Offensive & Defensive Keys for Seattle

Offensive Keys
1. Lead with the pass
- Bears are much worse against the pass then they are against the run (ranked 20th in the NFL)
- In the first match-up, Matt Hasselbeck played one of his most efficient games of the season
- Need to keep Hasselbeck clean for this strategy to be successful (zero sacks allowed in the first game)

2. Get value from running game
- Hawks don't need to rush for 200 yards but they need to average at least 4.0 yds/carry (first game Hawks averaged 3.6 yds/carry)
- Call run plays at unpredictable times

3. Win the returns
- Hawks and Bears both have great return games
- Seattle is in the top 10 in both punt and kickoff returns; Chicago is #1 in punt returns and #2 in kickoff return average
- Seattle must contain Devin Hester and need Leon Washington to make an impact

Defensive Keys
1. Force the Bears to be one-dimensional (pass happy Bears will make Seattle happy)
- In first match-up, Chicago had its worst pass-run mix of the year (25 more passes than runs)
- First seven games of the season, the Bears threw the ball 58% of the time (record: 4-3)
- Last nine games of the season, the Bears threw the ball 49% of the time (record: 7-2)

2. Pressurize the pocket
- Seattle had six sacks in the first meeting
- Chicago has allowed a league-high 56 sacks during the year and never had a single game where they didn't allow a sack

3. Force the Bears to put together long drives
- Jon Ryan needs to help the Hawks win the field position battle with a good day punting
- Make Chicago execute; they are 27th in the league in third down conversions (32.8% conversion rate)
- Limit big plays; Cutler is 7th in the league in yards/attempt despite being 17th in the league in passing yards and 16th in the league in QB rating; Johnny Knox is 5th in the league in yards/reception and has 17 catches of 20+ yards

4. Bend but don't break
- Force field goals when the Bears are in the red zone
- Chicago is converting nearly 55% of their red zone opportunities into touchdown over the last nine games after converting just 30% in their first seven games