Pressure on Bears’ O-line to handle Raiders defensive schemes
The Raiders will challenge quarterback Caleb Hanie, a first-time starter, to throw the ball against them by loading the line of scrimmage with eight or nine defenders to stop the running of Matt Forte.
They’re also expected to come after Hanie with blitzes in obvious passing situations.
And the Bears, who are familiar with opponents selling out to stop their run game, will still have to run the ball successfully in those situations if they hope to extend their winning streak to six games. The responsibility falls on an offensive line that has already lost two starters.
“We’ve seen the last two weeks, starting with Detroit, a tremendous amount of eight-man fronts and trying to take away the run game and explosiveness of our run game,” said Bears offensive line coach Mike Tice. “So we’ve got to do a better job of designing schemes and utilizing schemes that eliminate or can handle that eighth guy no matter on what it is.
“So there is pressure on us to do a better job with that regardless of whether Jay (Cutler) is in or Jay is not in. There is pressure on the line to make sure we keep Caleb (Hanie) clean because this way he can get settled in and get himself into a rhythm, knowing that they’re probably going to blitz a whole (heck) of a lot.”
Up to the task:Matt Forte is ready for the challenge that he#146;s certain to experience against the Raiders and every other opponent the Bears will face with inexperienced Caleb Hanie at quarterback.After averaging 137.2 rushing yards and 6.0 yards per carry over a five-game stretch, Forte has been limited to a total of 121 yards and a 3.2-yard average in the past two games #8212; as defenses have placed a greater emphasis on stopping him. He insists he#146;s not frustrated and can shoulder the burden.#147;It#146;s a challenge,#148; Forte said. #147;I wouldn#146;t say frustrating so much. You know everybody is gearing up to stop the run. That#146;s why the passing game has been working pretty well. So we have to, when they have got all their guys in the box like that, the passing game has to work for us to be successful as an offense and put points on the board. If they#146;ve got eight, nine guys in the box somebody has got to be open.#148;Forte still led the NFL with 1,391 yards from scrimmage through 11 weeks and was fourth with 926 rushing yards. He supplies a greater percentage of his team#146;s offense than any player in the NFL #8212; and he says that#146;s nothing new.#147;I think it#146;s always been on my shoulders,#148; Forte said. #147;I don#146;t think it#146;s anything new, a new challenge or anything like that. I just want to continue to go out there and be successful in the running game and also get some more passes out of the backfield, so they just can#146;t stack the box in there if we get the ball out in space.#148;Brady bunch:It took nearly four years for backup quarterback Caleb Hanie to get a start. Today he gets a chance to see if he can become the next Tom Brady, which he says should be the mindset of every quarterback when he gets his opportunity.#147;If you don#146;t have that confidence, there#146;s no way you#146;re going to be the next big thing,#148; Hanie said. #147;I#146;ve got to play with confidence, take it week to week, and we#146;ll see where it leads.#148;Hanie is an unrestricted free agent after this season.