Bears at Vikings Week 17 Depth Chart Preview
Dec 29, 2018 19:22:55 GMT -6
AlexM, mikegolf, and 1 more like this
Post by danchat on Dec 29, 2018 19:22:55 GMT -6
The 11-4 Bears will take on the 8-6-1 Vikings in a game Minnesota must win to get in (unless Philly somehow loses to Washington, which I don't see happening). The Bears have a chance to pass up the Rams as the #2 seed if San Fran can pull an upset over the Rams.
I'm back for another round of taking a look at the Vikings depth chart (you can see the previous version here). The details of how I put this chart together are explained there.
With that out of the way, let's see how the Vikings' roster sizes up:
*My thoughts*
Compared to Week 11, this Vikings roster is basically the same. The Vikings will have TE David Morgan and OLB Anthony Barr healthy this time around. The only real offensive changes have been firing OC John DeFilippo and getting Treadwell off the field (finally!). New OC Kevin Stefanski seems to have a better understanding of the Vikings personnel and has, in a small sample size, made things worked better than Flip-Flop was. On defense, you'll see the same starters minus Kendricks and possibly Rhodes.
Now you might say, "oh, we'll be able to pass better with Rhodes out", but you'd be wrong - Rhodes has graded as the Vikings' worst CB by PFF - and this passes the eye test too. Rhodes has been unable to cover #1 WRs, and UDFA Holton Hill and nickel CB Mackensie Alexander have vastly outperformed him thus far. Losing Kendricks hurts, but second year UDFA Eric Wilson could be a starter on several other NFL teams - he's a fast LB who can cover HBs and has rushed the passer well on a small sample size. The matchup between he and Tarik Cohen will be fun to watch.
With the new offensive coordinator in tow, the Vikings will try to run the ball more often, though hopefully they won't run it at Akiem Hicks quite as often. The running game has been non-existent most games because the Vikings lack good run blockers on the O-line - Compton, Remmers, and O'Neill aren't cutting it as run blockers. Compton, as you guys should know, should be a bench player, while Remmers was a league average RT who is inexplicably playing out of position the whole season. O'Neill is a fantastic pass protector, but the rookie doesn't have the strength to run block (he was a TE in college just a few years back).
The Vikings defense has been playing better since the Week 11 matchup, so expect points to be hard to come by. The Vikings rush the passer in home games much better than they do in away games, so expect Danielle Hunter and Sheldon Richardson to make more plays this time around. Anthony Barr has been good whenever he rushes the passer, and quietly the Pro Bowler has also improved in coverage. Jordan Howard won't have much room to run with Linval Joseph clogging up the interior, though getting Kyle Long back in the lineup should give Chicago a boost.
Prediction: Vikings 20, Bears 17
The Bears haven't been so good on the road and the Vikings always play better at US Bank Stadium. Chicago is missing several key players that they had at their disposal last time, and their motivation to win this game may waver. They need to make sure their best guys don't get hurt - losing Mack, Cohen, or Trubisky to an injury would be back-breaking. With an incompetent offensive coordinator out the door, the Vikings should have a better gameplan against the daunting Bears defense.
Any thoughts?
I'm back for another round of taking a look at the Vikings depth chart (you can see the previous version here). The details of how I put this chart together are explained there.
With that out of the way, let's see how the Vikings' roster sizes up:
Injury Report
Bears
FS Eddie Jackson - Doubtful
OLB Aaron Lynch - Doubtful
WR Allen Robinson - Doubtful
DT Bilal Nichols - Questionable
Vikings
WR Beebe - Out
FB Ham - Out
CB Sherels - Out
OLB Kendricks - Out
LG Compton - Questionable
CB Rhodes - Questionable
Bears
FS Eddie Jackson - Doubtful
OLB Aaron Lynch - Doubtful
WR Allen Robinson - Doubtful
DT Bilal Nichols - Questionable
Vikings
WR Beebe - Out
FB Ham - Out
CB Sherels - Out
OLB Kendricks - Out
LG Compton - Questionable
CB Rhodes - Questionable
*My thoughts*
Compared to Week 11, this Vikings roster is basically the same. The Vikings will have TE David Morgan and OLB Anthony Barr healthy this time around. The only real offensive changes have been firing OC John DeFilippo and getting Treadwell off the field (finally!). New OC Kevin Stefanski seems to have a better understanding of the Vikings personnel and has, in a small sample size, made things worked better than Flip-Flop was. On defense, you'll see the same starters minus Kendricks and possibly Rhodes.
Now you might say, "oh, we'll be able to pass better with Rhodes out", but you'd be wrong - Rhodes has graded as the Vikings' worst CB by PFF - and this passes the eye test too. Rhodes has been unable to cover #1 WRs, and UDFA Holton Hill and nickel CB Mackensie Alexander have vastly outperformed him thus far. Losing Kendricks hurts, but second year UDFA Eric Wilson could be a starter on several other NFL teams - he's a fast LB who can cover HBs and has rushed the passer well on a small sample size. The matchup between he and Tarik Cohen will be fun to watch.
With the new offensive coordinator in tow, the Vikings will try to run the ball more often, though hopefully they won't run it at Akiem Hicks quite as often. The running game has been non-existent most games because the Vikings lack good run blockers on the O-line - Compton, Remmers, and O'Neill aren't cutting it as run blockers. Compton, as you guys should know, should be a bench player, while Remmers was a league average RT who is inexplicably playing out of position the whole season. O'Neill is a fantastic pass protector, but the rookie doesn't have the strength to run block (he was a TE in college just a few years back).
The Vikings defense has been playing better since the Week 11 matchup, so expect points to be hard to come by. The Vikings rush the passer in home games much better than they do in away games, so expect Danielle Hunter and Sheldon Richardson to make more plays this time around. Anthony Barr has been good whenever he rushes the passer, and quietly the Pro Bowler has also improved in coverage. Jordan Howard won't have much room to run with Linval Joseph clogging up the interior, though getting Kyle Long back in the lineup should give Chicago a boost.
Prediction: Vikings 20, Bears 17
The Bears haven't been so good on the road and the Vikings always play better at US Bank Stadium. Chicago is missing several key players that they had at their disposal last time, and their motivation to win this game may waver. They need to make sure their best guys don't get hurt - losing Mack, Cohen, or Trubisky to an injury would be back-breaking. With an incompetent offensive coordinator out the door, the Vikings should have a better gameplan against the daunting Bears defense.
Any thoughts?
