The Oakland Raiders defense doesn’t do very much well.
They’re ranked 24th overall, 25th against the run and 20th against the pass.
They also give up more first downs than all but one team.
But the Raiders are tied for 6th in the NFL, with 28 sacks, and they boast a defense that — if maybe not so disciplined — is arguably among the fastest in the NFL.
That’s why the Raiders emphasis will be to stop running back Matt Forte and attack Caleb Hanie, who will make his first NFL start.
The Bears expect that, anyway.
“Really, probably the blue print of how they’re going to play us – I’m guessing – is what they did against that rookie quarterback in Minnesota, where they pressured a lot more than they had been pressuring,” Bears offensive line coach Mike Tice said. “I look for them to do something like that, to us. And they’ve got a nice blitz package. We’ll be ready for it.
“We’re 11, 12 weeks into the season. We’ve seen just about everything. There are only so many blitzes.”
Against Minnesota’s Christian Ponder, the Raiders racked up five sacks and five pressures. None of those sacks even came from Richard Seymour, a six-time Pro Bowl selection.
Hanie, for his part, also expects the Raiders to do all they can to slow and stop Forte.
“Teams have tried to play us the last few weeks, they stack the box, try to get the running game out, and beat them with the pass,” Hanie said. “Luckily last week we were able to beat them with the pass. Hopefully we can keep the big plays and keep our explosiveness.”
Much of that, though, will depend on him.