ESPN.com - NFL - Take 2: Bears vs. Giants Friday, November 5, 2004
Scouts Inc.
Tuesday, our scouts filed their advance advance scouting report on this
week's matchup between the Bears and Giants. Now they're back with a
second look.
The Giants help confuse opposing secondaries and help their receivers get
open by running a lot of bunch formations as well as crossing routes. For
example, they will line WR Ike Hilliard up to the same side of TE Jeremy
Shockey and then motion to him the opposite side. At the snap off the ball
Hilliard will run back across the field towards Shockey who will be
running a slant across the middle. The hope is that the crisscrossing
causes two of the defenders to bump into each other allowing one or both
receivers to get open. Chicago's secondary must be aware of these routes
as well as formations and keep good spacing so they don't run into one
another.
Another way Giants offensive coordinator John Hufnagel will help free
Shockey up involves lining him up at receiver. Hufnagel will put Hilliard
and WR Amani Toomer on one side with Shockey lined up wide on the opposite
side. The formation makes it difficult for opposing defenses to roll the
coverage to Shockey's side of the field, which is critical because his
size will cause matchup problems for the Bears' corners. He has the height
and strength to win any jump balls working against DC's Jerry Azumah and
Nathan Vasher, which makes him a threat in the vertical passing game and
the red zone.
Young quarterbacks have a tendency to lock onto receivers and that doesn't
bode well for Chicago. Giants SS Gibril Wilson has good range and he is
doing an excellent job of reading the opposing quarterback's eyes. Bears
rookie QB Craig Krenzel must make a conscious effort to look Wilson off
before releasing the ball or Wilson will get an excellent break on the
ball and he is a playmaker.
Look for Giants' defensive coordinator Tim Lewis to be extremely
aggressive early on, as the Giants would benefit tremendously from forcing
an early turnover. It would get the crowd more involved in the game and it
could cause Krenzel to lose confidence in the pocket. Recovering an early
turnover could also give the offense quality field position or even
produce points that help the Giants build an early lead. Jumping ahead
would put pressure on the Bears to abandon the run in the hopes that
Krenzel's arm can get them back in the game.
Lewis' blitz-package will also put pressure on a young Chicago receiving
corps that is still adjusting to its third quarterback of the season. The
Bears' receivers must change their routes when they read blitz and give
Krenzel a target he can hit quickly. They must stay on the same page as
Krenzel so he doesn't end up throwing inside when they break outside.
Chicago head coach Lovie Smith and Giants QB Kurt Warner are very familiar
with one another. Smith served as St. Louis' defensive coordinator from
2001 until 2003 while Warner played for the Rams from 1998 until 2003. It
will be interesting to see whether Smith's knowledge of Warner's
tendencies give him an edge or Warner seeing Smith's schemes in practice
gives him the advantage.
Giants head coach Tom Coughlin has been pleased with the downfield
blocking of both Hilliard and Toomer. Their ability to sustain the blocks
when the Giants attack the perimeter and run screens has allowed Barber to
break some long runs. The Bears' corners will have to be active and make
it difficult for the Gants' receivers to get into their frames. It's also
important to note that they cannot allow Barber to get outside of them.
Chicago defensive coordinator Ron Rivera got back to the basics and
preached the fundamentals in practice last week. He slowed the tempo and
made sure players were getting into the correct position. The added time
appeared to help the young Bears' front seven in Chicago's win over San
Francisco, as players did a better job of filling the correct gap. Rivera
will need a similar effort from his run defense, as Barber does a great
job of cutting back when he recognizes the defense overrunning the play.
The Giants feel they should have won their game against Detroit two weeks
ago and that they may have been overconfident following a big win at
Dallas the previous week. They are once again expected to win at home and
they don't want to make the same mistake. Coughlin has stressed the
importance of not overlooking the Bears and he's been very complimentary
of their play thus far. The hope is that the players will learn from their
previous mistake and prevent history from repeating itself.
Expect Warner to use a lot of hard counts. Chicago's defensive line is
very aggressive getting upfield and varying the cadence will make it
difficult for it to anticipate the snap. That will give the offensive line
a better opportunity to get into position. Once in position the Giants
offensive line has the powerful run blockers to open up seams for Barber
and they should give Warner some time to go through his reads.
Special Teams
Both place kickers have been inconsistent but Chicago's Paul Edinger has
connected on five of his last six field goal attempts and the Giants Steve
Christie has connected on his last eight. Expect both to take advantage of
any opportunities they get to put points on the board.
Prediction: Giants 34, Bears 13
Scouts Inc.
Tuesday, our scouts filed their advance advance scouting report on this
week's matchup between the Bears and Giants. Now they're back with a
second look.
The Giants help confuse opposing secondaries and help their receivers get
open by running a lot of bunch formations as well as crossing routes. For
example, they will line WR Ike Hilliard up to the same side of TE Jeremy
Shockey and then motion to him the opposite side. At the snap off the ball
Hilliard will run back across the field towards Shockey who will be
running a slant across the middle. The hope is that the crisscrossing
causes two of the defenders to bump into each other allowing one or both
receivers to get open. Chicago's secondary must be aware of these routes
as well as formations and keep good spacing so they don't run into one
another.
Another way Giants offensive coordinator John Hufnagel will help free
Shockey up involves lining him up at receiver. Hufnagel will put Hilliard
and WR Amani Toomer on one side with Shockey lined up wide on the opposite
side. The formation makes it difficult for opposing defenses to roll the
coverage to Shockey's side of the field, which is critical because his
size will cause matchup problems for the Bears' corners. He has the height
and strength to win any jump balls working against DC's Jerry Azumah and
Nathan Vasher, which makes him a threat in the vertical passing game and
the red zone.
Young quarterbacks have a tendency to lock onto receivers and that doesn't
bode well for Chicago. Giants SS Gibril Wilson has good range and he is
doing an excellent job of reading the opposing quarterback's eyes. Bears
rookie QB Craig Krenzel must make a conscious effort to look Wilson off
before releasing the ball or Wilson will get an excellent break on the
ball and he is a playmaker.
Look for Giants' defensive coordinator Tim Lewis to be extremely
aggressive early on, as the Giants would benefit tremendously from forcing
an early turnover. It would get the crowd more involved in the game and it
could cause Krenzel to lose confidence in the pocket. Recovering an early
turnover could also give the offense quality field position or even
produce points that help the Giants build an early lead. Jumping ahead
would put pressure on the Bears to abandon the run in the hopes that
Krenzel's arm can get them back in the game.
Lewis' blitz-package will also put pressure on a young Chicago receiving
corps that is still adjusting to its third quarterback of the season. The
Bears' receivers must change their routes when they read blitz and give
Krenzel a target he can hit quickly. They must stay on the same page as
Krenzel so he doesn't end up throwing inside when they break outside.
Chicago head coach Lovie Smith and Giants QB Kurt Warner are very familiar
with one another. Smith served as St. Louis' defensive coordinator from
2001 until 2003 while Warner played for the Rams from 1998 until 2003. It
will be interesting to see whether Smith's knowledge of Warner's
tendencies give him an edge or Warner seeing Smith's schemes in practice
gives him the advantage.
Giants head coach Tom Coughlin has been pleased with the downfield
blocking of both Hilliard and Toomer. Their ability to sustain the blocks
when the Giants attack the perimeter and run screens has allowed Barber to
break some long runs. The Bears' corners will have to be active and make
it difficult for the Gants' receivers to get into their frames. It's also
important to note that they cannot allow Barber to get outside of them.
Chicago defensive coordinator Ron Rivera got back to the basics and
preached the fundamentals in practice last week. He slowed the tempo and
made sure players were getting into the correct position. The added time
appeared to help the young Bears' front seven in Chicago's win over San
Francisco, as players did a better job of filling the correct gap. Rivera
will need a similar effort from his run defense, as Barber does a great
job of cutting back when he recognizes the defense overrunning the play.
The Giants feel they should have won their game against Detroit two weeks
ago and that they may have been overconfident following a big win at
Dallas the previous week. They are once again expected to win at home and
they don't want to make the same mistake. Coughlin has stressed the
importance of not overlooking the Bears and he's been very complimentary
of their play thus far. The hope is that the players will learn from their
previous mistake and prevent history from repeating itself.
Expect Warner to use a lot of hard counts. Chicago's defensive line is
very aggressive getting upfield and varying the cadence will make it
difficult for it to anticipate the snap. That will give the offensive line
a better opportunity to get into position. Once in position the Giants
offensive line has the powerful run blockers to open up seams for Barber
and they should give Warner some time to go through his reads.
Special Teams
Both place kickers have been inconsistent but Chicago's Paul Edinger has
connected on five of his last six field goal attempts and the Giants Steve
Christie has connected on his last eight. Expect both to take advantage of
any opportunities they get to put points on the board.
Prediction: Giants 34, Bears 13
