About
I am a multimedia nut, journalism, photography, videography, radio broadcasting and production. I’ve done it all, but I love to write and have a lot to say. I live in the Chicagoland area now and have always had an extreme love and passion for the Chicago Bears
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Written by Brett Solesky
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Tuesday, 06 October 2009 04:26 |
 The defense was quite the Jekyll and Hyde group versus the Lions this past Sunday. The first half the Lions almost couldn't be stopped, the second half the Bears dominated the Lions pretty damn well. We'll break down the game tape and go over exactly what went right for the Bears in the first half and what went wrong in the second half, or vice versa. Having seen how the offense is capable of performing on a week to week basis with Cutler under center, it's safe to say the defense will determine how good the Bears will finish the season.
After the first quarter of the season the Bears stand at 3-1 with the defense rated at 14th in league in total defense, tied for 19th in third down percentage defense, 19th in scoring defense, 22nd in passing yards allowed, and tenth against the run. You'd like to see the Bears improve in the passing yards allowed department as well as the third down defense and they're 16th in turnover margin.
Bears come out on defense on the opening drive:
Lions out of the I-formation Bears with nine in the box to play the run, Stafford audibles on the play to the single covered Calvin Johnson who goes up and makes an easy catch over Zack Bowman. Off the play action Nick Roach bit but everyone else dropped into coverage. No safety help over the top from Danieal Manning on the play.
Lions again out of the I-formation Bears with nine in the box to play the run, Lions run the ball good penetration by Ogunleye causes Kevin Smith to go out wider and deeper on the sweep than he intended. This in turn allows other players to come in and make the play and drop him for a loss of one. Nick Roach who gets his first start at middle linebacker today makes the tackle. Second and 11 Lions out of the shot gun three wide set back in the backfield, Bears in nickel Cover-2 look. Blitz by Danieal Manning after he comes up after the receiver motions around a bit, quick throw out to Calvin Johnson who slips one tackle and then is brought down after a gain of two by Manning who stops his blitz after the quick throw. Two WR set Stafford from the shot gun on third and nine Bears show blitz and they drop out of the blitz and rush four. TE comes out in the flat wide open, but the zone coverage in the flat is there he catches the ball underneath and the tackle is made keeping him short of the first down.
Lions come out for the field goal attempt, Al Afalva jumps off sides costing the Bears the fourth down play. First down for the Lions comes up next after the penalty, off-set I the Lions motion Smith out of the backfield split wide left and go pass. Stafford looks left and throws hard right missing a wide open Johnson. Bears blitzed on the play and got ZERO pressure on Stafford. Second and 10 Lions with a three receiver set, single back is Smith Bears show blitz corners playing off. False start for the Lions moves it to second and 15 Lions with three receivers, two bunched up almost in the wing back spot, one split wide left they give it to Smith who gets clothes lined on the play by the unblocked Alex Brown. Lions cry for a face mask penalty and after a long wait get the 15-yard penalty on Alex Brown. A complete and total garbage penalty, Brown never even touched the face mask, he totally did the aforementioned wrestling clothes line move for the tackle.
 Sickening penalty here, free yards for the Lions on a major second down play which was dropped for a loss. This penalty gave the Lions momentum which they did not deserve. Bears would have likely held to another FG attempt here, instead they Lions get a freebie. Lions out the shot gun on first down three receiver set, Smith in motion again to an empty back field, Bryant Johnson runs a very short post route after getting the CB to open up on the play early. The catch is good for a gain of nine down to the five. From the five yard line they give to the FB, hard penetration by O-Gun on the play just misses the tackle, the scrum up the middle gives the Lions a first and goal at the one. First and goal Lions goal line formation punch it in for the touchdown. 7-0 Lions 10:50 left in the first quarter.
Bears back on defense to 8:45 left in the first quarter after the offense tied it at seven with the big run from Forte and the helicopter touchdown by Cutler.
Lions simple I-formation on first and ten from the 28-yard line O-Gun gets good penetration and is chipped last minute by the back. Stafford a quick throw beneath the CB who was playing WAY OFF the receiver. He even opened his hips early as if he was afraid to get beat deep, not sure who was on the coverage here, looks like it was Charles Tillman, could have been Danieal Manning. Either way piss poor coverage fundamentals and first down for the Lions off of this pass. Lions single back set Bears choke up in run defense double TE set for the Lions, run play to the short side of the field. Nick Roach attacks down hill well, and tackles Smith, great play here by Roach, the refs throw a flag and tack on 15-yards for good measure after Smith pulls on Roach's face mask on the play. First and 25 single back three receiver set a quick draw to Maurice Morris who jukes and cuts for a big gain. Second and 13 two TE set again single back Bears come with a hard blitz, Stafford gets a quick pass off to the back in the flat, Lance Briggs totally blows his coverage responsibility here.
Absolutely piss poor read by Briggs on this play, with the single back there is no way in hell the play is going in the opposite direction of his coverage read. Briggs even moves to the wrong side of the field completely misreads it which allows the back to slip out ahead of his pursuit and pick up the first down. I have no idea what in the hell Briggs was seeing or thinking on this play, but this play should HAVE NEVER GONE FOR A FIRST DOWN. Completely inexcusable on Briggs' part here. The Bears even got a good pass rush, all for not because of Briggs mental break down. This is the type of play that would absolutely drive Lovie Smith to the blow up he had at half time.
Lions come out and run a reverse on first down to Calvin Johnson, Brown breaks contain just enough that Johnson is able to get going down hill enough to pick up another first down. Lions out of the off-set I formation two receiver set, they run the rookie TE Pettigrew down the seam, Jamar Williams in coverage is way behind him.
Stafford overthrows him, he's wide open, Williams just blew the coverage, Bears lucky this didn't get completed for a big play. Absolutely zero pass rush on the play. Second and ten Stafford is blitzed and pressured a bit and misses another wide open receiver, third and ten upcoming. Bears bring another heavy blitz on third and ten, the blitz is picked up well, bad blitz all together Bears just lack any real good blitzers. Johnson is hit wide open on the play for a first down inside the 15-yard line for the Lions. Tillman was piss poor in his coverage of Johnson on this play, he's playing 10-yards off the ball he flips his hips open deep even though he likely can't get beat deep because of blitz pressure that is supposed to get there. I have no idea why Tillman opens up his hips so early on this play it makes the underneath completion so easy, for Johnson here. He gets the first down and the completion with ease because of Tillman's poor fundamentals, off the LOS 10 yards and then opening his hips on Johnson's first move off the line of scrimmage. Johnson isn't THAT fast, so fast that he's going to run by Tillman in the first two steps of his route. This type of garbage really infuriates me, it shows really bad coaching that Tillman would break open so quick.
Blitz comes again Johnson again is wide open on Tillman the ball is thrown behind Johnson so it goes incomplete, but the blitz on Stafford leaving Tillman in one on one coverage really shows just how bad Tillman might be. He is having a really poor game to this point, even though it was Bowman that gave up the big reception on the opening play, it's just been bad all around coverage by Tillman who is supposed to be the Bears' best CB. Second and ten out of the shot gun fake the draw, Briggs bites bad on the fake hand off. The TE is wide open on this play and Stafford misses the throw again.
Third and ten from the 14-yard line inside the red zone for Detroit. Three receivers out of the shot gun is Stafford Bears showing a blitz again on an obvious passing down, Bears blitz and the TE springs free (Will Heller) and he gets the touchdown to put the Lions on top 14-7.
Tie game again after another touchdown drive by Cutler and the offense. Bears back out on defense first and ten Lions from their own 22-yard line.
 I-formation, Stafford appears to audible Bears with eight in the box to stop the run Harrison and Adams the two DTs on this play, Harrison is double teamed on the delayed hand off. Good stout run defense at the point of attack allows the LBs to attack down hill at the line of scrimmage and attack the hole, Briggs makes a nice tackle. Even Roach (he is blocked) attacks down hill hard on this play and collides hard with the FB. The fundamentally sound run defense here by the front four allowed the LBs to attack their gaps and stop this play for no gain.
The Bears for the second play in a row play damn good run defense. Anthony Adams is completely driven out of the way on a double team block, but that double team block keeps the LBs free to attack the play. Penetration by Marcus Harrison, causes Smith to change his trajectory as he's attacking the LOS on this sweep play. Briggs again reads the play and attacks down hill dropping the RB for a loss. Just sound defense here with penetration and occupation by the front followed by LBs who are free to roam and make plays. O-Gun locks out on the OT on this play and his lock out helps to stretch the play out for the LBs to come make the play. This type of play is just all around good run defense, I can't be complimentary enough when I see good defense like this.
Third and 15 for the Lions Stafford with three receivers out of the shot gun Bears showing Cover-2 here, they show a bit of a blitz later in the snap count but come out in a zone play. Mark Anderson is in the three technique spot with Tommie Harris as the NT on this obvious passing down. The Lions try to set up a screen, but Anderson's great speed and closing ability on this play causes Stafford to make a bad throw that's picked off by Tommie Harris. Anderson made this play happen even though he was let go on a screen call because he attacked the QB so hard. Because he got the pressure Harris makes the INT inside the 10-yard line. First and goal Chicago....
Bears take the lead for the first time in the game up 21-14 10:47 left in the second quarter. Bears on defense again,
Lions out of the I-formation first down ten from their own 12-yard line. Stafford with some play-action motion, not really though I mean it's very minimal play action fake motion here. The fake though freezes Charles Tillman who comes up ready to support the run, and allows the receiver to get behind him. I don't know why Tillman is showing such poor judgment right now but he's just not playing good defense at this point in the game. Run defense should really be the last thing on his mind, but for some reason he bites on the fake and Stafford makes a good throw to the receiver who makes the catch for the first down.
For some reason Lovie Smith decides to throw the challenge flag on this one. Thom Brennaman announces how Smith is one of the worst coaches in the NFL at the instant replay challenge. Smith has lost 30 of 46 challenges over the years and this challenge loss makes it 31 of 47 challenges lost by Smith. Who ever is in charge of the video at Soldier Field or in charge of communicating the challenge to Smith really needs to better work on making these calls. That level of failure can really hurt a team.
I-formation for the Lions, Bears showing Cover-2 on the pre-snap read, hand off goes to the back Mark Anderson damn what speed he has off the edge. He runs right by the blocker and drops the back for a loss on the play. Second and 13 now for the Lions, Bears on defense here starting to play with more emotion and things are better starting to click. Cover-2 against the I-formation again, Smith is hit out of the backfield, Lance Briggs slips and misses the tackle. But even Smith slips as well and the Bears cover him after a minimal gain on the pass play. Third down upcoming the Lions need three yards here Lions try to run a quick slant and FINALLY Charles Tillman shows good defense by getting a jam at the line of scrimmage on Calvin Johnson. Decent pressure off the edge from Mark Anderson also helps to throw off the timing of the slant. Bears get the ball back.
 Bears do nothing on offense Maynard pins the Lions deep at the two yard line. 4:45 left in the first half, Lions throw deep to Calvin Johnson in double coverage. Pass is incomplete Manning and Tillman on the coverage pass incomplete second and ten upcoming. Lions try to run and the Bears again show good run defense discipline here. Good penetration forces the back to the wrong hole, Nick Roach attacks the line this time and drops Smith almost immediately a small gain of three. Third and seven here Lions call a time out, after this the Lions go three wide out of the shot gun a pass to Johnson goes complete for a first down. Bowman on the coverage here shows bad fundamentals. This time he fails to open his hips quick enough and Johnson gets open just behind him before the safety help can get there over the top. Bowman doesn't appear to be sitting into a zone, though with the Bears' tendencies that might be what the play call was, it just doesn't appear to be that in this case.
Off-set I formation for the Lions here false start penalty on first and ten...makes it first and 15. Out of the shot gun they pitch it out to Smith with pullers in front. O-Gun gets blocked just enough that Smith gets the corner and with the blockers in front they get good yards on this play. Gain of 11 on the play now second and four, Stafford drops back to pass good protection then gets late pressure and is flushed. Stafford breaks loose with a lot of room to run and picks up a first down and more on the scramble. Lions go with a great play call on the screen play to Brandon Pettigrew who has a ton of blockers out in front of him. He's got a lot of open field to work with and can run well to boot. He rumbles ahead for big yardage. Another pitch out to Smith who easily gets the corner with good blocking and gains a good chunk of yards on first down. Second and four upcoming a little bit of pressure by Alex Brown on the pass, Stafford misses his receiver incomplete third and six upcoming. A bullet to Pettigrew for a first down inside the five after the Bears rush three and drop a DT into coverage. Laser throw and catch first and goal inside the five for the Lions. Bears just had too many break downs on defense on this drive.
Lions out of the shot gun, Smith gets a trap draw from the shot gun and bulls his way into the end-zone for the touchdown for the Lions. Tie game 21-21 this drive really wasn't as bad as I initially thought. There were worse drives by allowed by the defense last week against Seattle. I suppose though it still doesn't say much given that it's the Lions who made this drive for this touchdown, 98-yards with a couple major third down conversions. Too many people are very high on the defense given the improvement in the pass rush and the fact that the Bears are 3-1. Thing is right now it appears the easiest part of our schedule was the first four games. With a very dangerous Atlanta team and a very improved Cincinnati team on the road the next two weeks after the bye week, we may truly find out what the Bears are made of then.
Bears open the second half with a touchdown return by Johnny Knox, still not sure if the ball crossed the plain of the goal line. It doesn't matter though it's a touchdown and the Bears are up 28-21 now with momentum clearly back on their side.
Bears on defense Lions first and ten at their own 23-yard line.
Bears eight men in the box hand off goes to Smith out of the I-formation, Bears are stout in holding their ground at the point of attack O-Gun then gets free and drops Smith after maybe a gain of one. Second down Nick Roach blitzes and flushes Stafford, Stafford scrambles around and scramble away from Brown and back into Roach for a sack. Good stunt really freed up Roach on his blitz. Third down and 19 false start by Detroit makes it third and 24 now. Lions go with a draw Bears again stout at the POA the blocker in front of him trips him up after the LB under cuts the blocker back into the back. Fourth down for the Lions here.
Bears come out on offense and drive enough to put Robbie Gould in position to connect on a career long 52-yard field goal attempt. Bears go out on top even further now up 31-21.
Bears back on defense first and ten Lions from the 20 after a touch back by Gould.
Lions go play action and try a naked boot leg out with Stafford, hoping that Adewaley Ogunleye breaks contain and is fooled by the play action. O-Gun is unblocked on the play and immediately drops Stafford for a sack. Funny how they left him unblocked hoping he'd simply be fooled by the play action fake. Second and 19 Lions from the I-formation they hand off to Smith Bears hold up well but at the same time are neutralized by this run call. The Lions get good hat on hat action and Smith gains a decent chunk of yards. The Bears held up well enough that the back had to change his direction as he headed to the hole. Gain of five on the play third down and 14, out of the shot gun is Stafford Bears in Cover-2 nickel Stafford drops back to pass pump fakes...good coverage down field he takes the check down. Bears LBs swarm to the football on the underneath pass to the FB, he barely gets back to the LOS.
Bears don't score, but they punt and keep the Lions pinned deep inside their 20-yard line again. 6:59 left in the third quarter.
On defense the Bears are in a Cover-2 look with a standard seven man front, Lions out of the I-formation still down 31-21 starting from their own 18-yard line. Lions drop back to pass on first down, good coverage down the field, Stafford takes his check down, Bears pounce shove the back out of bounds after a gain of six on the play. Lions call time out their first of the half. Second down and six now Lions four receiver set, Bears Cover-2 nickel the same pitch play out of the shot gun that worked semi-well for the Lions earlier is called again. O-Gun holds up well at the POA and stretches the play out wide, the back has no where to go but to try and cut it back against the grain he's in turn dropped for a gain of one by the backside pursuit. Third and five now Lions out of the shot gun three man receiver set Bears only rush four but it's great penetration from Israel Idonijae who steps in and forces the fumble on the play that's recovered by the Bears. Great pass rush up the gut, the DT spot from Idonijae forcing this fumble.
Bears kick another field goal to go up 34-21 with 2:27 left in the third quarter.
 Back out on defense Lions are first and ten from their own 11 out of the I-formation, they hand it off straight into the Bears' eight man front. Jamar Williams is at the LOS and he gets into the backfield after fighting off a block and drops Smith for no gain on the play. Overall the Bears just stand up strong at the POA here which allows the LBs to make the play once again. This is some of the best run defense at the POA I've seen from the Bears all season. Too bad it's coming against the lowly Detroit Lions. Not a really good measure of how good your team is in this case.
Second and ten Lions from the shot gun Bears in Cover-2 get zero pass rush but the coverage is good. Stafford seems content on taking a check down on each and every pass play even though there are plays the Bears aren't getting much of a pass rush. Overall this is a sign smart rookie QB to not try to force things with his back against his own end zone. The coverage that is good enough by the Bears is enough of a blanket underneath to keep the check down receptions to a minimal gain. Third down for the Lions Bears get a decent pass rush here this time from Alex Brown, it leads to an under thrown pass and the Bears hold the Lions to another three and out.
Bears again fail to score it's still 34-21 but it's the end of the third quarter and they lead. Lions back on offense to start the fourth quarter first and ten. Lions double TE single back two receivers starting from their own 19-yard line Stafford tries to gun one into Pettigrew who drops it in front of the coverage. No pass rush here. Second and ten now Lions decide to run the ball on a long developing trap play Bears hold for the most part, but Nick Roach fights through his block and makes the tackle. Roach is proving he holds up better at the POA than the taller (not really bigger) Hunter Hillenmeyer. Roach may very well be worthy of staying as the starting MIKE with the games he's had two weeks in a row. Third down and six Lions out of the shot gun three WR set Bears showing a blitz look on the pre-snap read they drop immediately into zone on the snap of the ball pass goes to Calvin Johnson in front of Charles Tillman first down gain on the play for the Lions. Two receiver set on first and ten Lions hand it off to Smith, Bears hold up well at the POA Briggs fights through a block and makes the tackle. No gain on the play three receiver set out of the shot gun Bears in Cover-2, play action wide open down the middle is the TE who makes the catch for the first down. No pass rush no real good coverage here off of the play-action fake.
Stafford on first down back to pass Lions run Northcutt underneath a post breaking out under the Bears' coverage. Manning reacts well to the ball and makes the tackle as the receiver hauls in the pass. Bears bring a blitz that doesn't get much pressure. On second and five underneath the Bears' zone Lions take another check down pass from Stafford to the RB, the linebacker dives on him immediately and makes the tackle out of the Cover-2. Third and four for the Lions now after that Briggs tackle on the RB. Lions throw out to Johnson who runs a short route in front of Tillman and makes yet another reception for a first down.
Horrible coverage on this zone blitz from Kevin Payne. Stafford just misses a wide open TE who run an in post while the coverage goes out to cover grass. Payne is lucky Stafford misses his TE otherwise this play goes for a touchdown and puts the Lions squarely back in the football game. Tenth play of the drive is a pass caught by Pettigrew who gets a first down and gets down to about the 11-yard line of the Bears. On first down the Lions run at Tommie Harris who gets driven out the hole and back. The Lions have their best success when they run AT the Bears, Smith gains six yards on this run here. Lions throw a quick side line pass to Johnson, luckily it's a good read and react by Manning who comes up and makes the tackle. Johnson barely gets back to the LOS.
Lions leave Ogunleye unblocked again, he should really thank for them for leaving him unblocked so he can make the two sacks he does on the day. That really helps his stat totals and over inflates just how good O-Gun was on the day. When you get a sack on a naked boot leg and then two TEs run routes instead of blocking you or chipping you, YOU BETTER DAMN WELL make those sacks. Brian Billick must be blind because he tries to say a stunt freed up O-Gun for this sack....sorry Brian, there was no stunt, just stupidity. Lions kick a field goal to bring it to 34-24.
Bears finally score again now up 41-24 Dante Culpepper checks into the game with 6:41 left. Out of the shot gun is Culpepper takes another dump off pass Briggs in on the tackle. Next play an incomplete pass. Tommie Harris gets his best pressure of the day but it's for not as Culpepper steps up and fires to the FB for the first down. Culpepper with all day to throw on this first down and he scrambles loose to extend the play and makes another completion. NO pass rush on Culpepper again out of the shot gun skips a pass incomplete to the TE. Third and six ball is thrown behind Pettigrew, now fourth down for the Lions. 5:17 left Bears ready to go back on offense.
Bears score to wrap it up 48-24 the final.
I didn't have the tail end of the game due to the game running over on the DVR. It was garbage time the Lions gained 40-yards on a few plays and then it was the end of the game.
So the Bears dominate in the third quarter and that sets the tempo for the rest of the game. Brad Maynard really played a huge role in this victory because he so often pinned the Lions deep. When the Lions were pinned deep they were afraid to let Stafford take any chances throwing the football so all they took was primarily check downs underneath the Bears' coverage. In this case it might be better to be lucky rather than good as the Bears got lucky on some of their plays.
 They did hold up well against the run throughout most of the second half which was commendable. That usually put the Lions in their hole in which they were forced to throw the ball and led to them not taking those chances they may have otherwise done with a veteran QB.
With the Bears heading into the bye week I can't honestly say I know how good the defense is. They have played very up and down and against better talent than the Lions have given up too many yards in come cases. The pass rush is best from Idonijae, Brown and Mark Anderson. O-Gun may have the 4.5 sacks but those two where he wasn't blocked today played a bigger role than his ability to actually beat a blocker and get to the QB. Charles Tillman didn't play well against Calvin Johnson even though Johnson was slowed in the second half. This was primarily due to again, the Lions refusing to let Stafford take chances down the field. When the Bears rushed four they usually didn't get a lot of pressure.
It's intriguing just how little Tommie Harris plays. He is barely in the game at all maybe for 20 plays a game and his impact is minimal. It's sort of apparent that the Bears are taking great strides to hide Harris' injury.
Oh well you take the win and head into the bye week a game behind the Vikings. Two tough road games upcoming will really tell us good the Bears are, until then we may not really know.
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