The Chicago Bears, who are coached by former Georgia Force quarterback Matt Nagy, are off to a surprising start.
The Falcons (0-2) are set the face the Bears (2-0) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The Bears squeaked by the Lions 27-23 in Week 1, after Detroit running back D’Andre Swift, a rookie from Georgia, dropped a potential game-winning touchdown pass.
In Week 2, the Bears raced to a 17-0 lead against the New York Giants and held on for a 17-13 win. Kicker Cairo Santos missed a 50-yard field-goal attempt (wide left), and the Bears had a pick-six by safety Eddie Jackson called back because of a holding call.
The Bears have a strong defense and paired end Robert Quinn with linebacker Khalil Mack against the Giants. Quinn, who rejected an offer in free agency by the Falcons, promptly had a sack and forced fumble.
“Robert Quinn made his debut,” Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said. “A big free-agent signing they got in the offseason.”
Quinn said he picked the Bears over the Falcons after a coin toss. He played 25 snaps (38%) against the Giants.
“Chicago is just a very well-coached and talented on defense,” Koetter said. “We did some studies on them from last year, and they were one of the best defenses in the league, and they are off to a fast start again this year.”
Quinn, who’s 6-foot-4 and 257 pounds, was selected 14th overall in the 2011 draft by the St. Louis Rams. He has made 106 starts and played in 126 NFL games and has 81.5 career sacks.
When the Falcons didn’t sign Quinn in free agency, they moved on to Dante Fowler. Both players had 11.5 sacks last season for their respective teams, the Rams (Fowler) and Cowboys (Quinn).
“Sack, strip, that’s what he’s been doing at camp when he’s out there,” said Nagy to the Chicago media Monday. “You can feel how long (he is). He’s got really long arms, and he cuts that leverage down. He’s got that bend because he stays so low.”
Nagy played quarterback for Atlanta’s old Arena Football League team (2005-06) before moving into NFL coaching with the Eagles in 2008.
Falcons offensive tackles Jake Matthews and Matt Gono will have a tough challenge against Quinn and Mack. Gono, who will be making his first NFL start with Kaleb McGary out, will need some help from a tight end or running back.
“It’s hard for tackles, and he’s got some counter moves off of that, so again, when you have (Khalil Mack) and (Quinn) on the edge, and you’ve got (Akiem) Hicks and some these other guys pushing the middle, I thought that our defensive line including our outside linebackers on the edge, I thought they worked well in tandem.”
Quinn missed the season opener against Detroit with an ankle injury.
“The 20-something snaps that Robert was in there, was just right, right now as he comes back in,” Nagy said. “You can feel and you’ve got to know when he’s out there on that field that he can be coming around that edge pretty fast. Now, you’ve got Khalil on the other side. That’s why he’s here.”
On offense, the Bears have hitched their wagon to quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who beat out former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles. They’ve leaned heavily on running back David Montgomery, and their top receiver is Allen Robinson.
The Bears, who traded up to draft Trubisky, passed on Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson in the 2017 draft. Mahomes has won a Super Bowl with Kansas City and Watson is 24-15 and been named to two Pro Bowls.
Trubisky is 25-18, has been to one playoff game and was named to the Pro Bowl after the 2018 season.
However, Trubisky is still working on reading zone defenses. He’s better against man-to-man defenses.
“We understand that we can certainly be better versus zone,” Nagy said. “But when teams do that, you start asking how do you do that? Where do you do it? Film study. Film study should help you to understand what type of zone they are playing. It’s one-high (safety) or two-high (safeties)? Do they drop eight (players into pass coverage?). When they drop eight, you have to run the ball. We definitely can be better there versus zone.”
The Bears have several players with Georgia ties, including linebacker Roquan Smith, who played at Georgia and Macon County High. He’s led the Bears in tackles in both games this season. Also, there’s wide receiver Javon Wims (Georgia), defensive tackle John Jenkins (Georgia), cornerback Kindle Vildor (Georgia Southern, North Clayton HS), cornerback Buster Skrine (Tennessee-Chattanooga, Etowah HS), linebacker James Vaughters (Stanford, Tucker HS) and former Georgia wide receiver Riley Ridley, who has been inactive for the first two games.
Ridley is the younger brother of Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley.
“The first thing is the speed,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said of the Ridley brothers. “Both play at such an amazing speed of play. That’s what we noticed certainly from Riley in his time at Georgia and he’s continued onto the NFL. That’s probably the first thing is the speed and relentlessness that they play with.”
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