| 20 September 2009
You don't have to be a Chicago Bears maniac to know that the Bears' offensive tackles will be tested this weekend by the Steelers' linebackers. If you watched the Super Bowl last year you saw the pressure the Steelers got on the Arizona Cardinals. The mix up of blitzes caused one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history when Steelers LB James Harrison picked off Cardinals QB Kurt Warner and ran it back 92 yards for a touchdown. The success of the play came from one simple aspect of the 3-4 defense, the zone blitz. The Steelers are the the preeminent defense in the NFL not only because of their scheme but because of the players within that scheme. The zone blitz caused the major turnover for the touchdown in the Super Bowl because Warner wasn't expecting Harrison to be in coverage.
Harris is one of the best pass rushers in the league and he will provide a major test not only for Orlando Pace but for the young Chris Williams too. The Bears will know after this week just how good the offensive line will be after facing Harrison and LaMar Woodley. Both Woodley and Harrison combined for 27.5 sacks for the Steelers in 2008, a phenomenal pass rushing statistic. The goal of Pace and Williams will be to keep Jay Cutler upright, but more importantly prove to Bears fans that the front office made a good judgment in making them the starters. Both players were essentially anointed the starters when John Tait was retired and the Bears lost John St Clair in free agency.
Just what type of protection can Pace still provide at his age? Can he handle a player of Harrison's level? Harrison not only is a speed and power rusher, he is also on the smaller side of things at 6-foot 246-pounds. The talk is that Pace struggles with the smaller players because he can't bend as well as he used to. Harrison is that type of player and you hope he won't struggle with this challenge.
This is a challenge that Pace needs to step up for and show that he can still play at a high level. There can't be any excuses in regards to smaller players, his responsibility is too great. The money he is making is too much for Pace not to be able to handle Harrison and keep him off the back of Cutler.
On the flip side will Chris Williams show the reasons why he was made the first round pick of the Bears in 2008? We have seen flashes from Williams but he hasn't truly been tested yet. This will be his first big test of his career and he is just as equally responsible for keeping Cutler's jersey clean as Pace.
From what we've seen in the pre-season and from last week against the Packers there is major reason for concern. Pace struggled mightily against Elvis Dumervil of the Denver Broncos. Dumervil is the same type of pass rusher as Harrison, fast, small and compact. Dumervil owned Pace out there and the excuse floated up that Pace can't deal with the smaller pass rushers the way once did.
Dumervil goes 5-foot-11 only one inch shorter than Harrison. A major note that perhaps will be overlooked by most fans. The Bears will likely have to chip and scrape and cut Harrison all night long. Figure out any way they can to slow him down and keep Cutler from take too many shots.
I'm not confident that Pace specifically will be able to hold up in this game and Harrison could definitely be the difference maker for the Steelers in this game. All the signs point to Harrison having a big game, and if the Bears can't get their offense going, they will have major problems moving the football and beating the defending Super Bowl champions.
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