Bears defenders’ postgame comments unintentionally expose the true issue plaguing the defense all season, but it’s not what you think
The Chicago Bears were out-matched on defense, and it has nothing to do with coaching.
The Chicago Bears had another awful showing in Week 18, this time on both sides of the ball, and will head into the playoffs with a two-game losing streak, scrambling for answers.
Offensively, I have no concerns about head coach Ben Johnson getting that unit back into shape by Saturday’s game against the Green Bay Packers after a stagnant performance. My main concern is with the defense after getting heavily out-matched again, much like the unit has all season.
While Johnson didn’t say much about the defense’s struggles after the game, the players offered some insight into what went wrong in Week 18.
Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard state the Bears were out-schemed by the Lions in Week 18
“We were playing a whole bunch of man today. No help in the middle. Lotta picks and rubs,” safety Jaquan Brisker said after the game, via Mark Grote. “Really, they schemed us up, and we had to do a better job covering. They just got us in the right call. They just out-schemed us, just being honest.”
Brisker isn’t wrong with those comments; anyone watching the game could tell the Lions were having a field day against this defense, outside of one late interception that came off a pass breakup. Other than that, Detroit totaled 433 yards of offense and killed the Bears over the middle of the field.
It’s the same thing the Lions did in Week 2 when the unit totaled 511 yards and 52 points. They continued to exploit man coverage matchups by winning with speed on crossing routes. I mean, Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown finished the game with 11 receptions for 139 yards, and almost every reception looked identical, beating the Bears on crossing routes.
The only reason the final score wasn’t as bad this time around is that the unit, for their credit, tightened down in the red zone to force field goals. But the defense made it too easy for the Lions to find yardage on big plays.
“The crossers and all that stuff was hurting us really bad in man,” veteran safety Kevin Byard added. “We knew what they were going to do, but I don’t think we did a good enough job executing what we needed to do to be able to get those stops, and those explosive plays just kept those drives going. We were able to force field goals in the red zone, but we’re just being out on the field way too long.”
Those comments speak to the issues with Dennis Allen, but let’s not turn on him just yet
Seeing two players publicly call out the scheme and coverage speaks directly to the issues with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, and a lot of fans seemed to be aiming their frustrations at him as well. I understand that feeling to an extent.
It’s Week 18, you’d think Allen would have a better game plan for these players and adapt to the talent on the field because frankly, the Bears don’t have the speed defensively to play man coverage, especially with how ineffective the pass rush is. But, I’m not ready to call for Allen’s head like a lot of the fanbase was on Sunday.
Allen is an old-school coach who wants to run his scheme. The problem is that he’s stuck on running that scheme with players who fit better into Matt Eberflus’ soft, conservative zone scheme. These aren’t his players, and the ones he’d ideally want running his scheme on defense.
Next offseason will be Allen’s turn to pick out the groceries. Right now, he’s just forced to try and cook with the ingredients left in the kitchen and see how far it takes him. But, yeah, maybe switching things up for the time being should be considered, especially going into a playoff game.
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