AZ54 Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 http://bearswire.usatoday.com/2017/10/19/b...football-focus/ Our defense has been under the radar this season, overshadowed by the horrendous play of Glennon and the slow start with Trubisky. I'm not sure if I'd put us in the top 5 league-wide yet but the performance against Baltimore was impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mongo3451 Posted October 19, 2017 Report Share Posted October 19, 2017 http://bearswire.usatoday.com/2017/10/19/b...football-focus/ Our defense has been under the radar this season, overshadowed by the horrendous play of Glennon and the slow start with Trubisky. I'm not sure if I'd put us in the top 5 league-wide yet but the performance against Baltimore was impressive. I'm not sure what our time of possession was but it should have been a huge bonus for the defense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted October 20, 2017 Report Share Posted October 20, 2017 I don't about top 5 defense, let alone top 3. I would say more like top 15, and we played like a top 10 unit last week. According to FBO we are 16th in defense efficiency: http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/teamdef We are 2nd to last in opponent's field position, where they average the 30 yard line to start. This is part of the problem and made worse by the early season turnovers. If we can cut down on turnovers, we can flip the script on the field position problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ54 Posted October 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2017 I don't about top 5 defense, let alone top 3. I would say more like top 15, and we played like a top 10 unit last week. According to FBO we are 16th in defense efficiency: http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/teamdef We are 2nd to last in opponent's field position, where they average the 30 yard line to start. This is part of the problem and made worse by the early season turnovers. If we can cut down on turnovers, we can flip the script on the field position problem. It is interesting what they built there but seeing Pittsburgh with the 6th best offense and the 4th best defense throws it into question. Atlanta is the 4th best offense, Tampa 7th, Vikings 9th, GB 14th. Therefore we have played 4 of the top 10 NFL offenses. Perhaps. Go figure the Jaguars #1 DVOA ranking. Their pts/game given up so far: 7 Houston, 37 Tenn, 7 Ravens, 23 Jets (McCown!), 9 Pitt, then 27 given up to the Rams. Bimodal distribution but there's not the consistent dominance you'd expect from the #1 Defense in the NFL. Bortles has thrown 5 INTs across 6 games vs. the Bears defense defending 6 INTs, just for reference. NFL stats show Jaguars defense 9th in yards/gm, and 7th in pts/gm. Then there is the fact they are still weighting some of the score based on what they "thought" the Bears D would be during the preseason, presumably that applies to he offense scores as well. At this point that isn't adding much but still it makes no sense in a league that changes so much year to year. Those same personnel changes can greatly affect the first few games performance as well. I'd be more comfortable using this reference later in the season. In any case it's all weighted averages which might be more helpful plotting a trend line but you can't see the trend line. I don't see us Top 5 in defense and I still trust what I see. I see our defense solid against the run but lacking in outside pass rush. Floyd is now seeing double team blocks on most passing downs. Nobody is worried about McPhee or Acho, nor should they be. We are making up for that, surprisingly, with better than expected play in the secondary. Even then there are still gaps in consistency but if the young players and new players (Amukamara) continue to come together they could close that gap in the 2nd half of the season. There is enough goodness to give a team like the Panthers, who aren't very versatile on offense, some trouble but we won't shut them down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted October 20, 2017 Report Share Posted October 20, 2017 It is interesting what they built there but seeing Pittsburgh with the 6th best offense and the 4th best defense throws it into question. Atlanta is the 4th best offense, Tampa 7th, Vikings 9th, GB 14th. Therefore we have played 4 of the top 10 NFL offenses. Perhaps. Go figure the Jaguars #1 DVOA ranking. Their pts/game given up so far: 7 Houston, 37 Tenn, 7 Ravens, 23 Jets (McCown!), 9 Pitt, then 27 given up to the Rams. Bimodal distribution but there's not the consistent dominance you'd expect from the #1 Defense in the NFL. Bortles has thrown 5 INTs across 6 games vs. the Bears defense defending 6 INTs, just for reference. NFL stats show Jaguars defense 9th in yards/gm, and 7th in pts/gm. Then there is the fact they are still weighting some of the score based on what they "thought" the Bears D would be during the preseason, presumably that applies to he offense scores as well. At this point that isn't adding much but still it makes no sense in a league that changes so much year to year. Those same personnel changes can greatly affect the first few games performance as well. I'd be more comfortable using this reference later in the season. In any case it's all weighted averages which might be more helpful plotting a trend line but you can't see the trend line. I don't see us Top 5 in defense and I still trust what I see. I see our defense solid against the run but lacking in outside pass rush. Floyd is now seeing double team blocks on most passing downs. Nobody is worried about McPhee or Acho, nor should they be. We are making up for that, surprisingly, with better than expected play in the secondary. Even then there are still gaps in consistency but if the young players and new players (Amukamara) continue to come together they could close that gap in the 2nd half of the season. There is enough goodness to give a team like the Panthers, who aren't very versatile on offense, some trouble but we won't shut them down. Check out their methodology: http://www.footballoutsiders.com/info/methods Actually, for JAX, their passing defense has been so good and a bunch of the pts have been scored on their special teams. Against the Rams, they gave up 2x Special Teams TD's. They lead the league in Sacks and Interceptions, 2nd in forced fumbles, and 2nd in passes defended. Pts/g and yardage are deceiving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ54 Posted October 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2017 Check out their methodology: http://www.footballoutsiders.com/info/methods Actually, for JAX, their passing defense has been so good and a bunch of the pts have been scored on their special teams. Against the Rams, they gave up 2x Special Teams TD's. They lead the league in Sacks and Interceptions, 2nd in forced fumbles, and 2nd in passes defended. Pts/g and yardage are deceiving. I read their methods before posting my thoughts. I'd still be more concerned facing Denver's D versus Jags. I agree though that raw numbers like total yards, pts/game, etc. don't tell the whole story. Neither does DVOA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowlingtwig Posted October 22, 2017 Report Share Posted October 22, 2017 Top 3? Yeah I just don't see it. Our defense has very much surprised us but not even a to 5. I would want to see more performances like last week before I could go there. We have struggled creating turnovers until last week where we doubled or yearly total in the 1 game alone. If we can start consistently creating turnovers every game. Even if just 1 and then sprinkle the occasional 2 or 3+ then I could go top 5. I don't know the stats but it seems like 1 of big areas the defense has improved by leaps and bounds would be the red zone defense. I can remember several times the offense turns ball over and defense has an extremely short field to work with and walk away only giving up 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskan Grizzly Posted October 22, 2017 Report Share Posted October 22, 2017 Top 3? Yeah I just don't see it. Our defense has very much surprised us but not even a to 5. I would want to see more performances like last week before I could go there. We have struggled creating turnovers until last week where we doubled or yearly total in the 1 game alone. If we can start consistently creating turnovers every game. Even if just 1 and then sprinkle the occasional 2 or 3+ then I could go top 5. I don't know the stats but it seems like 1 of big areas the defense has improved by leaps and bounds would be the red zone defense. I can remember several times the offense turns ball over and defense has an extremely short field to work with and walk away only giving up 3 You were saying? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowlingtwig Posted October 22, 2017 Report Share Posted October 22, 2017 You were saying? Yeah I know lol. I want them to keep proving me wrong. I'll gladly eat crow every week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bears4Ever_34 Posted October 22, 2017 Report Share Posted October 22, 2017 They're making a pretty big statement right now that they are a legit top 5 defense. They've gotten no help at all from the offense all season long, especially in the last two, and yet, they've still been able to dominate. One thing that bothers me is their inability to get off the field on 3rd and long situations. You can't keep getting penalties and giving up big pass plays in those situations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowlingtwig Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 They're making a pretty big statement right now that they are a legit top 5 defense. They've gotten no help at all from the offense all season long, especially in the last two, and yet, they've still been able to dominate. One thing that bothers me is their inability to get off the field on 3rd and long situations. You can't keep getting penalties and giving up big pass plays in those situations. Absolutely. Need the offense to evolve big time if we want that defense to stay sharp. Giving the opponents the ball for nearly 40 minutes like today is a recipe for disaster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinger226 Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 Absolutely. Need the offense to evolve big time if we want that defense to stay sharp. Giving the opponents the ball for nearly 40 minutes like today is a recipe for disaster Its forming an identity now but we need to run well, and start mixing in a west coast type of ball control and we may finish over 500. I have been a strong opponent of we were a good team but did not see it happening this way. The next game needs some offense, and we will be having an excellent chance at making 500. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowlingtwig Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 Its forming an identity now but we need to run well, and start mixing in a west coast type of ball control and we may finish over 500. I have been a strong opponent of we were a good team but did not see it happening this way. The next game needs some offense, and we will be having an excellent chance at making 500. Agreed. Things are shaping up nicely for us with the injuries to GB and MN though MN continues to win thanks to there defense. If the coaches actually cared about trying to get to the postseason they need to find some semblance of an offense. Even if it's the dink and dunk take what the defense is giving you. I feel confident that trubisky could run a solid West coast offense with his accuracy. The question will be can we trust the receivers. Which to this point I don't think anyone can actually answer that since they haven't been allowed to do anything except block Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 Top 3? Yeah I just don't see it. Our defense has very much surprised us but not even a to 5. I would want to see more performances like last week before I could go there. We have struggled creating turnovers until last week where we doubled or yearly total in the 1 game alone. If we can start consistently creating turnovers every game. Even if just 1 and then sprinkle the occasional 2 or 3+ then I could go top 5. I don't know the stats but it seems like 1 of big areas the defense has improved by leaps and bounds would be the red zone defense. I can remember several times the offense turns ball over and defense has an extremely short field to work with and walk away only giving up 3 You could not have timed this better. Talking about creating turnovers, lol. You nailed this, now do the same for the offense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowlingtwig Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 You could not have timed this better. Talking about creating turnovers, lol. You nailed this, now do the same for the offense. No kidding. Unfortunately. All of us have been complaining about the offense all yr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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