Bears Blitz

Published by Giancarlo Ferrari-King on December 5, 2014
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

Can anyone help the poor Chicago Bears defense? Once again, on a national stage, the Bears defense showed no signs of life, losing to the Dallas Cowboys 41-28.

The Cowboys marched all over the field, doing whatever they wanted to. This week’s edition of Thursday Night Football may have been compelling toward the end—when the Bears tried to make a game of it—but when you give up 194 yards rushing and allow Tony Romo to complete 21 of 26 passes for 205 yards and three scores, well, that’s a major problem.

At 5-8, the Bears’ season is over, despite what Jim Nantz said on the broadcast about them technically not being mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Nothing has gone according to plan for this team, but it’s their pitiful defense that sticks out like a sore thumb.

Before Thursday’s contest, the Bears were giving up 376.2 yards per game. That total ranked them 26th among the rest of the franchises in the National Football League. Clearly, that number will increase after they allowed the Cowboys to shred them for 397 yards of total offense.

There’s simply no excuse for how badly they’ve played this year. CBS Sports’ Jamey Eisenberg’s tweet epitomized what we’ve seen all season:

Getting into the nitty-gritty side of the business, Pro Football Focus (subscription required) has used their advanced metrics system to analyze what’s been the Bears’ biggest flaw on defense. As expected, it comes down to their ability to cover.

Sitting in the red with a negative-38.7 team grade for pass coverage, the Bears are near the bottom of the totem pole. The only teams worse at this moment in time are the Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, Washington Redskins and New Orleans Saints.

In other words, the Bears can’t stop a nosebleed.

The flaws run deep, from coaching to player personnel. Just look at what PFF’s director of player participation, Nathan Jahnke, dictated on the Twitter machine:

In today’s offensive-friendly league, playing 80 percent of your snaps in a base defense is fascinating. Part of it comes down to the fact DeMarco Murray was given 32 carries, but with that being said, it makes you question Bears defensive coordinator Mel Tucker even more.

Tucker’s track record in Chicago has been subpar, and that’s putting it generously.

He assumed control of this defense in 2013 after a long stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Last season, they finished as the 30th-worst defensive unit in the NFL. But an influx of a new faces like defensive end Lamarr Houston, rookie cornerback Kyle Fuller and edge-rusher extraordinaire Jared Allen spurred hope for 2014.

Nowadays, that hope is nothing more than a big pile of sadness, laying somewhere in a dark corner.

The Bears defense couldn’t fight its way out of a wet paper bag, and Tucker deserves a lot of the blame. Sports Illustrated‘s Doug Farrar put it best:

He has to go. There’s no denying that. Maybe then and only then, Bears fans can begin the healing process.

Looking back at the points his unit has given up this season, you’ll see crazy spikes of terrible mixed in with a few positive games.

It’s not pretty to look at, even when it’s dressed up on a fancy chart.

Perhaps the biggest moment of disappointment this entire season came against Dallas. Down 38-13 with 12:35 to go, the Bears offense began to put on a show. With Jay Cutler dealing to Matt Forte, Martellus Bennett and Alshon Jeffery, Chicago closed the gap in a hurry, scoring 15 unanswered points.

In what felt like a minute, the next time you looked up at the clock, there was 6:09 left and the Bears were miraculously down 10 points.

Praying their offense would get another crack at it, the Bears sent out their defense. But instead of getting that commanding stop early in the drive, the Cowboys lined up and ran it four straight times.

With no answer for the run, Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey blasted a 27-yard field goal through uprights. Even though it remained a two-score game, there was now just 3:44 left on the clock by the time Dallas kicked the ball off.

All of that momentum, all of that offensive firepower, and you let your opponent come out and run the ball down your throat? There are no excuses for that kind of play.

The Bears need a change in defensive philosophy. That much is clear. This brief Mel Tucker experiment is over. Who knows, maybe they even nab struggling New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan if he’s shown the door after the season wraps up.

Whatever decisions are made, they better be the right ones. The Bears have a lot of problems, but not having a defense is one that will drive fans mad.

The sad part is, this team has plenty of talent. So, the real million-dollar question is simple: Can anyone hone that talent and turn the Bears back into a contender?

Stay tuned for that answer, coming to a stadium near you in September 2015.

Unless noted otherwise, all game scores and information come courtesy of ESPN.com.

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