The 2014-2015 Defense Thread

[BullHeaded]

OK, I'm going to declare myself the stupidest, meatheadliest Bears fan out there. But I hear the optimism about the defense climbing from the 30's to the mid-20's and I have news for you all... the defense is going to be above average (as in top half) and possibly top 10 or top 5.

Rationale for above average:
On paper anyway, we are "plus" in two position groups: Defensive End and Corner. I'd argue that those are the two most important position groups to be strong at and that alone makes us a top half defense. If you control the edge of the LOS and you have corners who are competent against no. 1s and 2s, then you will fare well on third downs and cut down the big plays by the opponents in half. Allen, Houston, Young and Bass (or anyone else could be no. 4) is a top 5 DE battery in my opinion while Peanut, Jennings, Fuller, Hayden and Frey is a top 5 CB group. I believe if you're deeply flawed in one of these areas, your entire defense will be exposed as we were last year when Shae Mc was starting most of the season at DE and Peppers was not really Peppers. We not only reconstructed the DE unit, but we even made an big investment at CB with Fuller. We'll be a top half defense.

Rationale for top 10 or top 5:
This is the ultimate "IF". IF a DT or two emerge that require double teams... or IF a couple of young LBs emerge as legit anchors to that unit... we could be top 10 or top 5 depending on how many. I don't count on this, but I wouldn't absolutely discount SOMEONE emerging. But this would be the condition for us to be a better than top half defense.

Safeties:
I left them out of all of these scenarios because frankly I have no faith in what we have. I hope a guy like Brock Vereen or Ryan Mundy can surprise me, but I'm not counting on it. Still, Conte and Wright looked pretty good in 2012 when everything was right around them and they looked pretty terrible in 2013 when nothing was right around them and I think the situation will be the same this year. The quality of the defense will depend on the other units.

[RedBulls23]

I don't think it's meat headedness to think the defense could be top 10-15.

Hell just by staying healthy last year the defense could have been in the top 20's. Now they have added upgrades on the dline, hopefully they will have health, and their you guys are a year older and wiser.

[BullHeaded]

I don't think it's meat headedness to think the defense could be top 10-15.

Hell just by staying healthy last year the defense could have been in the top 20's. Now they have added upgrades on the dline, hopefully they will have health, and their you guys are a year older and wiser.

Sometimes I just get the hunch that if you're not cynical by default the assumption is you're dumb. So what the hell... I'll wear it like a badge of honor. But I think you're right... the injuries were ridiculous last year. That said, I think they upgraded the personnel, the coaching, and even brought in a martial arts guru who has been making NFL pass rushes better for over 20 years.

[NZB2323]

Top 5 talk is ridiculous. Jared Allen and Tillman aren't the players they used to be, our linebackers were hot garbage last year, and you have to expect some injuries.

I'll give the FO props for improving the defense, but bottom 5 offenses don't go to top 5 because of a rookie and a star that's past his prime. Yeah, I know that we added some more guys, but top 5? No way.

[PAUerful]

lol not once in that post was coaching even mentioned, easily the most important factor in the sport of football. The main reason the defense was so bad last year was because of poor defensive minds at the helm, not terrible players or injuries.. the defense was bad even before the injuries, and the players werent too much different from previous years. If your coaches are constantly getting outsmarted you arent going to be a good team, no matter how good your players are. The fact is Lovie(and co.) was an outstanding defensive mind and now we pretty much have noobie coaches leading our D.

The Bears defense will be better than last year(cant really get much worse), but they will still be below average. Top 10 or top 5? hahaha

[BullHeaded]

lol not once in that post was coaching even mentioned, easily the most important factor in the sport of football. The main reason the defense was so bad last year was because of poor defensive minds at the helm, not terrible players or injuries.. the defense was bad even before the injuries, and the players werent too much different from previous years. If your coaches are constantly getting outsmarted you arent going to be a good team, no matter how good your players are. The fact is Lovie(and co.) was an outstanding defensive mind and now we pretty much have noobie coaches leading our D.

The Bears defense will be better than last year(cant really get much worse), but they will still be below average. Top 10 or top 5? hahaha

Great post... I did forget to mention coaches, and that is one of the reasons I'm optimistic.

First... let me get this out of the way regarding our defensive coaches: I am not a believer in Mel Tucker, the guy at the top. Was he dealt a bad hand last year? Sure. Aging defense, injuries... but it seemed like there was nothing being taken away from the offense. Whether we sold out blitzing or stacking the box or in coverage... we had to do something. Instead, we got exploited everywhere. I was pretty vocal about who I wanted as the DC this year and that was Jim Leavitt, the LB coach from the 49ers and 15 year head coach for the USF Bulls.

That said, we have quality assistants now in Pasquolini, Herring and Hurd. These guys have been no nonsense teachers at LB and DL for years. But I also like the hiring of Joe Kim who has been turning talented pass rushing prospects into pro bowl qb killers for two decades... since Belechick brought him into the league 20 years ago with the Browns. Players have been singing this guy's praises for years. We built a developmental environment for young defensive players that had not been in place since Marinelli left.

I'll still stand by what I said though... if you have a top 5 group of DEs and a top 5 group of corners... the baseline for the defense should be top half. And Jared Allen, last I checked, is not our entire group of DEs and neither is Tillman the entire group of CBs. Don't sleep on Lamarr Houston or Willie Young... those were solid pickups. And I guarantee you we will be cutting at least one CB who gets meaningful playing time somewhere else (Frey, McMannis, Hayden... someone good is getting cut)... Tim Jennings is still a pro bowler in his prime and Kyle Fuller will be very good. If Peanut is Peanut... that is gravy.

[NZB2323]

I'll still stand by what I said though... if you have a top 5 group of DEs and a top 5 group of corners... the baseline for the defense should be top half. And Jared Allen, last I checked, is not our entire group of DEs and neither is Tillman the entire group of CBs. Don't sleep on Lamarr Houston or Willie Young... those were solid pickups. And I guarantee you we will be cutting at least one CB who gets meaningful playing time somewhere else (Frey, McMannis, Hayden... someone good is getting cut)... Tim Jennings is still a pro bowler in his prime and Kyle Fuller will be very good. If Peanut is Peanut... that is gravy.

Everyone agrees that our defense will be better, and we have some good defensive players, but there are more players on defense than just DEs and CBs. Our Linebackers and Safeties will be major weaknesses of our defense. Packers fans can name some good defensive players that they have, Lions fans can name some good defensive players that they have. Most fans in the NFL can name good defensive players that they have. When was the last time a defense went from one of the worst defenses in the NFL to one of the best over the course of a year? And all because we upgraded from Peppers to Allen, drafted a rookie and signed some defensive players to cheap contracts?

[BullHeaded]

I'll still stand by what I said though... if you have a top 5 group of DEs and a top 5 group of corners... the baseline for the defense should be top half. And Jared Allen, last I checked, is not our entire group of DEs and neither is Tillman the entire group of CBs. Don't sleep on Lamarr Houston or Willie Young... those were solid pickups. And I guarantee you we will be cutting at least one CB who gets meaningful playing time somewhere else (Frey, McMannis, Hayden... someone good is getting cut)... Tim Jennings is still a pro bowler in his prime and Kyle Fuller will be very good. If Peanut is Peanut... that is gravy.

Everyone agrees that our defense will be better, and we have some good defensive players, but there are more players on defense than just DEs and CBs. Our Linebackers and Safeties will be major weaknesses of our defense. Packers fans can name some good defensive players that they have, Lions fans can name some good defensive players that they have. Most fans in the NFL can name good defensive players that they have. When was the last time a defense went from one of the worst defenses in the NFL to one of the best over the course of a year? And all because we upgraded from Peppers to Allen, drafted a rookie and signed some defensive players to cheap contracts?

2013 New Orleans Saints?

The jump from bad to good happens much quicker and much more frequently on defense than on offense. I agree its not all about DEs and CBs... I'm just saying being great at those positions should elevate a defense to top half. Coverage + pass rush can mask a lot of weaknesses.

[BullHeaded]

We also upgraded our other DE from McClellen to Houston and Wooten to Young. The rookie we drafted is an addition to two perennial pro bowl corners and a couple other solid backups. It's marginalizing to pretend the expected improvement is coming just from two acquisitions. It's a great argument that it isn't enough but it's also a false premise.

[BullHeaded]

I'll be the first one to admit that I am probably not just wrong, but damn wrong about the defense. I know Allen wasn't out there and there were a few penalties that extended drives early for the Seahawks, but the defense and special teams look like absolute garbage. Its inexplicable how bad they're looking. The only positive... Conte didn't look like the hot mess he looked like last season. Other than that, all I could say is last pre-season the defense looked great and only started looking terrible during the season... so maybe we could see the Bizarro World version of that. Unlikely, but yeesh... we could only hope.

[blumeany]

I'll be the first one to admit that I am probably not just wrong, but damn wrong about the defense. I know Allen wasn't out there and there were a few penalties that extended drives early for the Seahawks, but the defense and special teams look like absolute garbage. Its inexplicable how bad they're looking. The only positive... Conte didn't look like the hot mess he looked like last season. Other than that, all I could say is last pre-season the defense looked great and only started looking terrible during the season... so maybe we could see the Bizarro World version of that. Unlikely, but yeesh... we could only hope.

Yeah, but then Conte went and got a concussion. But honestly, to me the biggest hole on that defense is the linebackers. They are over aggressive some times, get swallowed up other times, and just can't seem to chase guys down the rest of the time. It's the same reason our safeties were getting pantsed last season. I think our LB corps in the past masked a lot of the issues with the secondary. Now Briggs is old and slow and McClellin and Bostic are lost. RBs are getting free runs to the secondary and QBs are able to just outmaneuver them.

[RedBulls23]

Yeah, but then Conte went and got a concussion. But honestly, to me the biggest hole on that defense is the linebackers. They are over aggressive some times, get swallowed up other times, and just can't seem to chase guys down the rest of the time. It's the same reason our safeties were getting pantsed last season. I think our LB corps in the past masked a lot of the issues with the secondary. Now Briggs is old and slow and McClellin and Bostic are lost. RBs are getting free runs to the secondary and QBs are able to just outmaneuver them.

LB is a concern at the 3rd starting position, but one thing I do wonder with Briggs and Williams in this pre-season game, how hard could they really have been trying? Maybe they were just in pre-season "don't get injured mode?"

[patryk7754]

If our defense is poor once again, im thinking its time for a new DC. Virginia has always had great defenses and the defense is dominating UCLA. Their DC is on my list of candidates.

[CBS7]

Yeah, Mel Tucker is obviously on a short leash. No way he sticks around if the defense isn't at least average and/or the Bears miss the playoffs.

[patryk7754]

I wasn't able to watch the starters as much as I would have liked. Did Greene or Jones get any time with the starters in place of Shea? If not, I'd be very disappointing. Shea has shown absolutely nothing to earn time as a starter so for the staff not to look at other options would be poor coaching. I think Jones would excel as a rookie starter. Definitely be better than Shea. He had some great coaching at FSU and he played in a lot of different areas. Emery has definitely has had some influence on him still getting time.

[patryk7754]

If Florida has another underwhelming season, Muschamp might get fired and he'd be an upgrade over Tucker.

[BullHeaded]

Ryan Mundy has an AMA on Reddit today at 2pm.

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/

[johnnyvann840]

This guy was in the game at crunch time and made the game clinching interception.

Demontre Hurst


College career

Hurst played from 2009 to 2012 for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Professional career
Chicago Bears

Hurst was signed by the Chicago Bears on April 28, 2013 after going undrafted in the 2013 NFL Draft. He was released by the Bears on August 31, 2013. He was signed to the Bears practice squad on September 4, 2013. Hurst was signed to a futures contract by the Bears on December 11, 2013. He made his NFL debut on special teams September 7, 2014 against the Buffalo Bills. He was released by the Bears on September 8, 2014. He was re-signed by the Bears on September 18, 2014.

He's been signed and released 6 times by the Bears.

[City of Trees]

Defense played well today. With all of the strange names I saw our there, one thing stood out: Speed. The defense was much faster today, especially at Line Backer.

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