Adrenaline Rush

For the Bears to make another serious run this year the defense is going to need to stay in top form. While I expect the offense to be vastly improved from last season, they're clearly not ready to carry a team to the playoffs. So the defense is once again going to need to be the best unit on the team for the Bears to have a shot this season. With the defensive system staying the same, the Bears are not especially hurt by the shortened offseason. They are mostly a veteran group who have been in this system but there are a few new faces as well. Since the defense relies so heavily on creating turnovers to stop the opponent, the pressure from the defensive line is the key to success.

The obvious star of the line is Julius Peppers. At age 31, Peppers is another year older but he takes good care of himself and still holds the upper hand athletically in every match up he will face this season. Peppers was a force for most of the season although he only registered 8 sacks. He often commanded double and triple teams which allowed his line mates to exploit one on one match ups. Peppers also has a very strong presence in defending the run. He follows the ball until the play is dead and can span the entire field to make a play on the ball carrier. There were some games when Peppers was shut down last year, specifically against Russell Okung and the Seahawks, but for the most part he was one of the two best players on defense every game. I expect Peppers to return to putting up double digit sacks this year, especially with the improvement in his line mates.

The player I'm most excited to see play this year is Henry Melton. H Melt is a solid mass of muscle with above average speed. As a former running back, Melton likes contact and to put a charge into blockers. He has a very good initial burst which will help him beat offensive linemen off the snap. He created a lot of pressure on the QB in limited chances last year and with his number of snaps expecting to rise this season, I also expect his productivity to go way up. Melton needs to show that he can continue to make plays and keep pressuring the QB when given a high volume of snaps. If the Bears are able to get pressure from the inside linemen that will force opponents to divert attention away from Peppers and the other DEs.

At the NT position the Bears have a solid veteran in Anthony Adams. When they didn't immediately address his contract at the beginning of free agency, I was worried that they undervalued him. But thankfully they brought him back for at least another couple years. Anthony is the Bears best overall run defender. He often occupies multiple blockers and is still able to shed them and make a play on the ball carrier. Although not a special athlete, Double A has great strength and is surprisingly agile, considering his build. Although he has been injured during the preseason, he should be a large contributor the entire season and remain a starter on the line.

Israel Idonije had a career year in 2010. The two biggest factors in that were his increased playing time as well as the presence of Julius Peppers. Izzy has been moved back and forth bewteen DE and DT his entire career. Last year was the first year that they decided to give him a shot as one of the starting DEs. Idonije took advantage of seeing one on one match ups the whole season and was able to get good pressure on the QB. He is also a capable player in the run game with his size and strength. I expect Idonije to produce at about the same rate as last year when he recorded 8 sacks and 49 tackles. However some of the younger DEs may push him for playing time.

Corey Wootton is a another young player that I'm excited to see get extended playing time. Although his preseason has gotten of to a rough start, getting hurt on the first play of the first game, if he's able to come back healthy I expect him to have a big impact on the defense. At 6'6", 270 lbs Wootton is an imposing figure in the Julius Peppers vein. Corey Wootton is already a Bears legend for ending the career of brett favre, but he has the size and the upside for that to only be a small note is his overall career. Before getting injured, Wootton was in line to be the first DE off the bench, and assuming he's able to return to full healthy, he is expected to fill that role and see plenty of snaps.

The Bears took a flyer on Vernon Gholston this offseason and the way that he's been praised at times by Rod Marinelli, I wouldn't be surprised if he makes the team. He would be the 4th DE and in this defense that means he would be rotated in for his share of snaps. Gholston has proven to be ineffective so far during his NFL career, but the hope is that the switch back to a 4-3 DE as well as input from Marinelli could help Gholston find success that he has yet to find in the NFL. With Wootton expected to be out the rest of the preseason, Gholston will get plenty of looks and the opportunity to show whether or not he's got anything in him.

Gholston's biggest competition for a roster spot is Mario Addison. Addison is an undrafted free agent out of Troy University, which is a well known school thanks to DeMarcus Ware and Osi Umenyiora. Addison has come on strongly towards the end of camp and showed some good things on film during the first preseason game. Barring any setbacks to Wootton's recovery, I don't expect Gholston and Addison to make the team, but whichever one wins the jobs will have opportunities to contribute this season.

With the Bears defense being such a vital component to their success, they'll need consistent play from their defensive line. They need to put constant pressure on QBs while still defending against the run properly. The return of Peppers, Idonije and Adams should provide stability along the front four and allow some of the younger players the opportunity to step up and and contribute. I fully expect the defensive line to be the biggest story on defense all year, and hopefully it's because they are getting the job done.

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Should We Be Concerned About The Front Four?

The game against the Seahawks this past week was ugly in more ways than one. We could talk all day about the problems the offense is currently having, but I've got to pretend to work sometime today so let's not.

For the first time this season, the defense did not play up to their own lofty standards. Some of this can be contributed to facing a veteran QB such as Matt Hasselbeck that has seen everything over his time in the league, but overall, the defense failed in many aspects including the pass rush.

This brings me to my question; should Bears fans be concerned about the (lack) of a pass rush from the front four?

As most know, Lovie Smith runs a Tampa 2 style defense which is predicated on getting a solid pass rush from the front four. Ideally, the front four will generate enough pressure so that the only option for opposing QBs is to dump the ball off underneath the coverage and the back seven swarm to make the tackle after a short gain. This style is a classic "bend don't break" mentality and if the defense can generate a turnover or two, can be extremely effective.

However, if the front four can not generate consistent pressure, veteran QB's like Hasselbeck will pick the cover 2 apart with short/medium passes. This was the case last Sunday on the lakefront.

Look, we all understand Tommie Harris is a shell of his former self. The man has knees of a 55 year old. Last time I checked, there aren't any 55 year olds playing defensive tackle in the NFL. Unfortunately, Tommie still represents the best interior pass rusher on the Bears roster. As much as I like Anthony Adams and Matt Toeaina, their strengths are clearly stopping the run and occupying blockers to keep Urlacher/Briggs/Pisa clean to make plays. They both excel at doing this and the solid rush defense is evidence.

The problem is, that outside of Peppers, there isn't a consistent rusher on the roster. Some may say Izzy Idonije has the chance to develop into one, but the coaching staff has jerked him around so much over the last few seasons (changing positions, asking him to lose/gain weight) and severely stunted his development. I'm an Izzy guy, and I do think he has a chance to develop into a complete defensive end (he's already an above average run stopper) but until the staff leaves him at one position for an extended period, we wont ever know. The release of Marc Anderson could possibly be a sign that the staff will finally give Izzy the chance he's earned. If Izzy can continue to improve over the course of the season(he leads the Bears with 4 sacks through 6 games), then maybe the pass rush issues go away. But that's a lot to ask of a player who is getting his first real opportunity to learn and master a position.

This brings us back to Tommie. When Tommie was playing well, he could generate mass amounts of pressure through the "A" gap in the middle of the offensive line. It forced QB's and offensive coordinators to know whenever Tommie was on the field and adjust their blocking schemes to him. This would create 1 on 1 match ups for everyone else on the defensive line. Past players like Alex Brown, 'Wale Ogunleye and Anderson took advantage of these opportunities when Tommie was playing at a high level. But when Tommie plays like the overpriced sack of shit he is now, there is no threat from the interior lineman.

Until the Bears find an interior defensive lineman that can create a rush, offensive coordinators will continue to scheme double/triple teams toward Julius Peppers to neutralize him. This leaves 1 on 1 match ups for the rest of the lineman. Can the players on the roster win these 1 on 1 matchups? So far, no player outside of Izzy has. We can't expect Peppers to play at the level he has been performing at all season. He's going to have games like this last Sunday when he isn't going to have the enormous impact we've come to expect. Someone must take advantage or the Bears will revert back to the defensive form they have displayed the last 2+ seasons. Not good, not good at all.