All Eyes On The Defense
by Adam T on Nov 10, 2008 8:22 AM CST
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PrintIt is the question that will have a lot to do with determining how the Bears fair the rest of the year.
Are the Bears in a good scheme, but the players are not capable of executing it or are the Bears players not being put into position to make plays?
There seems to be evidence of both.
I mentioned in the recap that regardless of scheme Nathan Vasher and Charles Tillman should be able to match up with Justin Gage and Brandon Jones. We have been harping that Tillman is the most underrated cornerback in the league, yet there he was in a key moment of the game getting beat by...Lavelle Hawkins?
Vasher got beat on a pretty simple slant route for a TD by Justin Gage, a guy who couldn't find a spot on the Bears receiving roster, which hasn't had a standout in who knows how many years, but maybe there is more to it. How can a player do their job if they are not being put into postion to do it?
Vasher mentioned after the Lions game how the league knows how Bears cornerbacks take outside position in the red zone that invites the slant pass. Then Gage beat him on a slant pass for a TD on third down.
Why not adjust the scheme if it's so well-known in those situations?
"I can't get into that," Vasher said. "That's a coaching-staff decision into how we play and what we play. We just have to step up and make plays."
Are Babich and Coach Smith so completely blinded that they can't see changes are needed? Are they too stubborn to admit their scheme just isn't working?
The third factor in all of this is the Bears pass rush or lack thereof. In the Bears losses to Tampa Bay, Atlanta and Tennessee those team's QBs threw 138 times and the Bears have only managed 2 sacks.
It doesn't matter if the Bears are able to hold the NFC North lead and make it to the playoffs. If they cannot find a way to manufacture a pass rush and they can't learn to stop the pass, they will lose.
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Scheme
Exactly what I have been saying. Our secondary is too good for them to be playing this way. This “soft” scheme has been figured out by everyone and they are taking advantage of it. The slant, the seam over the top of the lb’s, the deep out in from of the safety, we are constantly beat on these plays yet Babich and Lovie are too proud to change. The pass rush I believe is the same thing. The rush package is very vanilla and they just are hoping to beat them one on one or even 2 sometimes. If that is not working then mix it up with the way they are attacking (stunts, swerves, zone blitz etc..). Our blitz packages are the same we just run right into the Olineman. Nothing from the corner or bring a safety up the gut delayed. We seem to do it for the run yesterday, why not against the pass?? Head scratcher on why the defensive coaches will not adjust.
Not the scheme
It’s more the conservative approach of Lovie’s philosphy and inability of the defensive line to get pressure. They were only in the dreaded cover 2 for 12 of the 41 pass plays by the Titans. Vasher’s comment made it crystal clear to me. “I can’t get into that.” Lovie won’t rush safeties and cornerbacks, when it’s painfully obvious the front four and Urlacher/Briggs can’t get enough pressure. In addition, he won’t allow Vasher and Tillman to take away the inside lanes or play aggressively with any regularity. Opposing offensive coordinators are licking their chops cause they know the Bears won’t make any adjustments. I fully expect Rodgers and the Pack to come out in three and four receiver sets.
"I'm not so mean. I wouldn't ever go out to hurt anybody deliberately - unless it was, you know, important, like a league game or something." - Dick Butkus
bullshit
no defensive line will ever get pressure when the cornerbacks are giving up a 7 yard cushion each and every down. even a guy who comes in unblocked is not going to get to the QB in time to hit him when he is on a 3 step drop and throw.
Execution and adaptation
There were plenty of times where they were playing press coverage and still got burned. Why? Because Urlacher and Briggs were bogged down at the line of scrimmage instead of covering their zones. Lovie has to be more aggressive and creative with his blitz packages. Blitzing Urlacher/Biggs up the middle doesn’t play to their strengths. I’d rather have them dropping into the middle zones; have Payne, Brown, Vasher, and Manning coming at opportune times. Mix it up already!
"I'm not so mean. I wouldn't ever go out to hurt anybody deliberately - unless it was, you know, important, like a league game or something." - Dick Butkus
fwiw...
… Tennessee has only given up five sacks all year (one of which came yesterday), so I am not sure you can really blame the pass rush this week.
Bringing moderation to a place I don't moderate.
visit the mindful mission
maybe so, but we couldn't sack
Ryan and we couldn’t sack friggin Brian Griese.
Being Who You Thought We Were Since 2005!
It might be scheme
Because is there anyone who really thinks we need to let Tillman, Vasher, Harris, Ogunleye, Brown and Dvorchek go and get new players at these positions? No, they are all very good at what they do. Vasher on one hand, I saw last week on Countdown to Kickoff on CSN said that he plays aggressively and sometimes tries to jump routes and that every now and then he gets beat. But in that case shouldn’t the coaches have him stop doing that?
Fire Ron Turner!!!
Fire Angelo!!
by Sam Householder on Nov 10, 2008 9:31 AM CST reply actions
can anyone
remember the last time one of our corners got beat deep?? I can’t, although I am willing to take the risk to tighten up on the underneath routes..has to be very frustrating to the defensive players playing in that scheme. I still say we need to mix up our rush patterns to try and confuse the protection. I know it is not as easy as it sounds with so many teams going to zone blocking schemes, but you can’t hang those db’s out there forever.
The Problem is the Scheme
Yesterday and in previous games, the receiver catches the ball before the 1st down and the defensive players run up from well behind the first down marker to make the tackle. We are conceding the catch and it is difficult to stop anybody short of the 1st down when they only have a few more yards to go. Why do we drop our linebackers behind the 1st down marker and concede the short routes? No wonder we get no sacks, the pass is too quick to get in the QB’s face. Then on top of that, our linebackers are still not deep enough in the secondary to help on the deeper passes, so we make Griese and Collins look like an all pro. We have good players, although I still think there is something wrong when I rarely here Urlacher’s name called. Briggs makes all the tackles. Maybe they should switch positions. Can’t fault the hitting yesterday by our defense. They have been hitting all year, but just can’t catch a break. It was also nice to see Brown blitzing and doing his thing again. Did he switch positions with Payne for the game?
exactly
no team will get any pressure on the qb when he only has the ball for 3 seconds before he picks up an 8 yard gain on a slant route.
If you
pick where you are blitzing from correctly you have a shot. Otherwise if it is that quick have the Lineman get their hands up and knock it down, which we only did once (Harrison)..
the lineman don't even have a chance
they are still 4-5 yards away from the quarterback when he is on a 3 step drop and instant release. it’s a recipe for failure as has been shown time and time again. this reminds me of the carolina playoff game all over again; we get torched by steve smith the whole 1st half and go out and do the same exact thing in the 2nd half and expect different results. then the following week the seahawks double and triple team him the whole game and shut down the whole offense and win the game.
it seems our coaches are always too damn stubborn to admit that what they are doing isn’t working (cedric benson, defensive schemes, rex grossman) and to change it would be so outlandish that it can never be done until it’s too late.
My #1 Thing I Took Away From The Game
Are Babich and Coach Smith so completely blinded that they can’t see changes are needed? Are they too stubborn to admit their scheme just isn’t working?
Stubbornness. Bottom line. When you’re front 4 aren’t getting ANY PRESSURE on the QB, we just keep trying it & don’t ADJUST to get pressure from other positions. The NFL is all about ADJUSTING to what the opposing team is doing IN THAT PARTICULAR GAME. Stubbornness is an intolerable characteristic of a Defensive Coordinator that needs to be let go. Funny how he’s the one I’m calling their head for instead of the typical Turner firing.
Trust
Someone please confront Lovie on the “trust” issue, as in “we are axing Rivera to make our team better – trust me on this.” Last year, all we heard was excuses about injuries. This year, all we hear is “we don’t know what the problem is.” The problem is the coaches don’t seem to know what the problem is, and Rivera is now defensive coordinator for San Diego. Who is Bob Babich? It is bad enough when your coaching staff has a hard time making adjustments in game, but when the schemes are bad to begin with, you get results like this. I’m so tired of excuses and lack of accountability. Bend but don’t break defense does not fit this franchise. Bring back BUDDY! (or some reasonable facsimile thereof).
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