Durkin: What To Watch For During Bears-Bengals
By Dan Durkin--
(CBS) The third preseason game is known as the final dress rehearsal before the regular season starts. The Bears' starters are expected to play into the third quarter this Saturday night against the Bengals in Cincinnati.
With just more than two weeks left until Chicago kicks off the regular season against Green Bay, here are some areas to focus on during Saturday's action.
First-team run game
Judging simply by the numbers, the Bears have had a successful preseason running the football. However, digging a little deeper into where the numbers came from tells a different story.
Of the 331 yards the Bears have rushed for, only 53 have been gained when the first-team offense has been on the field, including six carries (of 12 total) for two yards or fewer. That means 84 percent of the productivity has come from the second- and third-team offense.
Given the state of the receiving corps and how the Bengals were gashed on the ground last week against the Bucs, the Bears must impose their will at the line of scrimmage and establish the run with Matt Forte.
Pass protection has been an issue throughout the preseason, and now left tackle Jermon Bushrod is dealing with a back injury, so his availability and effectiveness remains to be seen. This makes establishing the run that much more important.
Regardless of the polarization he causes, keeping quarterback Jay Cutler healthy heading into the preseason is the top priority for the offense. Thus, Saturday is the perfect opportunity to prove that the Bears can move the chains on the ground.
Pass rush
After an absent performance in the preseason opener against Miami, Chicago's first-team outside linebackers came to life last week in Indianapolis. While the Bengals had protection issues of their own last week against the Bucs, their front five on offense poses a stouter challenge than the Colts.
Heading into camp, the Bears' outside linebackers were the deepest position group on the roster, and that's proved to be true on the field. Pernell McPhee flashed the explosiveness and quickness last week that made him a Day 1 free agent target. Jared Allen showed flashes of his former self operating from a three-point stance in sub packages.
The starting group, as well as key reserves like Lamarr Houston and Sam Acho -- who along with Will Sutton has been the defense's most consistent performer in the preseason -- must bend the edge and disrupt the timing of the Bengals offense.
Bengals coordinator Hue Jackson's offense is designed with quick reads for quarterback Andy Dalton, who also moves better in the pocket than most realize. So the Bears must be disciplined in their rush lanes and get their hands up when stalemated to disrupt the timing of the Bengals' quick-strike passing game.
Tight end
Of the seven tight ends currently on the Bears roster, Martellus Bennett remains the only proven commodity. Through two games, Dante Rosario is the only other tight end who has been targeted -- three times, of which two have been completed for 19 yards.
Thus, the Bears have learned very little about the group at large in game conditions.
With the receiving corps dealing with injuries to their top four options, the Bears must make a concerted effort to get other tight ends involved in the game plan to both move the ball and see who -- other than Bennett -- can be counted upon to make a play when involved in the route combination.
Based on what Adam Gase and John Fox have done in the past, they'll look for two player profiles outside of their primary tight end: an inline blocker (Bear Pascoe, Chris Pantale) for heavy sets and a move player (Rosario and Zach Miller) who can play H-back and fullback in 12 and 21 sets.
Keep an eye on whom the Bears utilize in their two-tight end packages and how those players are utilized from an alignment and assignment standpoint.
Projecting ahead to the final 53 for a moment, I assume Rosario and Pascoe will end up as the second and third players kept at the position.
Dan Durkin covers the Bears for CBSChicago.com and is a frequent contributor to 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @djdurkin.