FALCONS VS. BEARS
SUNDAY, 1 P.M. ET, SOLDIER FIELD, CHICAGO uTV: FOX, DIRECTV 711
Announcers: Kevin Burkhardt, Charles Davis, Pam Oliver
About the Falcons: On paper, they’re improved with first-round DE and veteran DT joining OLB
and DT to potentially provide the additional disruption Atlanta desperately needed in the Super Bowl. Returning are No. 1 CB who missed the final 10 games last season because of a torn pectoral muscle, and one of the most prolific offenses in NFL history with MVP
all-pro WR and Pro Bowl RB who was cleared last week from concussion protocol after missing much of the preseason. Before February, a team had never blown a 25-point second-half lead in the Super Bowl. It will be interesting to see how Atlanta begins its quest for a return trip and happier ending.
About the Bears: One of the most injuryravaged teams in the NFL last season lost top WR to a torn anterior cruciate ligament, crushing a thin position with Alshon Jeffery gone and essentially starting over after only playing in four games in his first two seasons. New starting QB and embattled coach
will have a healthy run game, headed by the NFL’s second-leading rusher,
and an ascending defense. Chicago has a new secondary with CBs and and safe
and fourth-round rookie There won’t be a grace period, however. The Bears’ first six opponents all were .500 or better last season. ties The Falcons need another big year from Vic Beasley, the NFL’s 2016 sacks leader.
The most improved player in the NFL meets Massie, whose notable improvements throughout his first season in Chicago didn’t prevent the Bears from making Detroit Lions RT Rick Wagner one of their top free agent targets. If immobile Glennon is to start fast, he’ll need Massie to slow Beasley, the league’s reigning sack leader.
The most dominant wideout in the 2016 postseason had toe
WHO WILL WIN AND WHY
surgery in March after averaging 17.0 yards per catch en route to his second consecutive firstteam all-pro selection.
Atlanta’s defense was on the field for 93 plays the last time it appeared in a game that mattered. And Ryan averaged 9.3 yards per attempt in his MVP season, the highest since Hall of Famer Kurt Warner in 2000.
KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Slow play: Atlanta’s hallmark is speed, and the Bears’ counter should be to slow the game with a huge helping of Howard and exciting rookie RB against a defense that surrendered 4.5 yards per carry in 2016 (25th in the NFL).
2. Holy havoc: Especially until the secondary gels, the front seven will be Bears coordinator defensive engine. LB
appears poised for a Beasleyesque sophomore stride. Floyd, DT
and LB must play with discipline and destructiveness.
3. Sark contrast: The Falcons’ biggest change is at offensive coordinator, where Steve Sarkisian stepped in after Kyle Shanahan became the San Francisco 49ers’ head coach. Can the rookie NFL play-caller mimic the matchup conflicts Shanahan created?
4. Rookies no more: Falcons LBs Jones and De’Vondre Campbell and DBs Keanu Neal and Brian Poole relied on their speed more than savvy as rookies. They should show their progress against a Bears offense lacking firepower through the air.
Arthur Arkush