How Can The Bears beat the Lions
The 2-6 Lions take on the 3-6 Bears this week for a divisional showdown.
On offense, the Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy runs a modified version of Mike Shanahan's offense which deploys a lot of play-action, RPOs, boot-legs, quick outs, screens, and sweeps. The Bears need to make things happen whether its through Claypool or Fields running. If our offense becomes stagnant it might give Detroit the edge to beat us.
We have also been struggling against the run ranking 28th. With the Lions relying on Jamaal Williams they might have a chance to shut down the run this week and save some face.
If the Bears insist on running their 4-3 base, there will be opportunities for the Lions to take advantage of St. Brown. The Bears have a solid safety tandem, and when they're not in a cover-2 shell, they tend to have rookie Jaquan Brisker focus on the tight ends and keep Eddie Jackson in a deep zone.
Once celebrated as the highest-scoring offense in the league, the Lions have been subdued of late, and a big part of that has been their lack of explosive plays.
«The last two games we haven't been nearly as explosive,» Johnson said. «I want to say just by our metrics [editor note: runs of 12+ yards and passes of 16+ yards] there were five explosives two weeks ago and then only four last week, which really we've been averaging over eight early in the season there. So, the explosive game hasn't been there and that's not just throwing the ball down the field or getting the big runs. It's also some of these opportunities we have to get the ball in our hands short and making a tackler miss and creating something that way.»
So how do the Lions plan on fixing it?
«Certainly player-driven,» Johnson continued. «I think the most explosive teams in the League have the best skill players... that plays a big part of it, but also I think scheme can help that and if you can get the right play against the right coverage generally speaking that can be a good thing... So, generally speaking, it's on these guys if we can get the ball in their hands to make something happen. But we're trying to create as much separation schematically to help them.»
The Lions seem hungry but also seem like they're going through the motions this season. If we play smart have good play calling and use Justin we should have a good shot this week.
