Bears coaches have an edge against Broncos' new QB
Normally there would be little information available for a team like the Chicago Bears preparing to face a young quarterback making his first NFL start, as the Broncos' Brock Osweiler will do Sunday at Soldier Field.
Osweiler has thrown just 54 passes since the Broncos drafted him in the second round in 2012. Nearly half of those came last week in a 29-13 loss to the Chiefs, when he went 14-for-24 for 146 yards after Peyton Manning was benched following his fourth interception of the day, as he tried to play through a worsening foot injury.
But, as Denver's head coach the previous four years, Bears coach John Fox saw plenty of Osweiler. Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase held the same job with the Broncos in 2013 and '14 and was the quarterbacks coach in Osweiler's rookie season. Five other Bears coaches were also on Fox's Denver staff, so there is a level of familiarity with Osweiler that other opponents don't have.
"There's a book on every player in this league," Fox said. "Obviously, his book's not real thick because there hasn't been a lot of playing time. (But) how he fits in the offense, what they'll try to do with him, I think we have a pretty good understanding of that."
The Broncos' play-calling didn't change much last week after Osweiler relieved Manning, but under new coach Gary Kubiak, the Broncos run a different offense than they did during Fox's regime.
"They're familiar with the personnel, but they're not at all familiar with the scheme," Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. "It's a totally different scheme than what they were running at Denver prior to that."
There isn't much comparison between the 6-foot-8, 240-pound Osweiler, who turns 25 on Sunday, and the 39-year-old Manning. So, within the scheme, there will be some tweaks to take advantage of what Osweiler does best.
"We're sure they're gonna do some different things," Fox said. "Gary's been in this league for a long time. A lot of the coaches here understand what they're trying to do, how they're geared to execute on offense. There's enough tape on Brock, whether it was the preseason or his regular-season snaps. We'll prepare the best we can for that."
Fangio will prepare his defense for a quarterback with a bit more zip than Manning, who has clearly lost several mph off his fastball. Despite his size, Osweiler is more mobile than might be expected.
"He's got a big arm," Fangio said of Osweiler. "He's athletic. He'll scramble much more than Peyton would. He can run some of the boot(leg)s more than Peyton would, and Gary likes those boots. You'll see an athletic guy with a big arm, probably pretty similar to (the Ravens') Joe Flacco, if you're trying to draw a comparison."
More so than against a veteran quarterback, the Bears' defense will try to get to Osweiler early and prevent him from getting into a comfort zone.
"When you get your first start, you're trying to go out there and prove something," outside linebacker Sam Acho said. "So we want to make sure he's not proving anything against us."
The Bears have done an excellent job of controlling opposing quarterbacks most of the season. They've allowed an average of only 217.0 passing yards per game, fourth-best in the league.
But Fangio isn't assuming his crew will have an easy time just because of Osweiler's inexperience.
"I think at times that's a little overrated," he said. "Obviously the veteran guys react to things better, but this is his fourth year in the league, so he's been around, and he's had the advantage of sitting with Peyton these last three years. You never know what's going to happen with that."
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