Matching Up with the Bears

Players who can give the Green Bay Packers their greatest matchup problems in the opener.

The Bears believe their personnel has taken a great leap forward since last year

No doubt some skeptics exist based on past failures, but it's still easy to point to spots in the lineup where they have been greatly upgraded.

Have they improved to the point where they own advantages over other NFC North teams, particularly Green Bay on Sunday? 

 It's tough to say at this point but in some cases they probably haven't.

"We have acquired a lot of players you know, and some good ones if you look at both sides of the ball," coach Matt Eberflus said. "So we feel good about our players. We're excited about the matchup and we're excited about those guys being able to go against our rival."

They'll face six games against their rivals from Green Bay, Detroit and Minnesota, and could find there is still a talent gap. Especially after GM Ryan Poles said he addressed 75% to 80%, there should be better matchups from the Bears' standpoint.

"That's all a part of the season," Eberflus said. "You know, you go from your first game to your second game to your 10th game. We just have to keep getting better every single week and, again, we have some young players in there that are going to be exciting to watch and exciting to grow. But you certainly feel good with where you are in the division."

Here are the players Green Bay could find it difficult to match up agains Sunday at 3:25 p.m., ranked in order.

1. WR DJ Moore

The Packers could put Jaire Alexander on Moore but Moore has had great success against the Packers in two games, with 251 yards on 15 receptions, two 100-yard games. Moore possesses the ability to hurt defenses in many different ways, from downfield to the screen game like in preseason. Putting Alexander on Moore might be the smart decision because Alexander picked off Fields last year twice. Still, they'll be giving up a lot in the rest of the secondary against other Bears receivers, if there is a focus or double-team on the part of the Packers against a specific receiver. Also, Green Bay's defensive strength in the secondary is in its zone coverage and not necessarily tracking with one cornerback.

2. QB Justin Fields

Luke Getsy found out last year in the second game with Green Bay what Fields can do if someone has confidence to let him throw. He threw 25 times after being allowed to throw 11 times in the first game. Now, 25 times isn't exactly airing it out, but he completed 20. That's not even where the Packers have the difficult time matching up with Fields. It's in the running game. Fields broke a 55-yard touchdown run in the second game. The Packers did hold Fields to 20 yards rushing in the first game last year but that was in Week 2, before Fields started running the ball as often.

3. LB Tremaine Edmunds

It's difficult for any team to exploit Edmunds when he's used properly and healthy. Perched in the middle of the defense and with a long reach at 6-foot-5 and good speed, he's capable of getting to passes Bears linebackers haven't been able to touch.

4. CB Kyler Gordon

The Bears nickel cornerback had a lot of growing to do after last season but seems to have done it. He understands the assignment better and is going against a group of Packers receivers with evel less experience than he has.

"He's just very confident in what he's doing," Bears secondary coach Jon Hoke said. "He's very confident in how he disguises and very confident in how he plays his technique. I think he sees the game much faster now, because he has gotten more reps at it."

When the interior of Bears pass coverage has Edmunds and a slot cornerback who know what they're doing, they're making the middle of the field a more dangerous place for opposing quarterbacks to venture.

5. WR Chase Claypool

It depends on which Claypool they have on the field, the one with injuries, the one who was fighting with teammates on the defensive side or the one who looked extremely effective early in training camp. Claypool's off-season and preseason of inactivity might mean he can't get out of the gates fast, but if he actually is ready the Packers can find problems trying to defend deep against a 6-foot-4, 238-pound wide receiver with 40.5-inch vertical leap and 4.42-second speed. Sending Claypool up against Darnell Savage deep might be good Bears strategy considering Savage last year was ranked 87th out 88 safeties graded by Pro Football Focus.

6. DE Yannick Ngakoue

Ngakoue has tried to show he's more interested in stopping the run but they didn't bring him to Chicago to tackle AJ Dillon or Aaron Jones. It's been suggested by PFF that Ngakoue's pass rush skills have faded over the past three years but the sack totals don't really say this. The Packers have an answer for Ngakoue in David Bakhtiari, who traditionally has been their best offensive lineman. That will be intersting because Bakhtiari has had so many knee injury issues the last few years that he has more to prove than Ngakoue. If Ngakoue gets around the edge early in the game, it can be the worst thing to happen to a young quarterback.

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