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Bears on top under Cover-2
December 2, 2005
BY BRAD BIGGS
Chicago Sun Times
All the yards never hurt Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera.
Touchdowns did.
It's with that thinking in mind that Rivera says the Bears do not have a problem after Tampa Bay's Joey Galloway and Carolina's Steve Smith combined for 21 receptions and 307 yards the last two weeks. Rivera and his charges say there is no chink in the armor of the league's top-ranked defense as notorious Bears killer Brett Favre prepares to visit Sunday with the Green Bay Packers (noon, Fox-32, 780-AM).
Neither Galloway nor Smith reached the end zone, and that's what matters most. It's rare to keep receivers who pile up that much yardage from scoring. Smith had 169 yards on 14 receptions and Galloway 138 yards on eight catches. Both games are among the 28 highest outputs by a receiver this season, and of that group, New Orleans' Donte' Stallworth (141 yards in Week 2 against the New York Giants) is the only other one not to score.
That alone is evidence that the Bears' scheme is working. They played more of their signature Cover-2 scheme the last two weeks than they have in other games, with the intent of preventing the big play. With pressure from the defensive line -- 12 sacks the last two weeks -- the plan has worked. Smith and Galloway each caught one long ball. Neither set up a touchdown.
"That's all the offense they had really,'' strong safety Mike Brown said. "If a guy gets the ball thrown to him 10 times, he's going to have some yardage. We are upset with the deep balls; it's something we're still trying to work on. If our defense doesn't give up deep balls, we're going to be all right.''
Smith's numbers were remarkable. He accounted for 71 percent of the Panthers' offense on a day when Carolina scored only three points. Galloway provided a little more than half of the Buccaneers' offense in the Bears' 13-10 victory Sunday in Tampa. That's a good indication that neither team ran the ball very well, though the Bucs' Cadillac Williams had 84 yards on 20 rushes.
"When you have a receiver who is more than 50 percent of the offense and they don't score,'' Brown said, "I think we win that battle.''
Left cornerback Charles Tillman has been somewhat maligned, but when he doesn't allow a touchdown, it's difficult to criticize his effort. During the six-game winning streak, Tillman has not been beaten for a score.
"We have matched him up against their No. 1 receivers,'' Rivera said. "I've put him in positions where he's had to work extra hard because of who he's matched up against, and he's responded very well. We understand he's going to give up some plays because he's going against No. 1s, and that's just the nature of the position.
"Sure, there's been a couple things that he's given up because of technique, but having said that, there aren't too many corners in the league that are going to stop the combination of guys he's had to face the last few weeks. As far as I'm concerned, Charles has done an excellent job for us.''
Favre and Donald Driver present a unique challenge because Favre has owned the Bears, beating them 11 straight times on the road and holding a 21-5 career record against them. Say what you want about Green Bay's offensive woes this season, but Driver is on pace for career highs of 85 receptions and 1,228 yards. He and tight end Donald Lee are about the only targets Favre trusts right now.
"I guess you could say since Week 3, Week 4, everyone has been trying to double-team me,'' Driver said. "They have been trying to get me out of it.''
But opponents have not been successful, and the Packers (2-9) finally have restored some semblance of balance to their offense with running back Samkon Gado topping 100 yards in two of the last three games. If the undrafted free agent from Division I-AA Liberty can have any kind of success, it only makes Favre more dangerous against a secondary he has shredded.
"To me he is the best quarterback of all time,'' Brown said. "I love playing against him because he is a great competitor. People will talk about he's throwing a lot of picks [19], but he's out there trying to make plays. You can't blame a guy that's out there trying to help his team win.
"I can just go off of what he's done against us. He's killed us. That's the only thing that is fresh in my mind. When we look at film, I don't really look at his performances against those guys. I know what he brings to the table.''
So do relative newcomers such as cornerback Nathan Vasher and free safety Chris Harris. Both said they need to cover for at least an extra second against Favre because he can make throws most can't or wouldn't dare try, like the 85-yard bomb to Driver for a touchdown in the 2002 meeting on "Monday Night Football'' in Champaign.
"One guy can't beat you,'' Vasher said.
Maybe not one receiver. Favre is one guy who has beaten the Bears silly
December 2, 2005
BY BRAD BIGGS
Chicago Sun Times
All the yards never hurt Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera.
Touchdowns did.
It's with that thinking in mind that Rivera says the Bears do not have a problem after Tampa Bay's Joey Galloway and Carolina's Steve Smith combined for 21 receptions and 307 yards the last two weeks. Rivera and his charges say there is no chink in the armor of the league's top-ranked defense as notorious Bears killer Brett Favre prepares to visit Sunday with the Green Bay Packers (noon, Fox-32, 780-AM).
Neither Galloway nor Smith reached the end zone, and that's what matters most. It's rare to keep receivers who pile up that much yardage from scoring. Smith had 169 yards on 14 receptions and Galloway 138 yards on eight catches. Both games are among the 28 highest outputs by a receiver this season, and of that group, New Orleans' Donte' Stallworth (141 yards in Week 2 against the New York Giants) is the only other one not to score.
That alone is evidence that the Bears' scheme is working. They played more of their signature Cover-2 scheme the last two weeks than they have in other games, with the intent of preventing the big play. With pressure from the defensive line -- 12 sacks the last two weeks -- the plan has worked. Smith and Galloway each caught one long ball. Neither set up a touchdown.
"That's all the offense they had really,'' strong safety Mike Brown said. "If a guy gets the ball thrown to him 10 times, he's going to have some yardage. We are upset with the deep balls; it's something we're still trying to work on. If our defense doesn't give up deep balls, we're going to be all right.''
Smith's numbers were remarkable. He accounted for 71 percent of the Panthers' offense on a day when Carolina scored only three points. Galloway provided a little more than half of the Buccaneers' offense in the Bears' 13-10 victory Sunday in Tampa. That's a good indication that neither team ran the ball very well, though the Bucs' Cadillac Williams had 84 yards on 20 rushes.
"When you have a receiver who is more than 50 percent of the offense and they don't score,'' Brown said, "I think we win that battle.''
Left cornerback Charles Tillman has been somewhat maligned, but when he doesn't allow a touchdown, it's difficult to criticize his effort. During the six-game winning streak, Tillman has not been beaten for a score.
"We have matched him up against their No. 1 receivers,'' Rivera said. "I've put him in positions where he's had to work extra hard because of who he's matched up against, and he's responded very well. We understand he's going to give up some plays because he's going against No. 1s, and that's just the nature of the position.
"Sure, there's been a couple things that he's given up because of technique, but having said that, there aren't too many corners in the league that are going to stop the combination of guys he's had to face the last few weeks. As far as I'm concerned, Charles has done an excellent job for us.''
Favre and Donald Driver present a unique challenge because Favre has owned the Bears, beating them 11 straight times on the road and holding a 21-5 career record against them. Say what you want about Green Bay's offensive woes this season, but Driver is on pace for career highs of 85 receptions and 1,228 yards. He and tight end Donald Lee are about the only targets Favre trusts right now.
"I guess you could say since Week 3, Week 4, everyone has been trying to double-team me,'' Driver said. "They have been trying to get me out of it.''
But opponents have not been successful, and the Packers (2-9) finally have restored some semblance of balance to their offense with running back Samkon Gado topping 100 yards in two of the last three games. If the undrafted free agent from Division I-AA Liberty can have any kind of success, it only makes Favre more dangerous against a secondary he has shredded.
"To me he is the best quarterback of all time,'' Brown said. "I love playing against him because he is a great competitor. People will talk about he's throwing a lot of picks [19], but he's out there trying to make plays. You can't blame a guy that's out there trying to help his team win.
"I can just go off of what he's done against us. He's killed us. That's the only thing that is fresh in my mind. When we look at film, I don't really look at his performances against those guys. I know what he brings to the table.''
So do relative newcomers such as cornerback Nathan Vasher and free safety Chris Harris. Both said they need to cover for at least an extra second against Favre because he can make throws most can't or wouldn't dare try, like the 85-yard bomb to Driver for a touchdown in the 2002 meeting on "Monday Night Football'' in Champaign.
"One guy can't beat you,'' Vasher said.
Maybe not one receiver. Favre is one guy who has beaten the Bears silly
