Can the Bears Handle Seattle's Blitz?

Just like last week, Seattle doesn't have a chance. The Seahawks are a 10-point underdog, just like last week. They appear to be outmatched by a superior offense, just like last week. But we all know how last week turned out.

And unlike the Saints game, Seattle comes into this week's game with the knowledge that they have a game plan that can beat the Bears, since they already did it in Week 6. Chicago may be a better team than the one that lost to the Seahawks 23-20, but there are plenty of lessons that can be learned from that game.

	2009 Season	Week 6 -- First Half	Week 6 -- Second Half
Rush 3	8.4%	0.0%	0.0%
Rush 4	61.0%	63.6%	30.8%
Rush 5	21.0%	27.3%	57.7%
Rush 6+	9.6%	9.1%	11.5%
2009 stats compiled by Football Outsiders

In re-watching the game, the most apparent problem for the Bears was their inability to handle Seattle's blitz package. In the first half, Seattle played relatively conventionally. They normally rushed four, then mixed in some blitzes at opportune times.

But late in the first half, the Seahawks realized that Chicago was unable to block blitzes. From that point on, Seattle defensive coordinator Gus Bradley went blitz crazy.

In the second half, Seattle blitzed on nearly 70 percent of all passing plays. And it generally worked.

I know there has been a lot written about how the Bears' passing game took off once Mike Martz accepted that he needed to go to shorter drops, and leave more backs and tight ends in to help pick up blitzers.

There definitely is some truth to that -- Jay Cutler took a three-step drop (which gets the ball out quicker) on only three of his 47 called pass plays in that Week 6 game, and the Bears tried to pass protect with only five offensive lineman and no backs or tight ends on 21 of the 47 pass plays.

THE LAST TIME
Jay Cutler's stats from the Seahawks' 23-20 win at Chicago in Week 6
Rushers	Plays	C	A	PCT	Yds	Y/A	Int	Sack	Pressure
4 rushers	22	8	19	.421	192	10.11	1	1	10
5 rushers	20	7	16	.438	83	5.19		4	7
6 rushers	5	2	4	.500	15	3.75		1	3
DB Rushes	21	6	16	.500	45	2.81		4	11
No DBs Blitz	26	11	23	.478	245	10.65		1	9
Overall	47	17	39	.436	290	7.44
First Half	22	7	18	.389	188	10.44		2	12
Second Half	25	10	21	.476	102	4.86			8

Seattle recorded six sacks and 20 total pressures as Chicago struggled to pick up the blitzes all day. Right tackle J'Marcus Webb (2.5 sacks allowed) had particular trouble with figuring out who to block. The Seahawks made Webb's and left tackle Frank Omiyale's jobs even more difficult by using defensive backs Jordan Babineaux, Roy Lewis and Lawyer Milloy as pass rushers. While the DBs obviously don't have much bulk, their speed shortened the decision window for the tackles when they tried to figure out who to block. Webb's decision-making process was a step slow in Week 6.

Webb and Omiyale have played better recently, but they still ranked among the worst tackles in the league. Omiyale's 11.5 sacks allowed was third-worst in the league while Webb's 10 sacks were tied for sixth-worst. On Sunday, if the Seahawks are going to have a chance for a second upset, the pass rush of Chris Clemons, Raheem Brock and the defensive backs will be the key.