The New England Patriots are looking to keep their winning streak alive on a short week. They travel to the Midwest to take on the Chicago Bears in a prime time matchup.

So, let’s get into a Thursday edition of this week’s #PostPulpit Mailbag.

What do you make of the Bears’ pass rush? Their overall pressure rate is strong, but I’ve seen their D-line ranked 20th in pressure rate, while their blitz rate is the league’s 7th highest at 39.3%. Does that suggest they struggle to generate pressure with four and rely on sending extra rushers? Maye has been excellent against the blitz, but the Pats are down to backups at three OL spots, including their fourth-string guard. On paper, the Bears’ defensive scheme seems tailor-made for Maye to exploit, with plenty of single-high, man coverage and blitzing. Do you expect Chicago to blitz aggressively, trust its front four to win, or lean more on two-high zone to limit Maye’s big plays? – Maye The Force Be With You

The Bears’ defensive line is a solid group. They’ll be without Montez Sweat due to a PED suspension, but speed rusher Austin Booker, someone we liked and discussed in the 2024 NFL Draft, has gotten off to a strong start this season.

From this point of view, Chicago’s pressure numbers are driven by defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s third-down pressure packages. The Bears have the second-best third-down conversion rate in football at 26%, fueled by those blitzes. They helped scheme up cornerback Kyler Gordon for three sacks last week against Atlanta.

As Maye said this week, the Patriots will need to be efficient on first and second down to avoid third-and-long situations and obvious passing downs. Chicago has struggled on early downs this season and when it comes to stopping the run and play-action passing game. That could give New England a formula for staying ahead of the chains and creating explosive plays.

Meanwhile, the Bears’ heavy reliance on man coverage and struggles at cornerback should give Maye opportunities to take shots downfield as well.

LT- Will Campbell
Center- Jared Wilson
RT- Caleb Lomu

Who mans the Guard spots against the Bears? – For Pats Sake

It’s trending towards Morgan Moses being ready to go at right tackle. On the inside, Mike Vrabel said Walter Rouse will start at left guard and Matt Pryor at right, just like they finished Sunday’s game. Rouse has flashed some intriguing tools in limited action, while the 6-foot-7 Pryor is a massive body who can move people in the run game.

The real question was if New England would kick Caleb Lomu inside to get their most talented five on the field. He might be forced to if the injuries continue, but it seems like the team would prefer him to stick at offensive tackle for the time being.

How can you explain substitutes guards supposed to be second or even third stringers were able to play very efficiently when called upon vs Jets ferocious front seven ? – 7i165

Credit to a number of people. First off, the players themselves for preparing like starters and taking advantage of their opportunities.

Doug Marrone and the coaching staff also deserve credit for getting these players ready to go, as does the player personnel department for finding them. Matt Pryor was sitting on the Cardinals practice squad only a few weeks ago before signing here while Walter Rouse was at the bottom of the Vikings roster and eventually brought aboard via trade in late August. Good finds as depth options.

Who gets more snaps/targets on Thursday, Chism or Williams? – slunkywontergreen

As he did last week, Efton Chism will continue to see more snaps as he fulfills the Mack Hollins role. Targets is a more interesting question, as Chism ran just 10 routes on 42 snaps last week leading to just one target. Williams, meanwhile, ran 21 routes after Doubs left the game with injury. I might still lean Chism seeing more targets due to the nature of a higher-volume role.

With only 4 wideouts is there any chance we call up someone from the practice squad? – jpd985

Assuming they need to use their elevations on at least one offensive lineman, I don’t see another wide receiver joining the mix. It’s possible as no other spot on the roster is in desperate need of more depth, but they played the Raiders game with just four wide receivers, so should be set with Brown, Chism, Williams, and Douglas for Thursday night. It will provide a good opportunity for the second-year players.

With the amount of injuries we have to the receiving group, can we expect more of a double TE set (especially since Raridon seems to be coming into his own over the past few weeks)?

Also, when should we officially start worrying about AJ? I’m not too worried as of now, but should we start panicking if he continues his drops against the Bears? – Mayilman10

The Patriots already run roughly 20% of their offensive plays in 12 personnel, and upped their rate of 13 personnel (three tight ends) last weekend. I’d imagine they continue to lean more on that group with the wide receiver injuries.

As for Brown, there is no concern here. As we wrote after the game, the fact that he looked explosive and was getting open was encouraging. It’s be more worrisome if he was wearing coverage all game. If the drops continue in Chicago, however, maybe we start to have a different conversation.

With all our injuries this season. Do you think we leave Bryce Baringer on IR and roll with Mitch Wishnowsky for the rest of the season? Are they so far apart in ability/execution that bringing back Bryce would be a substantial upgrade? – Wally242

Baringer isn’t currently ready to return from injury in the first place, so that decision is not yet needed to be made. But, it’s tough to see the Patriots using one of their limited return spots on the position as Wishnowsky has been solid filling in. It’s unfortunate for Baringer, who is in a contract year and had a very strong summer.

That’s all for this week’s #PostPulpit mailbag. If you have questions you’d liked to be answered next week, submit them online in our weekly submission post on the Feed. Make sure to follow @iambrianhines and @PatsPulpit as well.