Rodney’s (strong) tackles on AP (Adrian Peterson) last week up in Minnesota. We’ve done a really good job minimizing gains.
“Here, we give up two giant plays on what is in essence a two-yard flat route by a tight end and a screen pass to a back. That’s not good defensively.”
On the screen pass, an 83-yard catch and run by Langford, the Bears also had two tight ends in the game. Including tight ends, three receivers were deployed to the right, and one to the left. All four ran deep routes, taking four defenders with them.
The Rams blitzed on this play, sending six pass-rushers at Cutler. Do the math: six defenders rushing, four covering deep routes. That left plenty of wide-open space in between for Langford once he caught the screen pass with three blockers in front of him.
What could’ve been called an illegal crack-back block by Miller on Barron helped keep Langford going before he got to midfield.
There were other less dramatic plays where the Bears either caught the Rams in a blitz, or made the most of two tight end formations. For example, at the start of the fourth quarter when the Rams were still within striking distance trailing 24-13, the Bears faced a third-and-10 from the St. Louis 47.
Cutler checked out of a pass play, with the Rams blitzing from his right and pitched left to Langford for an 11-yard run and a first down on what ended up being a field goal drive.
But it’s those 80 yards-plus TDs that remain singed in the Rams’ brains long after the “24-hour rule” has come and gone.
“Those two explosive plays, I’m still thinking about those,” Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson said Wednesday after practice.
Of even more lasting impact, however, will be if other teams imitate the Bears’ game plan, using extra tight ends to help neutralize both the Rams’ pass rush and Williams’ blitz packages.
The Rams’ next opponent, Baltimore, certainly has the talent at tight end to do so in youngsters Crockett Gillmore, Maxx Williams, and Nick Boyle. But the Ravens aren’t as strong of a running team as Chicago.
In addition, Ravens offensive coordinator Marc Trestman has pass-happy tendencies. Does he have the patience to stick with the running game?
“Quite frankly, I expect Baltimore to do the same,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “It’s a copy-and-paste league.”
