Chicago offense vs. St. Louis defense

	BEARS OFFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	Run	24
	Pass	5
	Tot. Yds.	9
	Scoring	21
	Int's allowed	19
	Sacks allowed	32
	RAMS DEFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	vs. Run	1
	vs. Pass	19
	Total yds. allowed	10
	# of Ints.	25
	# of Sacks	50
	Turnover differential	+9

The Bears continue to get solid offensive production out of their offense despite the revolving door at quarterback. QB Cade McNown was spectacular in his first complete game, becoming the first rookie in franchise history to throw for over 300 yards.

The area where McNown was most impressive was his patience in the system. He has always demonstrated great field vision but his willingness to take what the Lions' defense gave him was the key factor. The Bears had great success targeting Detroit's cornerbacks with outside receivers Marcus Robinson and Bobby Engram, who combined for 21 receptions, 264 yards, and four touchdowns.

The Rams haven't faced a wide-open attack like Chicago's all season and they'll have a difficult time adjusting to the numerous formations and wrinkles in offensive coordinator Gary Crowton's scheme. Nickel players DC Taje Allen, LB Mike Jones and LB Charlie Clemons will all play huge roles on Sunday for the Rams. For example, Jones will sometimes find himself matched up in coverage against wide receivers such as Curtis Conway and he'll have to hold up. Although Jones has a great feel in coverage and runs extremely well, the Bears feel Conway can lose him on short crossing routes.

This game will not be business as usual St. Louis LDE Kevin Carter. With left-handed McNown under center, Carter won't simply be let loose to rush the passer. Instead, he will be responsible to keep backside contain on bootlegs when plays are designed to get McNown outside the pocket. If Carter is overaggressive, McNown will make the Rams pay with his feet, as he did last week against Detroit by rushing for 36 yards on nine carries.

The Giants did their best to play smash-mouth football in order to get the Rams' speedy defense out of their game. That tactic obviously didn't work, as St. Louis took a pair of interceptions back for scores.

Chicago will pound the ball behind a gritty offensive line, but the difference this Sunday is that the Bears actually have a running back that can carry out the game plan. RB Curtis Enis, whose long carry on the season is just 19 yards, doesn't need to be spectacular, but he must run effectively on first down to prevent third-and-long situations and he needs to be a factor in short-yardage situations. St. Louis' run defense, which has allowed only 76.4 yards per game on the ground, held strong on three straight plays from the two-yard line last week, forcing the Giants to settle for a field goal.

The Rams received a huge effort last week from backup OT Ryan Tucker, who filled in admirably after Orlando Pace was ejected. St. Louis is hoping that Tucker's play will inspire the rest of the unit this week when they face an inconsistent Bears' pass rush.

Against Detroit, Chicago got good pressure from their inside duo of DTs Jim Flanigan and Mike Wells, who collapsed the pocket and forced Lion quarterbacks outside, into the waiting arms of defensive ends and linebackers. The Bears' front four did a tremendous job of taking away passing lanes with their outstretched arms -- something that must be repeated against a pocket passer like Warner.

If Warner is able to get the ball off in rhythm, his receivers had better do a better job of holding onto it. St. Louis receivers dropped five passes against the Giants, two by Az Hakim and a costly one in the endzone by Torry Holt. The Rams should have success against a suspect Bears' secondary that was bailed out by five Lion drops last Sunday.

Look for Chicago to go with a lot of deep zone coverage to discourage WR Issac Bruce from running free. The Bears' pass defense, which has received much better play from FS Chris Hudson the past two weeks, is giving up 234.7 yards per game and should benefit from experience against explosive passing teams like Washington, Green Bay, and Minnesota.

St. Louis RB Marshall Faulk enters this game needing only 294 yards from scrimmage to break the all-time league record set by Barry Sanders in 1997. The guy on the spot for Chicago this week will be MLB Barry Minter. Because the Rams spread the field with so many multiple-receiver looks, it will force Minter to beat blockers to the hole -- something that has never been an area of strength. St. Louis' stretch offense, with Faulk as the centerpiece, will make it imperative that the Bears tackle well in the open field.

The release of DC Tom Carter two weeks ago was a sign to members of the secondary that head coach Dick Jauron would not tolerate sloppy tackling and unwillingness to support the run. There has been a noticeable improvement in the Bears' run defense since rookie Jerry Azumah was added to the nickel package.