Carter's Classroom: Why Bell will explode vs. Bears

The Steelers have started their season with two wins without their star running back, Le'Veon Bell, putting up the huge numbers that he is accustomed to.

While it has not stopped the Steelers yet, Bell's success has often gone hand-in-hand with the Steelers' best performances in the past few seasons. Part of Todd Haley's plan has to be getting Bell back into the mold of being a superstar playmaker soon, and the Bears could be the perfect opportunity for that objective:



KEY MATCHUP:
Bears' defensive front vs. Steelers' offensive line and Bell

The Steelers will face a different defensive look than their first two opponents for a number of reasons. For one, the Bears' base defense employs a 3-4 defensive front instead of the 4-3 front used by both the Browns and Vikings.

The 4-3 front relies on four extremely physical defensive linemen to plug the gaps and occupy the offensive linemen so that the three linebackers in the formation are free to roam and attack the gaps in the offense. The 3-4 operates the same way, but puts a larger onus on the linebackers to beat the linemen since there is one less defensive lineman clogging up holes.

For example, watch how the Bears are able to limit Tampa Bay to only a two-yard gain, even when the Bucs have the perfect alignment with their tackle and guard to take on the Bears.

The player who makes the tackle is inside linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski, as he reads the A-gap and makes the left guard miss so he can make a play on the running back:



The Bears are going to rely on both Kwiatkoski and their other inside linebacker, Danny Trevathan, to make plays like this in space. However making the likes of Maurkice Pouncey, Ramon Foster and David DeCastro miss may not be as easy of a task.

A few more items to notice about the above play is where the help comes from in the Bears' defense on this play. Notice how both safeties, Quintin Demps and Eddie Jackson, do not fly to the ball as soon as there is a hand-off. That's the polar opposite of what the Vikings and Browns both did against the Steelers.

You should also notice how outside linebacker Sam Acho flies in from off the left side of the screen. The Bears tend to line up their outside linebackers wide of the formation, especially when there is a slot receiver five yards away from the offensive tackle.

This is most likely because they feel too nervous about leaving a man completely uncovered at the line of scrimmage, but it severely exposes a gap in their defense against the run.

The Steelers are probably looking at that tendency, and planning to take advantage to give Bell space to work like the Falcons did for Devonta' Freeman on this six-yard run in the Bears' season opener.

The player highlighted is outside linebacker Leonard Floyd, a tall and lean 2016 first round pick out of Georgia. Floyd was taken ninth overall because of his pure speed numbers in the NFL combine.

But with that speed, Floyd does not appear to be aggressive enough to use it when it is most opportune so that he can close down on opponents. Below is an example where he lined out over top of the slot receiver, but when he saw the run, paused and waited for Freeman to come to him:



That pause left Freeman with a huge gap to attack and gain the yards he needed on this play. If the Bears give this kind of space to Bell, they will be putting their linebackers in a tough situation to make the play.

All the Steelers will really have to do in these situations is make sure to seal the Bears' defensive end and have either a tight end or a lineman get to the inside linebacker. Giving Bell these types of one-on-one opportunities will prove to be a nightmare for the Bears.

But don't forget the point I made about the safeties, because that is a consistent theme in this Bears' defense. They are far less likely than the Browns or Vikings to have their safeties line up in the box, let alone have them fly to the line of scrimmage to help against the run.

Watch how that hurts them here as Jacquizz Rodgers runs for nine yards. The Buccaneers line up with an even 4-on-4 matchup with their right side of the line against that side of the Bears' front.

That's usually bad news for the defense because that even draw of blockers against defenders means there's no extra body to take on the running back. Rodgers takes advantage of that and speeds through the hole without any of the safeties coming to help:



Look at the deep safety towards that side of the field. That's No. 39, Jackson, a rookie from Alabama, who hesitates to approach the line and is a non-factor on the play.

In the past two games the Steelers had to be concerned about safeties flying to these gaps and closing up running lanes. Now every indication is that if they can manage to win at the line of scrimmage, Bell will have more than enough space to work.

Notice how on the above play that the Buccaneers' tight end easily seals No. 93, Acho, to take him out of the play. While Floyd is reluctant to close on his side, Acho is also a player who does not appear to win close-quarters physical battles out on the edge.

Normally with a 3-4 defense, the outside linebackers need to be bruisers like James Harrison has been in his career by winning those battles. They can either work around the edge to attack the ball carrier, drive the blocker into the intended running gap, or at least hold the edge with their outside shoulder being free so that they can turn back any running back who wishes to get outside of them.

Acho does not do that consistently on tape. If the Steelers look at him on the field, they need to see that this may be the perfect chance for their tight ends to seal him to the inside so that Bell can bounce outside the tackles and take on defensive backs.

Here's another example of Acho not even appearing to have a serious attack from the tight end, yet he still struggles with him and gives up the edge:



There are numerous ways for the Steelers' running game to beat the Bears via matching up with their linebackers. Whether it's making sure that their interior linemen get to the inside linebackers or taking advantage of the spacing that seems to be given freely by their outside linebackers, there should be plenty of room for Bell to run free.

THREE OTHER MATCHUPS

Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen vs. Steelers' defensive front:

On the other side of the ball the Steelers' defense has to be wary of allowing the Bears' ground game to be a factor in this game. If the Bears establish a presence with the run, it will open up more opportunities for their quarterback, Mike Glennon, to take advantage of the defense.

Howard is the second-year player coming off a hot rookie season, but has gotten hurt in both of the team's games this year. He's dynamic and can make defenders miss in the hole, but isn't one to create much that his line doesn't open up for him.

While Howard is going to provide the standard challenges of facing a young running back, Tarik Cohen provides a different matchup entirely.

Cohen is a rookie drafted in the fourth round out of North Carolina A&T. He's a bit of a speedster who best compares to Darren Sproles of the Eagles with how dangerous he can be in space.

The Steelers have to avoid giving up ground to Cohen so that he can't ever get going. It won't just be about the ground game, either, as he is a threat as a receiver as well as currently being the Bears' leading rusher.

Cohen is currently tied for the second most receptions (16) in the NFL along with Steelers' standout receiver, Antonio Brown. That should be an indication of just how much the Bears' offense is going to look for him.

Glennon is not a quarterback who will be successful if he takes a lot of risks throwing into tight windows deep down the field. Instead, the Bears are more likely to try to give him short and intermediate throws that are safer and can allow for more yards after the catch.

That's where Cohen comes in as he matches up against Steelers' linebackers. If he comes out of the backfield into the flat, his 4.42 speed in the 40-yard dash can be a problem. He's also extremely quick in his cuts, so he is not easy to keep up with when he starts to zig and zag.

The Steelers need to keep true to their zone defense when Cohen is on the field and disguise where their coverage might come from. Doing so will allow them to sneak defensive backs that creep around the line of scrimmage into the flats to help against Cohen.

Mike Glennon vs. Keith Butler's zone blitz:

Everybody is going to bring up Glennon's victory as the Buccaneers starting quarterback over the Steelers back in September of the 2014 season. Glennon was 21-42 with two touchdowns, the last of which won the game for the Buccaneers in a season which they finished at 2-14.

But this is a different Steelers' defense in 2017 than it was four years ago. For one, the defense won't be relying on Jason Worilds and Jarvis Jones to work at outside linebacker.

Whether or not T.J. Watt plays, the Steelers have enough athleticism at outside linebacker between Bud Dupree and Anthony Chickillo to work their scheme effectively, and will also have Arthur Moats and James Harrison waiting in the wings to bring pressure off the edge.

But what also plays into this schematic battle in Glennon's head will be the improved and much faster secondary.

Glennon benefited from the Steelers' defense primarily running base defensive looks against the Buccaneers in 2014. Butler was a new coordinator that season, and the Steelers didn't have the personnel for him to be confident enough to allow them to be aggressive in blitzing, helping against the run and disguising numerous coverages.

Every indication from the Steelers' first two games this season shows that those questions will not be there this time around. The secondary is blitzing from all sides and has been bumping coverages around the field consistently.

Glennon will have a much different challenge this time around, and if the Steelers manage to get the kind of pressure that has them averaging 4.5 sacks a game so far this season, he will be in for a world of trouble.

Prince Amukamara vs. Antonio Brown:

If Prince Amukamara is the player who lines up with Brown throughout most of the game, as he should for the Bears, the Steelers are probably going to look to take advantage with a considerable amount of targets to their star receiver.

Because the Bears' safeties appear to be extremely conservative and stay back deep more, it is reasonable to expect that Martavis Bryant might not get those single-coverage looks on deep fly routes.

But when one deep route is taken away, underneath routes will open up. And that's exactly what will be advantageous to Brown. Watch for plenty of drag routes over the middle, and comebacks, outs and corner routes that will force Amukamara to play above his reputation in order to keep up with Brown.

If the Bears dedicate more coverage help to Brown while also giving safety help to Bryant, that just opens up that many more chances in the ground game.