What Bears Have to Worry About with Raiders
he Raiders are making the Bears play a waiting game on who will start at quarterback, just like the Bears are doing to them.
There is a basic difference in each side’s strategic silence.
For one, the Bears quarterbacks have totally different styles, so Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham needs to cope with the issue of playing defensive edges to contain Justin Fields, or in a more conventional way for Tyson Bagent.
It’s different with the R
“Very similar,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said. “They’re very similar types. It’s not like they’re this end of the spectrum, that end of the spectrum. So it’s not that big of a difference.”
There is a difference, though. It’s just another type.
Starter Jimmy Garoppolo is the veteran Chicago area starter with a back injury who always plays well when he comes back. He’s from Rolling Meadows. Brian Hoyer is a 15-year, 38-year-old former Bears backup who had a 98.0 passer rating for them under offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains in 2016 when Jay Cutler was injured. Then he broke his arm against Green Bay and was in New England and San Francisco the next year.
Then there is rookie Aidan O’Connell, who also is from the Chicago area and played for Stevenson High just down the road from Halas Hall.
For years the Bears couldn’t find a quarterback and the Raiders have two who grew up here and another who played here. Go figure.
Regardless, the playing style might not be totally different but the experience and success levels are much different.
O’Connell has played one NFL game, a 24-17 loss in a start against the Chargers on Oct. 1 when Khalil Mack had six sacks. Hoyer has 40 starts and 78 games played in 15 years with an 83.0 QB rating and 16-24 record in starts. Garoppolo, who has been injured often, is 43-19 as a starter, including 3-2 this year. Garoppolo didn’t practice on Wednesday.
It’s more likely the Bears would prefer to face the former Purdue QB, who was sophomore backup to Willie Bourbon in 2014 when undefeated Stevenson won the state Class 8A title over Glenbard West.
Beyond quarterbacks, the Bears have plenty of individual Raiders to be concerned with in this matchup.
DE Maxx Crosby
The Bears are down Justin Fields and a good way to wind up with Nathan Peterman at quarterback against his old team is not to keep Crosby away from rookie Tyson Bagent. Already early in the week Matt Eberflus was concerned over the Raiders’ effective edge player, who has 5 1/2 sacks and eight QB hits.
“The big one this one is Maxx, right?” Eberflus said. “He’s the big guy that’s, obviously, has (had) a lot of havoc to the offense and he’s an All-Pro player, continues to play that way. That’s the big thing, right?
“So we’ve gotta have a plan for him. Their pressure package is good, too, but you’ve gotta have a plan. We’ve gotta do a good job of executing that plan, not only during the week but also tactically during the game.”
Crosby’s impact is against the run and pass. The former Eastern Michigan product has eight tackles for loss and 17 QB pressures.
He’ll be facing inexperience whatever side of the line the Raiders line him up, but it’s more likely most of his playing time will come against rookie right tackle Darnell Wright instead of veteran backup left tackle Larry Borom.
RB Josh Jacobs
The Bears have been stout against the run for three weeks, ranking eighth in yards allowed, fifth in yards gained per attempt and it’s not as if teams have simply just avoided running on them because they have so poor of a pass rush and pass defense. They’ve faced the 13th most rushing attempts. However, facing Jacobs is usually a reason for any team to worry since he is the 2022 rushing champion. He’s off to a very slow start with 2.9 yards per carry and overdue to break out. His contract holdout may have led to this. He’s also a threat as a receiver on a team with a number of receiving threats.
WR Davante Adams
Still as big a threat as when he was in Green Bay and saw the Bears twice a season, he just needs someone to get him the ball. Again, Garoppolo would be more likely to take advantage of his skill set. A strong set of complementary receivers are present to make sure he gets it without a great deal of attention, from Hunter Renfrow and Jakobi Meyers to tight ends Austin Hooper and Michael Mayer. It’s pick your poison with so dangerous off a group but Adams can get it done in one play. Adams so far has 39 catches, 471 yards and three TDs as he adjusts to playing with a new set of QBs.
WR Hunter Renfrow
The success of Mayer and Hooper at tight end have eaten into Renfrow’s catch total. There are only so many targets in shorter to middle range a QB can look for, and he has only nine with six catches on the year. But make no mistake. In this one, against the Bears’ Tampa-2 style umbrella defense, Renfrow can do great damage as an underneath target. He’ll be working against Kyler Gordon or a linebacker most of the time.
LB Robert Spillane
Another Chicago area native from Oak Park, the former Western Michigan linebacker is 6-1, 229 and has played the pass well while also leading the Raiders in tackles with 49. He has a 50.2 passer rating against when targeted
T Kolton Miller
Currently seventh out of 74 tackles in Pro Football Focus grade, the 6-foot-8, 325-pound veteran rarely lets anything past and is as good blocking against the run as he is blocking for the pass. He could face either Yannick Ngakoue or DeMarcus Walker and is more than a match for either. He’s mobile enough to get out on the screen game too.
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