Welcome back to another edition of 5 Questions, a weekly collaboration with other SB Nation sites to preview the Ravens’ upcoming matchups. This week, the Chicago Bears are coming to Baltimore, so Bill
Zimmerman of Windy City Gridiron is on hand to answer Baltimore Beatdown’s questions about Week 6.
Also, check out Baltimore Beatdown’s responses to Windy City Gridiron’s questions about the Ravens!
1. The Bears have ripped off four wins in a row. What’s the biggest contributor to their hot streak, and how can that carry over to Week 8?
I honestly think the biggest contributor has been Ben Johnson. They’ve been winning each game differently. They beat Dallas because Caleb Williams couldn’t be stopped. They clawed their way past the Raiders, and Caleb played well on the game-winning drive, and then they blocked a field goal. Against the Commanders, it was D’Andre Swift and the running game. Against the Saints, it was the defense.
What we are seeing is all the different parts of the team playing well at certain times, but not consistently together. If/when they can do that, this team could become a legitimate playoff contender, but the strong play is too sporadic at this point. But the team is starting to build a winning culture.
These close games the Bears have won are the games they’ve consistently lost the last couple of years. That’s changed. Johnson has the team believing they can win, but also letting them know they aren’t where they need to be, and they need to continue to work hard and improve. It’s been a welcome change to see, that’s for sure.
2. Ben Johnson was the hottest head coach candidate for the past few years. Are he and Caleb Williams a good fit together? How has Johnson’s approach changed with a more mobile, out-of-structure quarterback relative to a pocket passer like Jared Goff?
Caleb Williams has had an up-and-down season to this point, but we’ve seen certain aspects of Williams’ game greatly improve from last season already. Williams is getting the ball out consistently much quicker from play to play, which has gotten his sack rate way down. Williams was sacked a league-high 68 times last season, and he’s only been sacked 11 times and is on pace to be sacked about 30 times. His time to throw has vastly improved. It may not look it statistically because there have been times when Williams holds onto the ball and tries to make something happen when his first or second read isn’t open.
Johnson definitely wants Williams to operate in the pocket and operate quickly; however, he’s also trying to encourage Williams to use his legs and buy time in the pocket and make plays out of the pocket or running the football when he needs to do it. It seems that the idea is, operate the offense like I like it most of the time, but when you need to do it, don’t be afraid to break free from the structure and go try to be Superman.
3. Have any of the Bears’ skill position players fit into similar roles as Johnson’s weapons in Chicago? How has he adapted to fit his new players’ skillsets?
Johnson’s strength is to adapt his offense to the players he has. He’s not trying to make the offense a carbon copy of the Detroit Lions; he’s trying to find the best ways to put his receivers in positions to succeed. For example, in the run game, we saw Johnson utilize Gibbs and Montgomery in Detroit in the run game, but through most of the early part of the season, D’Andre Swift was the only running back getting significant carries. Rookie Kyle Monangai saw more action last week against New Orleans, and it will be interesting to see if he continues to do that.
Everyone said Colston Loveland was going to be Johnson’s Sam LaPorta, and that may be true eventually, but Loveland hasn’t been a big part of the offense to this point. That will most likely change moving forward when Loveland is more settled into the league and into the offense, but again, we haven’t seen Johnson trying to force Loveland into being something he’s not ready to be.
We’ve seen Rome Odunze become a huge part of the offense. DJ Moore’s role has definitely been reduced, but he is clearly the team’s number two target at this point. We’ve seen rookie Luther Burden getting limited opportunities, but Olamide Zaccheaus has been the guy consistently getting targets after the top two. But this offense is evolving, and what it looks like now is not how it’s going to look in December.
4. How has Nahshon Wright filled in for Jaylon Johnson at cornerback? Is he (or another part of the Bears defense) a potential weak link for the Ravens to attack?
Wright has done a good job filling in for Jaylon Johnson, but let’s not pretend that it’s not a significant loss for the defense. Johnson is a top ten corner in the league, and Wright isn’t a starting-level boundary corner. But Wright has done well in Dennis Allen’s scheme. Wright does have two interceptions, including a pick-six that he had against J.J. McCarthy in week one. He does a solid job coming up and defending t, he run, and while he has gotten beat at times, he’s done a pretty good job sticking with his man on most passing plays.
After a brutal start to the season, Tyrique Stevenson has been largely lights-out the last three or four games. With his play and Kyler Gordon’s return from injury, the secondary has been vastly improved from the one that Jared Goff torched in week two.
The defense has played outstanding football the last couple of weeks; the one thing they don’t have is the ability to get pressure consistently rushing four. If the Bears don’t send extra rushers, the best way to attack this team is to take advantage of the lack of pass rush, make sure the quarterback is patient in the pocket, and try to beat the team on intermediate and deep routes when a receiver eventually gets open.
5. The Bears invested a lot into their offensive line this season, similar to what the Lions did for Johnson’s offense in Detroit. What have the results been so far?
The returns were slow the first couple of weeks of the year, but the last couple of weeks, we’ve really seen the offensive line round into shape. Their run blocking in the last two games has been outstanding, and we’ve seen massive games from D’Andre Swift because of it. The protection for Caleb Williams has been significantly better compared to last season.
Joe Thuney continues to play at an All-Pro level, Darnell Wright has taken strides towards becoming an elite right tackle, and Drew Dalman and Jonah Jackson have been solid players for the season. Left tackle has been a little in flux, and the Bears have turned to 2nd year UDFA Theo Benedet to hold it down. He played pretty well in his first two opportunities but struggled against the Saints. If the Ravens want to attack the offensive line, left tackle is the spot to do it.
The Bears’ offensive line has an opportunity to be a top ten unit in the league this year as they continue to get to know each other on the field. PFF currently has them 13th in their OL rankings, but I expect that to continue to improve.
