DoubleG
Footballguy
It's really been disconcerting that a Bear's defense that was seemingly one of the best in the league last year has been obliterated by Detroit, Minny, G-Bay (for a half), Dallas and and save for keeping them out of the endzone most of the game this past Sunday, the Eagles moved the ball without too much trouble.
Many are quick to blames injuries. Let's look at that for a second:
The last few games the Bears have been without who? Nathan Vasher. That's really it. Yes, I realize Mike Brown has been out most of the season- but Archeletta was brought in to help support the run for that reason. Some would even argue that the safeties (Archie & Manning) are better than the Manning/Harris duo of last year. I realize thatVasher is a quality corner, but c'mon. LBs - all starting three are there and relatively healthy. D-line? All 4 are basically there (yes, Walkers was out this past game, but Harris and the two starting ends are there and healthy - and keep in mind that last year, Harris was out most of the second half and they were still very good). In summary, you basically have the same starting defense that took them to the Super Bowl last year (again, minus Vasher). So what is it?
At times last year (and early this) Grossman and the offense had a tendancy to turn the ball over a lot - making the defense stay on the field far too long. Rexhas never benn know for his patience in putting together longs drives. Howoever this year, Griese has limited turnovers and kept drives moving. So it's not a case of the offense making tough on the defense.
I submit to you that, while certainly there has been poor individual play at times on the defensive side of the football and the execution has been less consistent than it has been in the past, a decent chunk of blame needs to be laid firmly at the feet on Bob Babich.
At first glance, I was pleased that the Bears held LT and LJ basically in check in the early going...until everyone else did it too. In the following weeks we learned that not only had the Bears NOT fixed their weak play against the run, but now weren't able to get pressure - even when blitzing. At first, I figured that maybe it was injuries or poor execution.
After some thought, I can't help but notice that it looks like Babich tried to "fix" something that wasn't really all that broken to begin with. I realize Babich didn't miss countless tackles on AP a few weeks ago - but I also know that there were times when Bears defenders seemed to be out of position to make plays. Now, I realize, again, that SOME of that can be attributed to poor individual play - but not all of it.
I would love to know what Babich has changed in terms of schemes and play calling from what Rivera did last year - and I'd guess it's a little too much.
Thoughts?
Many are quick to blames injuries. Let's look at that for a second:
The last few games the Bears have been without who? Nathan Vasher. That's really it. Yes, I realize Mike Brown has been out most of the season- but Archeletta was brought in to help support the run for that reason. Some would even argue that the safeties (Archie & Manning) are better than the Manning/Harris duo of last year. I realize thatVasher is a quality corner, but c'mon. LBs - all starting three are there and relatively healthy. D-line? All 4 are basically there (yes, Walkers was out this past game, but Harris and the two starting ends are there and healthy - and keep in mind that last year, Harris was out most of the second half and they were still very good). In summary, you basically have the same starting defense that took them to the Super Bowl last year (again, minus Vasher). So what is it?
At times last year (and early this) Grossman and the offense had a tendancy to turn the ball over a lot - making the defense stay on the field far too long. Rexhas never benn know for his patience in putting together longs drives. Howoever this year, Griese has limited turnovers and kept drives moving. So it's not a case of the offense making tough on the defense.
I submit to you that, while certainly there has been poor individual play at times on the defensive side of the football and the execution has been less consistent than it has been in the past, a decent chunk of blame needs to be laid firmly at the feet on Bob Babich.
At first glance, I was pleased that the Bears held LT and LJ basically in check in the early going...until everyone else did it too. In the following weeks we learned that not only had the Bears NOT fixed their weak play against the run, but now weren't able to get pressure - even when blitzing. At first, I figured that maybe it was injuries or poor execution.
After some thought, I can't help but notice that it looks like Babich tried to "fix" something that wasn't really all that broken to begin with. I realize Babich didn't miss countless tackles on AP a few weeks ago - but I also know that there were times when Bears defenders seemed to be out of position to make plays. Now, I realize, again, that SOME of that can be attributed to poor individual play - but not all of it.
I would love to know what Babich has changed in terms of schemes and play calling from what Rivera did last year - and I'd guess it's a little too much.
Thoughts?
