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Your In-Depth Eagles vs. Bears Week 2 Preview

Adrian Fedkiw|

A different test for rookie quarterback Carson Wentz lurks in Week 2.

From a defensive coordinator with an aggressive attack the quarterback mindset to one that likes to disguise coverages. It’s going to be a lot of fun to see how the young pup handles his first national audience and game on the road Monday night against the Chicago Bears in the Windy City.

Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s 3-4 scheme is predicated on keeping the inside linebackers clean and creating one-on-one matchups for his outside linebackers to create pressure off the edge. This is possible if you have enough beef up front on your defensive line.

He’s not going to blitz as much as Cleveland defensive coordinator Ray Horton. What Fangio does is create pre-snap confusion with distorted images of what the defense may look like after the snap. He combines man and zone concepts, even on the same play.

It’ll be another mental test for Wentz.

The Bears are favored by three points.

EAGLES PASSING GAME VS. BEARS PASS DEFENSE

PHI- 101.1 Passer Rating (11/32), 270 YPG (10/32)
CHI- 89.1 Passer Rating allowed (15/32), 251 YPG allowed (22/32)

Wentz tossed a pair of touchdown passes in his NFL debut, completing 22-of-37 of his tosses for 278 yards in a 29-10 win over the Browns.

He was barking and calling audibles at the line of scrimmage and head coach Doug Pederson let him throw the ball 37 times. He let him stay on the field and toss it on 4th-and-4.

The FCS quarterback wasn’t supposed to be ready for the speed of the game, but where Wentz is fast  is with his mind. We’re talking about Horton here. The No. 2 overall pick calmly and cooly made all the proper line calls. He was in complete command the entire afternoon.

There’s this nugget from ESPN’s Trey Wingo.

Jordan Matthews caught seven balls for 114 yards, while Zach Ertz added six receptions for 58 yards. Ertz, however, is not out for Week 2. He suffered a shoulder/rib displacement under his left collarbone in that game against the Browns.

This insane one-handed catch by Ertz was Wentz’s first NFL completion.

Who’s going to step up and be that No. 2 weapon now? Trey Burton caught my eye during the preseason. it’s everywhere Pederson had him. We saw him as a tight end and wide receiver, lining up all over the place on the field. I’ve also seen him in the backfield as a halfback. Nelson Agholor received the most snaps last week outside of Matthews. Josh Huff and Dorial Green-Beckham saw about a quarter of the snaps. I want to see DGB on the field.

The running backs will get some work in the flats, but that’s where inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman lies. He quietly had 17 tackles last week and made plays like this.

 

There’s obviously going to be more talent on the Bears than what the Browns offered. It remains to be seen whether Kyle Fuller plays, but Tracy Porter has been a good acquisition for them and made this nice interception last week.

 

EAGLES RUNNING GAME vs BEARS RUN DEFENSE

PHI- 3.9 YPC (15/32), 133.0 YPG (8/32)

CHI- 3.7 YPC (15/32), 129.0 YPG (24/32)

What stood out to me about the running game last week is how much the linemen were moving, with some of that Chip Kelly sweep sprinkled in as well. Ryan Mathews carried the ball 22 times for 77 yards and a score, but it was a committee effort that helped the Eagles run for 133 yards.

Kelce and right guard Brandon Brooks were doing a lot of pulling, not that it was a bad thing.

I was impressed with Brooks’ agility and movement on his pulls before getting to the second level and finding linebackers and defensive backs to clear out of the way. He paved the alley off the right side of the line a few times Sunday against Cleveland.

Brooks is most notably known for his power in the running game and pushing defenders backwards. There were times where he’d get some help from Kelce before taking over himself and others when he’d manhandle the defender and take him to the second level while he was on his own. Look at the hand placement too to generate maximum leverage.

The Bears, however, are pretty stout up front. Last year’s second-round pick Eddie Goldman appears to be the future of the Bears’ defensive line and showed plenty of promise last year prior to his ankle injury. He’s very strong at the point of attack and flashed some pass-rushing moves, which is something you don’t see often out of nose tackles.

Freeman is going to be flying around everywhere too.

BEARS PASSING GAME VS. EAGLES PASS DEFENSE

PHI- 55.0 Passer Rating allowed (2/32), 168 YPG allowed (5/32)
CHI- 76.2 Passer Rating (25/32), 185 YPG (25/32)

Dowell Loggains took over for Adam Gase at offensive coordinator. The quarterback guru Gase was credited with helping Jay Cutler to his best statistical season during his 10-year career. What will Loggains get out of him?

Cutler posted a 92.3 passer rating to go with 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions last year. Those stats came with Alshon Jeffery missing the second half of the season. Cutler is a gunslinger whose decision making has always gotten him in trouble, but not last year. He has one of the strongest arms in the league and doesn’t underthrow anybody. His accuracy can get erratic at times, but when he’s on his game, his anticipation and ball placement is there.

Speaking of Jeffery here’s what he did last week. Notice how physical and dominant he is at the catch-point and high-pointing the ball. I’ll get back to that in a second regarding the Eagles’ cornerbacks.

 

Kevin White had a meh debut, you can check out his three receptions below. The first-rounder missed all of last season with an ACL injury. Eddie Royal is a solid route runner that can play outside or in the slot and provides Cutler another option.

 

It’ll be interesting to see how the Eagles coaching staff handles the cornerbacks if cornerback Leodis McKelvin misses Monday night’s game. Does Ron Brooks stay on the outside and come inside in nickel and dime situations or does Jalen Mills stay strictly on the outside and Brooks inside?

Mills showed enough encouraging signs to warrant a huge chunk of the playing time.

The seventh-round rookie saw just 23 percent of the snaps, but was thrust into the action after McKelvin left. Mills wrapped up nicely on these two plays, recognizing the down and distance.

The Browns had a 3rd-and-13 and Mills was in off-coverage against Corey Coleman, who ran a comeback route. Mills recognizes where the sticks are, sees the comeback at the top of the route, puts his foot into the ground and closes on Coleman quickly to prevent the first down.

 

Another third down here and this is where Robert Griffin III suffered his shoulder injury. Mills leaves his receiver, gets off the block of Gary Barnridge and lays the wood on Griffin.

 

Nolan Carroll had an up and down day. Getting back to Jeffery and the deep ball, Carroll plays it very well, but as Terrelle Pryor showed, he can be beaten at the catchpoint by a more physical receiver. Carroll will have to do a solid job on those back shoulder throws Jeffery thrives at.
He played the deep ball well in this instance against Pryor along the left sideline, but the converted quarterback made a great play on the ball to come down with the tough reception.

 

The Bears have a susceptible pair of tackles in Bobby Massie and Charles Leno Jr. Vinny Curry, Brandon Graham and Connor Barwin need to take advantage of this. If they can pressure Cutler before the routes downfield to Jeffery develop, it’ll make the secondary’s job a lot easier.

 

BEARS RUNNING GAME vs EAGLES RUN DEFENSE

PHI- 5.7 YPC allowed (30/32), 120.0 YPG allowed (23/32)

CHI- 3.7 YPC (18/32), 73.0 YPG (23/32)

The matchup to watch here is defensive tackles Fletcher Cox and Bennie Logan squaring off with guards Josh Sitton and Kyle Long. Can they find the running lanes for Jeremy Langford, who ran for 57 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries last week.

The Bears’ second leading all-time rusher Matt Forte is now in New York with the Jets. Langford has some tough shoes to fill. He’s a physical back that has showcased breakaway speed to be a home run threat.

 

Graham, Curry and Barwin should have an easy time setting the edges, allowing players such as Rodney McLeod to fill alleys. You want to talk about covering some ground without hesitation, this is crazy!

PREDICTION- 21-20 Eagles

3 Comments

  3. David W

    Nice job. Good for show prep.

    Only thing I’d add is as for Pass Rush I expect Floyd to have a bit of an impact for Chicago.

    Also worth mentioning, Kevin White fractured his shin; did not tear his ACL.

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