Weekend notes: attacking Packers' Rodgers

The Bears head to Lambeau Field on Sunday night with some question marks at the corner position, and it should be interesting to see how Lovie Smith calls the game from the defensive side of the football against Packers QB Aaron Rodgers.

APCornerback Charles Tillman

From my experience as a player, teams will test the edges of a defense early in a ballgame to see where players — such as the Bears’ Charles Tillman — are at in terms of their straight-line speed, their ability to turn their hips and their ability to plant and drive on the ball, which is being watched by the coaches up in the press box. If they see any hesitation in Tillman’s game, expect the Packers to challenge him down the field and try to steal an early big play.

But in saying that, what do the Bears do on defense? Do they sit back in their Tampa 2 scheme and allow Tillman and fellow corners Nathan Vasher and Zack Bowman to squat on receivers, funnel them inside to the safeties and play the flat? Or do they bring pressure — both zone and man — and try to make Rodgers get the ball out of his hands quickly before his feet are planted?

If I’m the Bears, I show Rodgers plenty of different looks, roll the safeties and corners at the snap of the football and bring more pressure than we’re used to seeing from a Lovie Smith-coached team. Yes, the Bears will rely on their Cover 2 scheme plenty of times tomorrow night — and their four-man rush — but in my opinion, for this defense to make game-changing plays, Smith needs to dial up enough pressure to make Rodgers feel uncomfortable in the hope the Bears can steal a play or two — because if this game turns into a shootout, I have to go with Green Bay.

The Broncos’ Brandon Marshall is scheduled to play Sunday against the Bengals, giving us another example of how offseason drama is easily put to bed when regular-season action starts. There was no chance Marshall was going to miss out on tomorrow’s game check, just as there was no chance that Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels was going to put his offense on display for the first time without his biggest playmaker.

APWill Cassel play on Sunday?

Chiefs head coach Todd Haley is in a tough spot heading to Baltimore this weekend with the decision he has to make about starting quarterback Matt Cassel. The former Patriot is not yet fully recovered from a sprained knee he suffered in the preseason, and with the amount of pressure the Chiefs can expect to see from the Ravens’ defense, putting Cassel out there with limited mobility could be a recipe for disaster.

But what’s the other option? Brody Croyle? Add in the fact that all eyes will be on Haley after he dismissed offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, and this is not the script you’d want in your first game as an NFL head coach. Do you risk the health of your franchise quarterback or do you head into a game against one of the NFL’s best defenses with a quarterback who couldn’t start anywhere else in the NFL?

Detroit’s Matthew Stafford picked a tough defense to start his NFL career against when the Lions travel to New Orleans to open the season against defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and the Saints.

APStafford could be in for a rude awakening on Sunday.

Yes, there are plenty of teams in this league that rely on their pressure packages as their dominant calls in the game plan, but Williams’ defenses are designed to give multiple pre-snap looks — something Stafford didn’t see in the preseason. I played in Williams’ scheme. It is complex, it is attacking, and the premise of the game plan is to dictate the flow of the game to the offense through pressure and coverage, which Williams will do tomorrow against Stafford.

Most likely, the Lions spent the last week watching Jacksonville tape from last season to get an idea what they can expect in certain down and distance situations. But with a full offseason to work with Williams, the New Orleans defense will have some new looks that should confuse the rookie and lead to big plays for the Saints.

The Richard Seymour drama looks like it’s coming to an end with reports that the former Patriot will show up in Oakland this weekend. It may come as a surprise that the Raiders expect to play Seymour after missing a week of practice, but even without the work, he’s still the best defensive lineman on the roster in Oakland — and this defensive front was shredded all preseason. The Raiders have no choice but to play him.

The Falcons host Miami tomorrow, and I’m interested to see how Atlanta plays against a physical team like the Dolphins. I expect Miami to use some creative formations on offense, but the backbone of this team is the downhill power running game with Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. Miami has a young defense, and this may be the most physical offensive team it faces all year.

I understand that the Dolphins started the rage last season that is the wildcat formation, but when they need a play in the running game, they line up and run the ball right at defenses. A good challenge to open the season for Atlanta.

APWill Peppers and the Panthers be able to slow down McNabb and the Eagles?

We’ll learn a lot tomorrow about the Panthers’ defense when they host Donovan McNabb and the Eagles. Ron Meeks came down from Indianapolis to run the Panthers’ defense, and that translates to a unit that relies on coverage with a four-man rush — something we haven’t seen for years in Carolina.

I believe the Panthers have enough speed at linebacker and in the secondary to make plays in the Cover 2 scheme, but the question remains if Carolina can produce pressure — especially on third downs — from its four-man rush. DE Julius Peppers needs to have a big game to allow Carolina to sit back in coverage and force McNabb to unload the ball to his underneath routes, where the Panthers can make a tackle and get off the field on third downs.

Follow me on Twitter: MattBowen41

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