ChicagoSportsBlogs : Non Compete

This is the face of determination. It is the face of our defense. To be more precise, it is the face of the entire Bears organization. Brian Urlacher is they key to our success. I know it, you know it, and anyone who casually watches a Sportscenter highlight knows this fact. The Bears success in this year's playoffs will be determined by the number of tackles and broken plays that Brian Urlacher can muster.

The 2006 Bears season began with great expectations for the defensive unit. We were a great defense in '05, and with a much easier schedule (at least on paper) this year was going to be a cake walk. The fantastic start Rex Grossman had achieved proved this point. We all know last year's defense was carrying Kyle Orton and with Grossman's early successes the defense had one less thing to worry about.

Unfortunately the old cliche about football being a tale of two seasons is true. Grossman took a turn for the worse and the defense started to fall to injuries. Todd Johnson, Tommie Harris, Leon Joe, Nathan Vasher, and of course Tank are all out. (take the jump to see how the Bears gave this guy another chance) We haven't been able to stop the run very well if at all and I'm forced to look at Peanut Tillman as a leader with Mike Brown's yearly exit from the field of play. Things are not right.

If you need more evidence, look to last week's collapse against the Bucs. Tim Rattay threw for 3 touchdowns in the 4th quarter. Rattay is not Drew Brees. As it stands now, Brees will be joined by Romo, Hasselbeck, Jeff Garcia, and either Eli Manning or Atlanta's Mike Vick in this year's chase for the Superbowl. I won't speculate on which one of those quarterbacks will be coming to Chicago but I'm pretty confident they pose a much bigger threat to our dreams of a championship than Mr. Rattay.

Defense wins championships. How often have we heard that old cliche? If you believe this, then our defense has some work ahead of it. The front four has not been able to rack up the sacks or to keep pressure on the quarterback. Pressure = Mistakes. Mistakes = Turnovers. That simple equation is how the Bears can coast into the big game. The first thing I would do is find a way to get rookie Mark Anderson more plays. He has a nack for getting to the quarterback. I don't know how you find a place for him, with Wally on one end and Alex Brown on the other, but do it. The next thing I would do is get Todd Johnson healthy. We need some help at safety. Todd can get the job done. He hits hard and his effort is there. He knows the position. You either get Johnson healthy, or deal with Chris Harris.

On a related note, the health of the defense is something you will read about for the next 3 weeks. This is typically the time of year when teams start to clinch their playoff position and start to rest their starters. Our starters are either lost for the season or finding ways to end up in jail. This doesn't bode well for our chances. Sound a little harsh? The news today that Tank is being suspended for one game hopefully removes the distraction he caused by getting his drink on.

Its presumptuous for anyone, especially me, to question Coach Rivera and his play calling. In reality the defense is still pretty damn good. Its just banged up. I'd like to see more pressure on the quarterback, fewer yards gained against us on the ground, and Brian Urlacher stepping up like he always does. This time I'm hoping someone tries to emulate his effort and matches his results.

GO BEARS

Offense is Next...