Chicago Bears' offensive line looks to be Ram-tough
The battle between the Chicago Bears' offensive line and the St. Louis Rams' defensive line Sunday could be considered class warfare.
The Rams' D-linemen are from the upper class. Five were first-round draft picks: ends Chris Long and Robert Quinn and tackles Aaron Donald, Michael Brockers and Nick Fairley.
Then there's the Bears' O-line, which is more working class: seventh-round left tackle Charles Leno, undrafted guard Patrick Omameh, sixth-round left guard-turned-center Matt Slauson, along with second-round guard Vlad Ducasse and first-round right tackle Kyle Long.
"Yup, they have a bunch of studs," Slauson said. "But I'm really confident in the guys in our room. I think we have some studs, and if we stick to our plan and play the way we're capable of playing, everything will be fine."
The Rams are No. 2 in the NFL in sack percentage, mainly because just about everyone on their defensive line is capable of providing an effective pass rush.
The 6-foot-4, 270-pound Quinn leads the way with 5 sacks, and he's unquestionably one of the NFL's best pass rushers. He had 40 sacks in the previous three seasons, and he's just 25.
The 24-year-old Donald is a close second this season with 4½ sacks after getting 9 as a rookie last season, second among all tackles.
The Rams' Long, older brother of the Bears' Long, has just 2 sacks this season but has missed the last three games and is doubtful for Sunday. He collected 41½ sacks from 2010-13.
The comparison that most Bears players and coaches make when discussing the Rams is the Seattle Seahawks, the NFL's best defense over the previous two seasons.
"They're about one of the most physical teams we've played to date," said Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase of the Rams. "You feel almost Seattle-type intensity the way they play. They really get after it. They play sideline to sideline.
"They play all the way to the whistle, so you've just got to make sure you bring your 'A' game. You better be physical. You better make sure you come to play physical football."
The Bears played their worst offensive game of the season against the Seahawks, losing 26-0 in Week 3 while accumulating just 146 total yards. They were without Jay Cutler and Alshon Jeffery that day, but the Bears must make other improvements against the Rams if they expect a better outcome.
"Obviously, having Jay helps a lot," Slauson said. "(But) I have to be on it, front-recognition wise, because some of their fronts look the same, and we have to ID them, and that's on me. So I'm going to have to do it really fast."
The O-line has done a solid job of keeping Cutler upright so far this season; they're tied for 12th in sack percentage allowed. Cutler has been sacked at a lower rate this season than in any of his previous six seasons with the Bears.
But he's wary of the Rams' front four. Asked about the Rams' corners, Cutler digressed.
"I think you have to start with the front four or seven, however you look at it," Cutler said. "The amount of pressure and disruption they cause allows those cornerbacks to take some gambles and make some plays and sit on some stuff, which makes you a little bit leery as a quarterback."
Cutler believes the Bears' best chance to keep the Rams at bay is to keep them guessing.
"You've got to throw a lot of different stuff at them," the Bears quarterback said. "You've got to get rid of it fast. You've got to (use the) screen game. You've got to block it up at times and push the ball down the field because they're going to show you a lot of different looks."
No matter what the Bears do, the Rams are too talented up front to be neutralized for too long.
"They're going to make some plays," Cutler said. "We've got to prepare for that, and we've got to be ready to combat that."
It won't be an easy day for the Bears' working-class offensive linemen.
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