Noots Posted November 28, 2008 Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 INJURY REPORT AND IMPLICATIONS Chicago Bears (6-5) at Minnesota Vikings (6-5) By Michael Nudo Napoleon Harris has taken over for E.J. Henderson at middle linebacker (AP Photo/Phil Coale). BEARS OFFENSEcolor> vs. VIKINGS DEFENSEcolor> Quarterback Kyle Orton (ankle) is gradually getting back to full health. He had a decent game last week and should be peaking again in time for this matchup in the Metrodome. Tight end Desmond Clark left last week’s game against the Rams with a knee injury. If he misses time, Greg Olsen will get all the reps with some time added for rookie Kellen Davis in double tight end situations. Marty Booker has been trying to recover from a mild knee injury to get back on the field. Brandon Lloyd has been quiet since his return from a knee injury. This might be his game to break out. With E.J. Henderson (foot) out for the year, the Vikings turned back to Napoleon Harris. Harris and the Vikings’ linebackers have had trouble stopping opposing tight ends recently. It will be interesting to see how they handle Olsen. Chad Greenway leads the Vikings in tackles and has 4 sacks. He has stabilized as a playmaking force on the Vikings’ defense after losing his rookie season (2006) to injury. Defensive end Jared Allen (shoulder) is tied for the team lead with defensive tackle Kevin Williams with 8 sacks. They’ll match up with the left side of the Bears line of John St. Clair and Josh Beekman. Safety Madieu Williams returned to action after the bye week. The Vikings are 3-1 since his return, allowing only 18.25 points per game. The Bears ran extremely well last week. They might find tougher sledding against Minnesota’s Williams Wall. They’re second in the league against the run. Look for the Bears to use the no huddle offense and to stretch the field horizontally and vertically, to make the Vikings’ line run. It will be interesting to see how well Kyle Orton can run his checks at the line in the Metrodome. This should be a week to see Greg Olsen shine, as well as getting all facets of the passing attack in play, including the running backs on screens. VIKINGS OFFENSEcolor> vs. BEARS DEFENSEcolor> Former Bears Bobby Wade (thigh) and Bernard Berrian are Minnesota’s leading receivers in terms of reception and yardage, respectively. Tight end Garrett Mills (ankle) has had a tough time staying healthy as a member of the Vikings. Visanthe Shiancoe has been a pleasant surprise (26-353, 4 TD) and should be paid special attention in the red zone. Right tackle Artis Hicks (elbow) might have to give the job back to Ryan Cook if he isn’t ready. Either way, Adewale Ogunleye (2 sacks last week) might have a matchup to exploit. Last week against the Rams, cornerback Nathan Vasher fractured the surgically repaired thumb/wrist that had him out of action just a few weeks ago. He’s expected to miss a significant amount of time—perhaps even wind up on Injured Reserve. Corey Graham will take over. Graham’s coverage skills aren’t quite the same as Vasher’s, but he more than makes up for it in run support. Safety Mike Brown left last week’s game with a lower leg injury. If he’s not ready to return, Craig Steltz is likely to take his place. Linebacker and special teams standout Darrell McClover was placed on Injured Reserve this week. In the four games since the bye week, The Vikings are running 61 percent of the time. Gus Frerotte is only averaging 21.5 passing attempts. The reason might be pass protection. Frerotte has been sacked 13 times in that span against only 86 attempts. On the season, they’ve allowed 31 sacks. Expect the Vikings to give the Bears a heavy dose of Adrian Peterson with a sprinkle of Chester Taylor. The Bears’ defense played great against the running attacks of Tennessee and St. Louis but was embarrassed against Green Bay. The Bears’ defense turned up the heat with 5 sacks and 4 interceptions last week after a dismal stretch through the middle of the season. Look for the Bears to feed off of the things that worked last week and for the Vikings to try to utilize cutbacks to pit the Bears’ own speed against them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixote Posted November 29, 2008 Report Share Posted November 29, 2008 Excellent break down as usual. I think reading how they are having problems in pass protection and are likely to limit the number of passing attempts means we will see the Bears stack the line more often with Urlacher and Briggs running stunts. If we can shut down AP & CT, we will, or at least should, limit them to less than 20 points. If we do that and Orton is anywhere near 100% there is no reason why we can not have excellent success against their very pedestrian pass defense. We definitely need to get TEs involved and I want to see at least a half dozen passes to Forte coming out of the backfield. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connorbear Posted November 29, 2008 Report Share Posted November 29, 2008 Excellent break down as usual. I think reading how they are having problems in pass protection and are likely to limit the number of passing attempts means we will see the Bears stack the line more often with Urlacher and Briggs running stunts. If we can shut down AP & CT, we will, or at least should, limit them to less than 20 points. If we do that and Orton is anywhere near 100% there is no reason why we can not have excellent success against their very pedestrian pass defense. We definitely need to get TEs involved and I want to see at least a half dozen passes to Forte coming out of the backfield. Word from the SCORE today is that McKie injured his quad in practice today and is questionable for the game. Peace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noots Posted November 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2008 Word from the SCORE today is that McKie injured his quad in practice today and is questionable for the game. Peace Yup, they signed FB Jason Davis from the PS and put Vasher on IR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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