Blocking the Bears—Eagles’ dilemma

The Chicago Bears won 7 of 8 home games in 2018. Only one visiting quarterback—Tom Brady—walked out of Soldier Field with a W this season so far. What will it take for Nick Foles to duplicate that accomplishment?

They say Nick has to play the game of his life. I disagree—the Eagles as a collective unit on offense have to BLOCK the game of their lives. All Nick has to do is what Nick does best: make quick reads, stay accurately within himself, and avoid big mistakes.

Everybody talkin’ about the intense pressure brought on opposing QB’s by the Bears’ front seven…but we need to put the brakes on the hype. Are the Bears not mere mortals like we? Do they not bleed when they are pricked?

EYE take you back to an ancient time (March 13, 2010) when our resident Moses (GK Brizer) first uttered these words for publication on the marble steps of our then-new strip joint:

“Being blocked out of position transcends any arguments regarding system play. The game of football is still the basics—run, pass, catch, block, tackle and kick well. Any great player can override a scheme.”

In other words, great fundamental play by good Eagles players can reduce the schematic impact of an attacking Bears defense to a mere occasional annoyance.

What has been happening with other teams is they allow the reputation of the current Bears defense to alter the fundamental way they play on offense.

You get it into your head that the Bears front seven can’t be blocked, you start calling an offense that avoids confrontation…and before you know it, you’re playing a 6-on-11 scrimmage. This is what sunk the Vikings against the Bears last week.

The “new” Bears defense: speed rushers coming off the edge, interior linemen swallowing up the middle… Secondary guys and LB’s locking down the obvious escape routes, two or three defenders collapsing on a receiver just as the ball arrives.

You know what EYE want to do—run and block straight ahead, again and again, right at these guys. Take it to the street. You know why teams can’t block the Bears in pass protection? Because they don’t establish run-blocking dominance as their first priority. If you beat down the Bears’ endurance with a persistent running attack and the blocking that goes with it (individual play results don’t even have to be spectacular to be effective), you will slow down their pass rush late in the game. You will also inject some doubt into their aggressive zone coverages downfield.

There’s no way you can convince me that our 300-pounders can’t block straight up on their 300-pounders if we have the fundamental technique and desire to do so. We won’t win every down, but we can wear them down to a point where we can dictate the tempo on offense.

Yes, I know…The Bears are first in the league against the run (80.0 yards per game), first in the league against opponent quarterback rating (72.9), lead in takeaways (36), and in touchdown efficiency (opponents reached the end zone on just 14.8 percent of their drives). They posted 50 sacks this year (third in the NFL) and posted a 34.2 percent third-down conversion rate (fourth in the NFL).

And Khalil Mack can beat offensive linemen in a multitude of ways. He can win with speed. He can win with power. He can win with technique. He can win with effort. He’s excellent on stunts and twists up front. He’s one of the toughest guys to block in the league regardless of position.

Which is why I say screw all the talk of double teams, slide protection and chip blocks on this dude. Step right up, run right at him, throw right over him. Don’t allow this guy to change how you want to run your offense. So many teams do that, and then wonder why their offenses struggle to find a rhythm, or worse end up in 3rd and long so often that they basically create the pass-rush opportunities on which he thrives.

Same goes for other superior defenders like DT Akiem Hicks, LB Leonard Floyd, and linemen Eddie Goldman, Jonathan Bullard and Roy Robertson-Harris. Other teams are so intimidated by these guys they design plays away from them. That just feeds into the psychology of feeling beaten before you start. You can’t let these guys alter your ability to play to your own strengths. If you’re avoiding conflict with these guys, you are just setting up alternate power options in zone coverage for their mates in the secondary. They will know where you are going by keying on what players up front you are avoiding. That’s why this defensive group is so cocky—they stay in their base package, even against 11 personnel with three receivers on the field.

This is the game where you have to call out the Bears front seven and challenge each of them man-to-man. No magical pussy-footing-around will substitute. This is the time when you should hear the mythical Coach Brizer in the mythical Eagles locker room saying “Screw scheme—block your man out of position. Next!”