You all know I don't want this team to fail...

[Guest TerraTor]

Our Defense is going to be horrific. By far and away the worst S tandem in the league and I can't imagine much worse at LB. There isn't one guy in the back 7 that can lead the team and call plays.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

Our Defense is going to be horrific. By far and away the worst S tandem in the league and I can't imagine much worse at LB. There isn't one guy in the back 7 that can lead the team and call plays.

Lets hope the additions/improvements on the line help he guys in the back. I was one that preached how it all starts up front. Now that we have improved that, I expect more stops and hurries. Nothing spectacular but enough to give the offense the edge.

[Guest TerraTor]

I don't argue they have vastly improved the front 4

[madlithuanian]

Tillman.

 

Our Defense is going to be horrific. By far and away the worst S tandem in the league and I can't imagine much worse at LB. There isn't one guy in the back 7 that can lead the team and call plays.

 

[Alaskan Grizzly]

Our Defense is going to be horrific. By far and away the worst S tandem in the league and I can't imagine much worse at LB. There isn't one guy in the back 7 that can lead the team and call plays.

 

Not sure 'horrific' is exactly right but more along the line of mediocre. Didn't we just have this conversation? I remember Mad saying Peanut before and I brought up Jennings for a myriad of reasons why he's good. I feel déjà vu all over again.

[BearFan2000]

I think we have to be realistic here, last season we were atrocious. Yes we had tons of injuries and that played a big part but the fact is this defense's core got old, the guy's from the core of the Dominant D we enjoyed for many years is at it's end. Urlacher's retirement, Tillman likely on his last year here and is close to retirement himself. Briggs is getting old. It happens, we've tried to milk all the remaining potential out of the older core guys and now the D is in a rebuilding stage. And rebuilding a D can't realistically be expected to be completed in one season or one offseason. We made a lot of moves in the offseason and in the draft to shore up the D starting at the line. It is going to take time to find the right pieces to the puzzle. I don't think we can really know how the D will look when the games start counting. I for one will try to suspend judgement till I we see the season progress. I think we have to put the dominant D of the recent past, the window of taking advantage of that D is pretty much closed. It's time to move on and build a new defense with a younger core. It may take a couple seasons to for the D to return to a level we have become accustomed to. This year I don't expect great, I don't even expect above average, I want to see an average D. If we're 4 or 5 games into the season and look no better than last year then I feel ike that is on Tucker, because there is too much talent on the Defense individually to be as bad as we were last year.

[madlithuanian]

 

Not sure 'horrific' is exactly right but more along the line of mediocre. Didn't we just have this conversation? I remember Mad saying Peanut before and I brought up Jennings for a myriad of reasons why he's good. I feel déjà vu all over again.

 

[Mongo3451]

What bearfan2000 said. Anything less, Tucker doesn't last the season...

[CrackerDog]

Terra is an ass but he's right about our back 7 to a degree. It'll be tough to get teams off the field on 3rd down with this crew. Our only hope is a major improvement with the pass rush which could cause a few turnovers. Otherwise, this D will be on the field a LONG time each game, giving our excellent O less time to score. Not a good combo. And if this is the result this season, I'm all for shitcanning Tucker and Emery will have one more season to get some damn players who can play on that side of the ball.

[Alaskan Grizzly]

What bearfan2000 said. Anything less, Tucker doesn't last the season...

 

Names for consideration of new DC: Mike Singletary or Bryan Cox (currently LB coach with ATL). Either one would be sweet.

[AZ54]

Terra is an ass but he's right about our back 7 to a degree. It'll be tough to get teams off the field on 3rd down with this crew. Our only hope is a major improvement with the pass rush which could cause a few turnovers. Otherwise, this D will be on the field a LONG time each game, giving our excellent O less time to score. Not a good combo. And if this is the result this season, I'm all for shitcanning Tucker and Emery will have one more season to get some damn players who can play on that side of the ball.

 

Terra may be an ass but he's our ass! He is Glum "we'll never make it" from Gulliver's Travels cartoons but he is observant and sees the details of play better than what he is given credit for. However, I am going to disagree with him and what seems like the rest of the thread here. I don't think we'll be mediocre at best, which I'd say puts around 25th in the league. I think we'll be closer to average.

 

I really like our Dline. We don't have a great player inside at this point but Ratliff was definitely causing a lot of commotion and disruption, moving far better than anything we saw from him last year. Next to him we have standouts but I think Ego can develop fairly quickly into that guy who people can't move, at least not easily. Sutton will also pick things up quickly from Ratliff as the season goes on and we will come to love his hustle. I view Paea as a do no harm type…won't necessarily help but won't hurt things either. Nothing great here but we'll be solid at DT as the season moves on. DE is very good IMO. I know what Allen will bring every play but Houston and Young impressed me as well. They are both more physical than I expected and can get upfield quickly. Bottom line here for me is that this line is good enough to stop the run and get QB pressure.

 

LBs…I'm definitely out on limb among Bears fans but I like the movement I see from SMC at LB. He fits far better than he did at DE. I've already seen on some plays when he "sees it" he gets through the traffic quickly and gets upfield to make the play. He's got a lot to learn but as he gets more playing time he'll show up more often making plays for losses. Bostic I'm less optimistic about but I do love his athleticism. I think Reggie Herring can get him to settle down. Until that happens DJ Williams can do enough to keep things reasonably settled in the middle, at least against the run. Briggs worries me because he looks slow and out of shape. He'll be ok on 1st and 2nd down and his experience will carry him for the most part. I know the LBs are going to miss some plays, especially early in the season, so we'll see some big plays given up here and there. I also expect we'll see some big plays from them as well.

 

CBs is where we shine more than I think we're giving these guys credit for. I like Fuller a lot and I think having him on the field with Tillman and Jennings tips the pass coverage balance back in our favor. Tillman and Jennings are both bait and switch players who will give up yards but then make the play later in the drive. Tillman was still punching footballs loose during preseason and all throughout training camp. He's not great in coverage but he's good and he's good against the run as are Jennings and Fuller.

 

Safety is a crapshoot but as long as they just play solid and don't give up too many big plays for TDs I'll be happy. I just think the other levels of the D will handle most of what needs to be done.

 

As the season progresses I think we will have a decent run defense but will struggle with the elite passing attacks. That means GB, Detroit, Saints, and Patriots are going to be tough games and we're going to need outstanding pass rush to compete. I'm just expecting us to be average and average in scoring defense means we'll give up 24pts and ~350 yds per game. There is nothing great there but enough that should allow a good offense to win the game for us.

 

Are we that worried about Gino Smith and the Jets that we can't attain that? Panther's WRs? Dolphins? Who is catching the ball for the Vikings? Who is throwing it? Buffalo? Stop Spiller and you stop them. I think we'll have 4 sacks in this game, maybe more, mostly because EJ Manuel looks completely lost reading the defense and he has nothing to prepare for against our team. Take away his first read and he wants to run. There's a reason they spent so much going after Kyle Orton.

 

http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-1...55-84fbbba529e3

"I think (EJ has) shown to have good mobility and be able to run at times," Marrone said. "He can throw with consistency at times, that's one of the things he has to do a good job of. But he'll have a great challenge going against Chicago."

 

BEAR DOWN!

[Daventry]

I am probably drinking kool aid...but that is what Bears fans do...so here are my thoughts.

 

Last year we were one game from the playoffs.

 

We have an improved offence and defence this year.

 

We have a great coach and GM.

 

We will kill Buffalo...can we beat the Seahawks is what I am worried about....

 

But I am dreaming and hoping!

[DABEARSDABOMB]

Our Defense is going to be horrific. By far and away the worst S tandem in the league and I can't imagine much worse at LB. There isn't one guy in the back 7 that can lead the team and call plays.

Yeah...I have that scary feeling too. The only saving grace I keep going back to is we should be able to generate a pass rush...if we can do that...it has to make our defense better then a year ago. I also am excited about Fuller and what he brings, but as a whole, we have a very slow defensive unit, imo. It may not even be combine slow, at some points, its also age slow and football instincts slow (see most of our LB corps...neither Bostic or Shea have the instincts yet and DJ Williams is mediocre at best).

 

All this said, I think our dline has a chance to be one of the better units in the league and that is the best concealer a defense can have and can really mask some of our other issues. I do think Fuller will make some strides and give us a young player to be excited for. I actually like Shea the most out of our young linebackers, which says enough in and of itself, haha. We all know I think Bostic, while athletic, has zero football ability, but hopefully with new coaches we can see something. I actually don't mind Conte, just needs to stay healthy. I think with the right coaching, this could be an average d, however, I don't know if we have the right coaching or not. TBD.

[scs787]

I'm willing to give it a shot. An improved DL is gonna help A LOT. I still really like the Allen-Houston-?-Young front 4 in passing situations. that's gonna create a lot of problems and make things easier on the back 7.

 

I think the Bostic/Williams platoon will be above average assuming Williams stays healthy. Bears were good at stopping the run with him back there and I think Bostic in the nickle dropping into coverage is something he's gonna thrive at.

 

Shea actually didn't look bad to me in preseason. He's def got the athletic ability to make that transition and OLmen not getting their hands on him right away to take away that athletic ability will help.

 

Assuming Tillman is healthy and father time didn't beat em down, the CB group should be solid.

 

Mundy will be fine. Conte, who looks like he'll be the starter, is in what I'm viewing as a tie break season. He was at the very least above average 2 years ago, and last year he pretty much sucked. Getting a pass rush will help him a lot IMO.

 

I'm not gonna worry about things until they suck a few weeks in a row.

[DABEARSDABOMB]

I'm willing to give it a shot. An improved DL is gonna help A LOT. I still really like the Allen-Houston-?-Young front 4 in passing situations. that's gonna create a lot of problems and make things easier on the back 7.

 

I think the Bostic/Williams platoon will be above average assuming Williams stays healthy. Bears were good at stopping the run with him back there and I think Bostic in the nickle dropping into coverage is something he's gonna thrive at.

 

Shea actually didn't look bad to me in preseason. He's def got the athletic ability to make that transition and OLmen not getting their hands on him right away to take away that athletic ability will help.

 

Assuming Tillman is healthy and father time didn't beat em down, the CB group should be solid.

 

Mundy will be fine. Conte, who looks like he'll be the starter, is in what I'm viewing as a tie break season. He was at the very least above average 2 years ago, and last year he pretty much sucked. Getting a pass rush will help him a lot IMO.

 

I'm not gonna worry about things until they suck a few weeks in a row.

The sad thing to me is that Shea looked like he had better LB instincts then Bostic, who has played there his whole career. It would be great if at least one of our young LB's pans out as that at least means we aren't looking for 3 next year, since Briggs is getting close to the end.

[Guest TerraTor]

Terra may be an ass but he's our ass! He is Glum "we'll never make it" from Gulliver's Travels cartoons but he is observant and sees the details of play better than what he is given credit for. However, I am going to disagree with him and what seems like the rest of the thread here. I don't think we'll be mediocre at best, which I'd say puts around 25th in the league. I think we'll be closer to average.

 

I really like our Dline. We don't have a great player inside at this point but Ratliff was definitely causing a lot of commotion and disruption, moving far better than anything we saw from him last year. Next to him we have standouts but I think Ego can develop fairly quickly into that guy who people can't move, at least not easily. Sutton will also pick things up quickly from Ratliff as the season goes on and we will come to love his hustle. I view Paea as a do no harm type…won't necessarily help but won't hurt things either. Nothing great here but we'll be solid at DT as the season moves on. DE is very good IMO. I know what Allen will bring every play but Houston and Young impressed me as well. They are both more physical than I expected and can get upfield quickly. Bottom line here for me is that this line is good enough to stop the run and get QB pressure.

 

LBs…I'm definitely out on limb among Bears fans but I like the movement I see from SMC at LB. He fits far better than he did at DE. I've already seen on some plays when he "sees it" he gets through the traffic quickly and gets upfield to make the play. He's got a lot to learn but as he gets more playing time he'll show up more often making plays for losses. Bostic I'm less optimistic about but I do love his athleticism. I think Reggie Herring can get him to settle down. Until that happens DJ Williams can do enough to keep things reasonably settled in the middle, at least against the run. Briggs worries me because he looks slow and out of shape. He'll be ok on 1st and 2nd down and his experience will carry him for the most part. I know the LBs are going to miss some plays, especially early in the season, so we'll see some big plays given up here and there. I also expect we'll see some big plays from them as well.

 

CBs is where we shine more than I think we're giving these guys credit for. I like Fuller a lot and I think having him on the field with Tillman and Jennings tips the pass coverage balance back in our favor. Tillman and Jennings are both bait and switch players who will give up yards but then make the play later in the drive. Tillman was still punching footballs loose during preseason and all throughout training camp. He's not great in coverage but he's good and he's good against the run as are Jennings and Fuller.

 

Safety is a crapshoot but as long as they just play solid and don't give up too many big plays for TDs I'll be happy. I just think the other levels of the D will handle most of what needs to be done.

 

As the season progresses I think we will have a decent run defense but will struggle with the elite passing attacks. That means GB, Detroit, Saints, and Patriots are going to be tough games and we're going to need outstanding pass rush to compete. I'm just expecting us to be average and average in scoring defense means we'll give up 24pts and ~350 yds per game. There is nothing great there but enough that should allow a good offense to win the game for us.

 

Are we that worried about Gino Smith and the Jets that we can't attain that? Panther's WRs? Dolphins? Who is catching the ball for the Vikings? Who is throwing it? Buffalo? Stop Spiller and you stop them. I think we'll have 4 sacks in this game, maybe more, mostly because EJ Manuel looks completely lost reading the defense and he has nothing to prepare for against our team. Take away his first read and he wants to run. There's a reason they spent so much going after Kyle Orton.

 

http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-1...55-84fbbba529e3

"I think (EJ has) shown to have good mobility and be able to run at times," Marrone said. "He can throw with consistency at times, that's one of the things he has to do a good job of. But he'll have a great challenge going against Chicago."

 

BEAR DOWN!

 

Much appreciated