Houston Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips has been grinding through film of the Chicago Bears' offense this week, and he has come to a conclusion.
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"They've only thrown it to one guy basically," Phillips said, via Tania Ganguli of the Houston Chronicle. "They do a great job of that."
That one guy, of course, is Brandon Marshall. The statistics outrageously back up Phillips' claim. Marshall has 797 receiving yards on the season; no one else on the Bears has more than 200 yards. Alshon Jeffery's injury hasn't helped, but ultimately this isn't a good thing for the Bears. Quality defenses won't just allow Marshall to run wild.
"We're going to double-cover him every play," Phillips said, apparently using his Texas deadpan humor. He later mentioned Johnathan Joseph would get some one-on-one against Marshall so the Texans wouldn't double Marshall every snap, according to Ganguli.
After watching Bears-Titans on Game Rewind this week, we continue to have concerns about Chicago's offense. It's still mostly relying on short passes because the offensive linemen are suspect. (Maybe Cutler is just too nice to them.)
The lack of protection is a problem because Cutler is a quarterback who usually needs to see his receivers open before pulling the trigger. He might not have that luxury against the Texans. Houston is playing outstanding defense and has found another dangerous pass rusher in rookie Whitney Mercilus.
Matt Forte remains the fulcrum for this Bears offense. He'll need to carry the team Sunday because we expect Phillips' gang to effectively limit Marshall's production.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
