When it’s not broken don’t try to fix it. Foolishly Bears head coach got rid of last year’s defensive coordinator Dan Rivera and replaced him with his buddy Bob Babich and it’s been disastrous.
This Chicago defense doesn’t even remotely resemble last year’s defense which took the Bears to the Super Bowl. I don’t see how anybody could be making changes on a defense which was that successful Lovie wanted his friend in place now’s got him.
Sunday could be another long day for the Bears defense, if the Eagles offensive line can handle the Bears front four. If Chicago isn’t able to get pressure on McNabb, it will be bombs away on that weak Chicago secondary. The Bears defense will probably be focused on stopping the run after Adrian Peterson gashed them last week for over two hundred yards.
Handling the defensive line won’t be easy because All-Pro defensive tackle Tommie Harris is capable of dominating a football game. He hasn’t been playing his best football and I think the absence of defensive tackle big Tank Johnson who was released by the Bears for breaking the league personal conduct policies.
The defensive ends are relatively light in NFL terms so I would like to see the Birds run at them because it would make blocking them on pass plays much earsier. If the Birds pound this line, then have Donovan pull the ball out of their and play action pass, I think they’ll be very successful. Andy and Marty just can’t make things easy for the Bears “D” line by throwing the ball too much.
The Eagles should be able to run at this smallish defensive line because All-Pro middle linebacker Brian Urlacher has been playing poorly. The Bears don’t know what’s wrong with him but he’s been missing tackles and failing to get off blocks. If this continues it could be another big day for Westbrook. Andy can’t get too pass happy because the Birds don’t want the defensive line to able to pin back their ears and just rush the passer.
All-Pro weak side linebacker Lance Briggs continues to play well, so Andy and company don’t need to focus their game plan on him.
Left cornerback Charles Tillman is big and physical but he’s not much of a cover guy. He would have trouble staying with Kevin Curtis if Curtis can get a release. I’d put Kevin in motion some during the game and go after the big play. Nathan Vasher is at the right corner and he’s nothing special but he’s quicker and a better cover guy than Tillman. Their corners are good enough for the Bears to play too much man to man, so the Eagles should expect to see a lot of zone coverages.
Safety Adam Archuletta has been terrible. He’s best playing up near the line of scrimmage but he couldn’t cover a table if you handed him a tablecloth. The Eagles have got to go after him and get him isolated. They must attack the side of the field he’s on when they’re playing the classic Tampa Two zone. Daniel Manning is the other safety and he’s mediocre as a cover guy but a big hitter like most of the guys in their secondary.
Nickel back Ricky Manning is a playmaker so the Eagles need to stay away from him. Go after the other corners and especially those safeties.
