Leadership No Bears Key to Victory

One of the most overdiscussed topics this week at Halas Hall is how the Bears will ever replace the leadership they received from Robert Quinn.

One of the most overdiscussed topics this week at Halas Hall is how the Bears will ever replace leadership they received from Robert Quinn.

It's apparent they won't have to replace the sacks he gave them.

He had one.

The leadership is questionable, as well. Or, at least leadership in and of itself is questionable.

Quinn was a good player and well respected, definitely well liked. In fact, he was beloved. The players have spoken of him as an "old soul." And truly, anyone who heard Quinn's answers to questions at press conferences over the last three seasons would agree. He sometimes sounded like he was in his 70s and not 30s, and it was funny.

That's not leadership, though.

That's being a good teammate, a good human being. Robert Quinn definitely was those.

Quinn hasn't been a holler guy, wasn't the on-field general or anything of this sort the way a Danny Trevathan had been, like Akiem Hicks was or like Roquan Smith is.

So this leadership thing needs to be discounted entirely.

"There's really good leadership–Justin Jones, in that room is a really good leader, (Al-Quadin) Muhammad is a good leader," coach Matt Eberflus said. "We have a lot of guys that lead that defensive line room. And then defense–Eddie Jackson, Roquan Smith. There's a lot of good guys, Jaylon (Johnson).

"Everybody, like I said, is leading themselves first. You lead through performance and then when you need to say something, you say it. When it’s needed. But you mostly lead by action."

Definitely Quinn did this, but like Eberflus said, they have numerous players who do the same.

What they really need instead of leadership to beat the Cowboys on Sunday is to hold all three of these keys to victory over Dallas.

1. Same Approach, Different Place

The Bears won over New England on the road by running the ball. They ran it outside and they had the wide-zone scheme going heavy duty, whether with Justin Fields or with their backs. They need to keep running it, but doing it to the outside won't work as well against Dallas. There is too much speed to the outside for Dallas and too much in their secondary. Dallas will beat the blocking to the edge and make TFLs. So Fields' running is most likely going to need to be confined to scrambles. If the Bears don't game plan this way, they'll soon find out it's the case.

This one should be more of a conventional running game, David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert powering against a Cowboys defense ranked 19th against the run and particularly susceptible in the middle because Leighton Vander Esch is more of a cover-2 style off-ball linebacker and not a downhill bruiser, while linebacker Anthony Barr's game always has been speed while in Minnesota.

The two defensive tackles, Quinton Bohanna and Osa Odighizuwa, are capable of making big plays and big mistakes. They just traded this week for 340-pound Jonathan Hankins of the Raiders and it's unknown whether he can do much more than help at the goal line at this point, but could have more of an impact in future weeks.

It's not easy to beat Dallas' second-ranked defense but when done, it's been on the ground. Four opponents ran for 136 yards or more against them, another for 117 yards. The Rams and Bengals both gave up on the run in losses because they like their passing games, but they were playing right into the strength of Dallas' defense.

Another reason the running attack needs to be scaled back, but used just as much in different ways, is the Bears are missing three offensive line starters. It's easier to run block with subs on the line than to pass block.

2. Field Position War

One way that momentum swings drastically against Dallas is special teams. KaVontae Turpin's explosive returns provide field position and rile up the crowd and the Cowboys. The last thing the Bears need is something helping the Cowboys offense this way.

Fortunately for the Bears, they have the perfect weapons to combat Turpin. Rookie Trenton Gill has been averaging 48.1 yards per punt. If maintained, it would set a Bears record. But it's not just the distance. Gill is getting nice hang time and even better, he has been able to position the ball where they want it to help some excellent coverage from Josh Blackwell. They've had strong kickoff coverage from Sterling Weatherford.

Field position might seem like more of an intangible than a key but it isn't because Dallas has had trouble offensively. Even with Dak Prescott back they sputtered much of last week against the worst defense in the NFL, the Detroit Lions. Their 24 points were the fewest the Lions have allowed all year.

This could very well come down to a field position battle. Punting high and placing them well is going to be a key. Preventing Turpin's punt returns and kick returns is essential to help the Bears defense.

3. Win First and Second Down

Justin Fields and the offense need to get ahead of the sticks more in this game than in any other. They need 4 yards or 5 yards at least on first down, whether on runs or short passes. Third-and-long must be avoided at all costs because Dallas is No. 1 in sacks with 29, thanks to Micah Parsons. Meanwhile, the Bears already are last in the NFL at preventing sacks with 27 allowed. And they're playing against Dallas with three subs on the offensive line. One of them, center Sam Mustipher, actually has been the starter almost all season but only because Lucas Patrick hasn't stayed healthy. And Mustipher has had one of the worst Pro Football Focus pass blocking grades among NFL centers.

Dan Quinn, a finalist for the Bears coaching job, will be sending plenty of blitzes or stunts and selling out to get heat on Fields on third-and-long. The Bears can't count on converting some of the third-and-long situations they did against New England. Fields accounted for five of those with his legs and a quarterback scrambling against Dallas isn't going to gain much due to the Cowboys' defensive speed. He's going to need to slide quickly and may not reach the sticks.

Dallas could be a step beyond the Bears at this point as they try to continue building.

An upset will be well beyond their grasp if they don't use these three keys and are worrying all game about leadership.

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