PLAYER NOTES
–LB Khalil Mack (ankle) missed Wednesday’s practice and is day-to-day. His status for Sunday’s game is uncertain. Aaron Lynch replaced Mack in practice.
–CB Marcus Cooper (hamstring) missed Wednesday’s practice and hasn’t practiced since Week 3.
–WR Allen Robinson (groin) practiced Wednesday on a limited basis due to an injury suffered against Miami.
–G Eric Kush (neck) practiced on a limited basis Wednesday. Despite the injury suffered against Tampa Bay, he had 31 snaps in Sunday’s game as he split time with rookie James Daniels at left guard. Daniels actually had more snaps (38) than Kush for the first time.
–CB Prince Amukamara (hamstring) practiced Wednesday on a limited basis after leaving Sunday’s game with Miami due to his injury. His status for Sunday is uncertain. Bryce Callahan and rookie Kevin Toliver have played in his place.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: RT Bobby Massie. Massie, who is 6-foot-6, 317, had always been regarded as a strong run blocker with pass-blocking deficiencies. In a contract year, Massie is off to a mixed start. He has been flagged four times. That’s more than any other Bears player. One of those stalled a drive. Two independent tracking groups had him at two sacks allowed on the season, which indicates improvement in pass blocking. Although the Bears are averaging less than two yards a run when they run behind right tackle, their offense uses zone blocking and Massie is responsible for some of a whopping 6.8 yards a run they get when they go around right end. It’s been a big adjustment for some of the Bears in this new offense, especially offensive linemen. As they get more accustomed to the scheme — and new offensive line coach Harry Hiestand’s emphasis on every blocker using the same technique — the line and Massie can be expected to become more efficient opening holes.
GAME PLAN: Mitchell Trubisky and the offense have to come aware of Belichick’s knack for confusing young quarterbacks with mixed and disguised coverages, but also mindful of what happened earlier this year. Trubisky was rattled by blitzes in two of the first three games, and the Patriots can choose their times to blitz. They may run blitz, as well. They did this against Jacksonville and Detroit when they were giving up too much on the ground. The Bears’ approach has to be patience and spreading out the defense. Occasional shots downfield are fine, but the emphasis in this one has to be yards after catch. They may break one or two running plays or short passes if they catch the Patriots trying to burn a young passer. They also have to have hot reads that are reasonable for someone of Trubisky’s experience. The target has to be someone near the line of scrimmage. In some of the earlier games, blitzes caught Trubisky without a possible target anywhere near the line.
On defense, coordinator Vic Fangio normally mixes up coverages and looks, but this won’t be as effective against a quarterback of Brady’s experience. Playing as much zone coverage as possible and getting a strong push up the middle has to be the approach because Brady won’t beat anyone outside with his legs now. In the red zone it becomes an entirely different game because of tight end Rob Gronkowski. The Bears have to rotate a safety to his side when they go man-to-man. They have no one who can guard someone of that size/speed ratio. If Khalil Mack can only play a limited number of snaps, the amount of blitzing will have to increase because Leonard Floyd is their next best pass rush threat and he doesn’t have a sack
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Bears S Adrian Amos, who hasn’t forced a turnover this season, vs. Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski, who was held to three catches by Kansas City last week. Amos or LB Roquan Smith most likely will wind up on Gronkowski, whose size presents a mismatch for any defensive back. Amos is a physical cover man with good speed, but gives up six inches and 54 pounds. Amos wasn’t one of the Bears with tackling problems last week, when it seemed to be an epidemic for the Bears defense. In a contract year, he hasn’t yet had the impact he had last season when he was ranked one of the best safeties in the league by Pro Football Focus.
–Bears DE Akiem Hicks, who has 15 run stops this season, vs. Patriots RG Shaq Mason, who signed a contract extension this year. Mason is one of the league’s better run blockers. He does it with excellent technique rather than great bulk. At 6-2, 310, he’s only average to below average for an NFL guard. Hicks’ 15 run stops are one less than all other Bears interior linemen combined. He has 17 pass-rush pressures. The Bears need him to be far more effective this week than last week at caving in the pocket since Tom Brady is less mobile in his later years, although not entirely without scrambling ability. Last week it was obvious Khalil Mack was affected by his ankle injury. Leonard Floyd hasn’t been effective on the left side, partially due to a hand fracture, and hasn’t had a sack. The rush must come from somewhere or Brady will pick apart the Bears. Hicks is the logical place for it to start against one of the league’s best pass-blocking units.
–Bears WR Taylor Gabriel, who has had two straight 100-yard receiving games, vs. Patriots RCB Stephon Gilmore, who last made an interception in the opener. At 6-foot-1, Gilmore is a cornerback who can handle the bigger receivers, like Allen Robinson. But it can be anticipated Gilmore will have to match up on Gabriel, whose great speed has turned him into possibly Mitchell Trubisky’s greatest vertical threat. Despite being 5-8, 165 pounds, he’s gotten past secondaries with his speed. Last week, Gabriel made catches downfield of 47 and 54 yards. He remains a player who can play numerous positions, but the ability to focus on being a receiver on the outside in Chicago, as opposed to being a jack of all trades with the Falcons, has taken his game up a notch.
