Durkin's Preview: Bears-Dolphins
By Dan Durkin-
(CBS) It's been 10 years since the Bears last started a season 0-3 at Soldier Field. They hope to avoid making this an every decade trend Sunday at Soldier Field against the 2-3 Miami Dolphins.
These two teams head into Sunday's game under very different circumstances. The Bears are riding high after their third road win of the season, this one in Atlanta, in what was essentially must-win game for a team with playoff aspirations. In fact, by beating the Falcons, the Bears more than quadrupled their odds of making the playoffs. Since 1990, teams that start the season 2-4 have an eight percent chance of making the playoffs, while those that start 3-3 have a 38 percent chance.
The Dolphins, on the other hand, are reeling from a last-second loss at home to the Packers. It was a game the Dolphins had in their grasp, yet questionable play-calling and clock management down the stretch kept the Packers in it. Giving Aaron Rodgers extra time or opportunities to make plays is disastrous, as the Dolphins experienced first hand.
For the Bears, the winning formula has been simple -- don't turn the ball over. In games in which quarterback Jay Cutler hasn't thrown an interception, the Bears are 3-0. On the other hand, in their three losses, Cutler has thrown two interceptions in each game. Playing a clean game is the key for Marc Trestman's team.
"The theme is we have to take care of the football," Trestman said. "When we take care of the football, we'll be in position to have an opportunity to win the game, and in the games that we didn't win, we didn't completely take care of the football. We did a lot of very good things in those games, but we certainly didn't do enough to win. It starts there."
Miami hasn't been opportunistic with interceptions this season. Opponents have thrown the ball 193 times against the Dolphins, yet they've only intercepted three passes, all against the lowly Oakland Raiders. This is somewhat surprising given the consistent productivity the Dolphins get from their edge rushers -- Cameron Wake and Olivier Vernon.
Bears offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer was quite complimentary of Wake and Olivier, and he pointed out that the Dolphins' scheme is designed to put stress on opposing offensive lines by making them hold up in single-block situations.
"They do a good job of making five-on-five pass-rush situations," Kromer said. "They don't let you double anybody because a lot of times they're blitzing and keeping everybody one-on-one, and with that stunts. They're violent. They're good pass rushers in general. As an individual, they're good. Then you add the element of everybody has one defender to block with no help, no slide, no help either way, it's hard to hold a block that long."
Since the first week of the season, the Dolphins have made life difficult for opposing quarterbacks, consistently hitting them and getting them off their spot. From what Trestman has seen on film, it's not just the raw ability of their pass rushers that's making the different for the Dolphins. He highlighted the continuity between the secondary and the defensive front.
"First of all, they play very tight coverage, even in zone," Trestman said. "And then on third down, because it's man-to-man, you're going to need an extra click. That's what they really try to do on third down is they try to hold you up long enough to be able to have the extra click to be able to get to the quarterback. And they've done a very good job in every game. They're hitting the quarterback in every game. It started with (Tom) Brady in Game 1, it worked through Alex Smith, (Derek) Carr, all of them. And last week as well with Aaron (Rodgers)."
On the perimeter, the Bears have a physical advantage. Receivers Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery and tight end Martellus Bennett used their physicality to bully the Falcons' secondary last week and roam freely down the field. Against the Dolphins, they'll maintain that physical edge, but cornerbacks Brent Grimes and Cortland Finnegan don't let size limitations affect their feistiness. They will challenge releases off the line of scrimmage and rely on their footwork and instincts to squeeze passing windows and contest passes.
The Bears' offensive line got a boost this week with the return of left tackle Jermon Bushrod, who missed the last two weeks with knee and ankle injuries. Sunday will be the first time the Bears have lined up with their top five offensive linemen since opening day.
The Dolphins' defense is playoff-caliber, but their offense is still a work in progress. For the season, the Dolphins have struggled with slow starts, being outscored 30-13 in the first quarter of games. With Knowshon Moreno lost for the season, Lamar Miller steps to the forefront at running back.
Statistically, the Bears' run defense has made significant strides, but their stats are slightly misleading. The Bears gave up 114 or more rushing yards in their first three games, yet over their past three, they've played teams who either couldn't run the ball due to personnel or situational football (Panthers and Falcons) or didn't have to in order to move the ball (Packers). Sunday will be a true test for the Bears' run defense to see exactly where they're at.
In order to win, the Bears must be able to stop the run to make the Dolphins one-dimensional and put the ball in the hands of quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who is still unproven as an NFL passer.
Dan Durkin covers the Bears for CBSChicago.com and is a frequent contributor to 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter at @djdurkin.
