Bears Defense Must Step Up While Rex Grossman Fills in For Injured Kyle Orton
“And the Lions have scored on 3 straight possessions!â€
Dan Orlovsky has never looked better than he did in the first half. He skipped into the end zone, chasing Shaun McDonald after his second touchdown in the second quarter. Coming off the bye, Bears’ fans wondered, how bad can we beat the Lions this week? How good will Kyle Orton look?
Well, that’s all for naught when your secondary starts out by making a winless NFL quarterback look like he’s Graham Harrell!
Of course, we got the win and that’s the important part. Like I’ve said before, this is a results league and that’s what matters. No one will remember that the defense gave up 20 unanswered points, except every team that watches the game tape and realizes how they can pick apart the Bears.
Dan Orlovsky threw for 292 yards, and while we did steal two picks from him, it seems that the only thing that can beat a quarterback facing the Bears is himself. The defense, the schemes, and the strange breed that is this inconsistent 5-3 team had fans on the edge of their seat against the worst team in football. The Bears made the Lions look like a team that really had a chance in this league. I look straight at the defensive side of the ball for that because how can you look disparagingly at an offense that runs for 126 yards and only turns the ball over once on a tipped pass? They did their job.
What isn’t doing the job well enough to keep the acid reflux or opposing slot receivers at bay is the Bears’ secondary.
Lovie Smith brought the cover two to the Bears after being in the Monte Kiffin school for a number of years and has defended it’s capability vehemently. Good enough, I suppose, is the phrase that comes to mind.The Bears’ cover two defense got broken down by Sun-Times reporter Brad Biggs here: http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/1254485,CST-SPT-biggs02.article.
What Biggs highlights is interesting: the defense is designed to prevent big plays, which it can do if there is consistent tackling and defensive backs stay on their assignments.
It seems that the Bears’ D relies on big plays. A key sack on 3rd down by Tommie Harris, an interception in the end zone by rookie safety Craig Steltz and constantly jamming the run, forcing 3rd and longs. That’s this defense’s bread and butter: big plays by big name players. It relies on the playmaking c
apability of guys to switch the momentum of a game, create field position and score.
When the defense is running on full tilt, they do those things, too. We have seen it, other teams have seen it and you have to respect it; the Bears’ secondary are ball hawks, they have lived in the cover two and made big plays this year but have given up so much at the same time.
It’s like Jekyll and Hyde, look at the numbers:
The Bears’ defense gives up 247 passing yards per game on average, that’s 30th in the league. They’re worse than the Lions, who sit at 29th. They give up at least 21 points on average, but at the same time they have 12 picks on the year, 5 forced fumbles and 7 recovered fumbles. The Bears’ have created 19 turnovers in 8 games, more than two a game. Those are dream turnover numbers for a lot of defensive coordinators.
It seems like the Mike Martz theory on the passing game — you can give up the interception if you can hit the 80 yard streak two plays later. Like the White Sox offensive scheme this year, a ball over the fence can get you out of a jam. The trouble is that only works if the playmaking capability is consistent. The 1999 Rams were like clockwork, but since then Martz hasn’t gotten any of his most recent experiments to yield anything, and when the bats went cold for the Sox, they would certainly lose, it almost kept them out of the playoffs.
Consistency wins games in the stretch. Consistency in defense wins championships. We are in the stretch and I am a little wary of the Bears’ chances to do either of those. I feel like the 2nd quarter on Sunday was an omen.
I think back on Sunday’s game and I have haunting images of Shaun McDonald in the slot catching consistent 7-yard balls while the Lions marched down the field. I see Michael Gaines, the Detroit TE, falling on yellow lines, grinding for a first down on almost each catch. The biggest reception the Bears gave up was 22 yards, not a huge play, but big enough. Four Detroit receivers averaged 10 yards a catch. I understand the scheme has worked 5 times this year, but the consistent movement of offenses seems to be a major sacrifice. This defense has major playmakers but if those guys can’t turn it on, what happens? This team gives up yards in key situations, that leads to lost games.
The Bears are no different: if the playmaking ability of this defense goes cold in certain situations, this team will lose. Look at the second half in the Carolina game, the overtime against the Bucs and the second to last play in Atlanta. They may have lost today if Michael Gaines did not fumble and Orlovsky stopped overthrowing Calvin Johnson.
It seems to be a risky game that Lovie Smith is playing with this defense. It counts on mistakes by others, rather than consistent containment and home runs, rather than small ball.
With an offense that won’t have any consistent firepower in Rextasy, this defense will have to step up big.
First, they will be challenged by the pounding running game of the Titans, next week. I can’t see a win there.
Then, real big games come down the pike against some tough QBs. They still see Aaron Rodgers twice, we lose at least one of those. David Garrard is not playing his best ball but Jacksonville can win. Matt Schaub and Drew Brees are both red hot with offensive weapons galore.
Those men are not Dan Orlovsky, but they aren’t Matt Ryan or Brian Griese, either. Those are quarterbacks, who have proven talent and weapons of their own.
The Bears defense will have to sure up their playmaking ability like they did today or this could get ugly. I hate to sound negative, but things could turn south when there is not a sure thing defending passes for the Bears and Rex has to throw passes on the other side.
[tags]chicago bears, nfl, football, lovie smith[/tags]
Tags: Chicago Bears, football, Lovie Smith, NFL
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Great breakdown Kaner. Everyone is focusing on the offense right now, and how the loss of Orton will affect things on that side of the ball. But it has been the D that has let them down in their losses this year, and they have to shore that up if they are going to stay on top of the Packers in the North.
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The other thing to remember is that Rex played decent in 2005 when he had a good running game behind him. With Matt Forte being even more productive than Thomas Jones was in 2005, perhaps Rex will play better with a little pressure on him that during his last stint as a starter.
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