Super Bowl XLI: Bears vs. Colts, Sun 2/4, 5:30 pm CT

[bukie]

The Bears do rotate their DTackles, but my guess is they'll just do so a little less frequently. If Indy is in 3 wide, they'll be in nickel, if a RB lines up wide, they won't hesitate letting a LB cover him.

 

So if Dallas Clark goes in the slot, who would be assigned to cover him?

 

Probably Urlacher or Briggs. If Wayne is in the slot, likely Ricky Manning.

[jaydee]

im gonna guess jemele hill has no idea what being a thug is. judging by the fact she is a writer on espn, she probably grew up rich and has no idea what inner city life is like in any sense

[goonys evil twin]

The Bears do rotate their DTackles, but my guess is they'll just do so a little less frequently. If Indy is in 3 wide, they'll be in nickel, if a RB lines up wide, they won't hesitate letting a LB cover him.

 

So if Dallas Clark goes in the slot, who would be assigned to cover him?

 

Well, this isn't backyard (you got that guy I got that guy) football, that could change on any given play. It could be a lineback, it could be a dback, or it could be nobody if they are in zone.

[CubColtPacer]

The Bears do rotate their DTackles, but my guess is they'll just do so a little less frequently. If Indy is in 3 wide, they'll be in nickel, if a RB lines up wide, they won't hesitate letting a LB cover him.

 

So if Dallas Clark goes in the slot, who would be assigned to cover him?

 

Probably Urlacher or Briggs. If Wayne is in the slot, likely Ricky Manning.

 

Hmm-I could maybe see the Colts running the ball a decent amount in this rotation-but if they run the stretch play to that side, I'm going to scream! I want them to run it up the middle in a formation like this to take advantage of the linebacker out wide.

 

I do not however see them running this formation as much as in previous games-I think the Colts may try to stay with a more standard look of the 2 tight ends in tight to try to condense the field a bit more, and allow their receivers to work with a little more room. If the Bears play the receivers 1 on 1, I see the 10-12 yard out working several times for the Colts (a staple of the Colts offense) because those corners will have to respect the deep threat. What I do not see is routes like the Saints took where they sent their outside receivers over the middle of the field. First, that's not the Colts way anymore to run a great deal of crossing routes. Second, it's simply too dangerous with the Bears linebackers out there.

[goonys evil twin]

im gonna guess jemele hill has no idea what being a thug is. judging by the fact she is a writer on espn, she probably grew up rich and has no idea what inner city life is like in any sense

 

 

 

What? Being a writer on ESPN requires growing up rich?

[CubColtPacer]

So much for the Colts SI cover jinx-this week's cover:

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_online/covers/issues/2007/0205.html

[BigSlick]

An interesting thing that hasn't been brought up, but I want Bears fans opinions on:

 

The Colts will not allow the Bears defense to substitute often. The Colts substitute somewhat infrequently, and if the Bears try to substitute, the Colts will just go and snap the ball and take the penalthy. So-with that in mind, what defense do you think the Bears should try to stay in? A base defense, some sort of nickel, or what?

 

I'm going to shamlessly bump my own post, only because I was silly enough to post it at 1:30 in the morning, and don't want it to get buried with only 1 or 2 responses. I really would like to know what defensive alignment Bears fans think they should stay in most of the time, and how they match up with the Colts in that particular alignment.

 

The Colts don't allow anyone to substitute often. But the Bears really don't play that way anyway. We stick with our base defenses, or just run nickel, and then key off that for everything else.

 

The Bears are fairly equal in effectiveness between their nickel and base packages. The only difference you will see personnel-wise is, in nickel Ricky Manning Jr. will be on the field, and the base package has Hunter Hillenmeyer.

 

RMJ is basically a rough-guy, not a real good cover CB (that's why he's nickel) but he hits very hard. Hillenmeyer isn't the toughest linebacker, but his coverage is alright. Either way, we can key off those packages and run whatever we want, so I'm not sure this is the key you are thinking it is.

 

Here's the key in my view: our safeties suck. Sometimes they do alright, but alot of times they're late in over-the-top coverage, and they don't stick in run support all that well (that's why the dropoff in defensive efficiency can be traced to Mike Brown's injury more than Tommie Harris). I think if Manning can call the plays that exploit our weakness at safety, he can get us going backwards. If he can't, I don't think the nickel vs. base package is going to help all that much.

 

You should just go with my way of thinking and just consider anything the Bears defense does as gravy.

 

What? Thats mad talk? Not really.

 

The Colts will get their yardage. They'll get points. We wont stuff them. Just focus on two things: Getting turnovers, not giving up touchdowns instead of field goals.

 

Everything else will be on the offense, just like every other team that beat the Colts this year. Run, run, run. Kill that defense. Its really our only chance to beat them.

[jaydee]

im gonna guess jemele hill has no idea what being a thug is. judging by the fact she is a writer on espn, she probably grew up rich and has no idea what inner city life is like in any sense

 

 

 

What? Being a writer on ESPN requires growing up rich?

 

most people who get jobs that there is a very competitive market for are pretty likely to have well off families with connections......obviously

[CubColtPacer]

The Bears do rotate their DTackles, but my guess is they'll just do so a little less frequently. If Indy is in 3 wide, they'll be in nickel, if a RB lines up wide, they won't hesitate letting a LB cover him.

 

So if Dallas Clark goes in the slot, who would be assigned to cover him?

 

Well, this isn't backyard (you got that guy I got that guy) football, that could change on any given play. It could be a lineback, it could be a dback, or it could be nobody if they are in zone.

 

True, but usually one player gets the bulk of the responsibility-my main question was which linebacker usually gets coverage responsibilities in that sort of base-my guess is that in the Cover 2 system it's your WILL, but I'm not completely sure which outside backer your WILL is.

[goonys evil twin]

im gonna guess jemele hill has no idea what being a thug is. judging by the fact she is a writer on espn, she probably grew up rich and has no idea what inner city life is like in any sense

 

 

 

What? Being a writer on ESPN requires growing up rich?

 

most people who get jobs that there is a very competitive market for are pretty likely to have well off families with connections......obviously

 

Obviously you don't know what you're talking about. You think Bill Simmons got his job based on family connections? Think that's how Scoop Jackson got his? What about Hunter S. Thompson?

[BigSlick]

The Bears do rotate their DTackles, but my guess is they'll just do so a little less frequently. If Indy is in 3 wide, they'll be in nickel, if a RB lines up wide, they won't hesitate letting a LB cover him.

 

So if Dallas Clark goes in the slot, who would be assigned to cover him?

 

Well, this isn't backyard (you got that guy I got that guy) football, that could change on any given play. It could be a lineback, it could be a dback, or it could be nobody if they are in zone.

 

True, but usually one player gets the bulk of the responsibility-my main question was which linebacker usually gets coverage responsibilities in that sort of base-my guess is that in the Cover 2 system it's your WILL, but I'm not completely sure which outside backer your WILL is.

 

Briggs.

 

However, you are mistaken if you think we run a textbook Cover-2 . We change plenty of things around to fit Urlacher's skillsets.

[jaydee]

im gonna guess jemele hill has no idea what being a thug is. judging by the fact she is a writer on espn, she probably grew up rich and has no idea what inner city life is like in any sense

 

 

 

What? Being a writer on ESPN requires growing up rich?

 

most people who get jobs that there is a very competitive market for are pretty likely to have well off families with connections......obviously

 

Obviously you don't know what you're talking about. You think Bill Simmons got his job based on family connections? Think that's how Scoop Jackson got his? What about Hunter S. Thompson?

 

dude you really need to find something to do besides try to argue in online forums. I mean who honestly cares about this? I am going to guess all of them had some type of connection that got them the job

[BigSlick]

im gonna guess jemele hill has no idea what being a thug is. judging by the fact she is a writer on espn, she probably grew up rich and has no idea what inner city life is like in any sense

 

 

 

What? Being a writer on ESPN requires growing up rich?

 

most people who get jobs that there is a very competitive market for are pretty likely to have well off families with connections......obviously

 

Obviously you don't know what you're talking about. You think Bill Simmons got his job based on family connections? Think that's how Scoop Jackson got his? What about Hunter S. Thompson?

 

dude you really need to find something to do besides try to argue in online forums. I mean who honestly cares about this? I am going to guess all of them had some type of connection that got them the job

 

Bill Simmons and Scoop Jackson.

 

LOL.

 

Those guys are the epitome of journalistic excellence, aren't they.

[CubColtPacer]

The Bears do rotate their DTackles, but my guess is they'll just do so a little less frequently. If Indy is in 3 wide, they'll be in nickel, if a RB lines up wide, they won't hesitate letting a LB cover him.

 

So if Dallas Clark goes in the slot, who would be assigned to cover him?

 

Well, this isn't backyard (you got that guy I got that guy) football, that could change on any given play. It could be a lineback, it could be a dback, or it could be nobody if they are in zone.

 

True, but usually one player gets the bulk of the responsibility-my main question was which linebacker usually gets coverage responsibilities in that sort of base-my guess is that in the Cover 2 system it's your WILL, but I'm not completely sure which outside backer your WILL is.

 

Briggs.

 

However, you are mistaken if you think we run a textbook Cover-2 . We change plenty of things around to fit Urlacher's skillsets.

 

Yeah, I can tell-it's a testament to the Cover 2 being changed when your MLB leads the team in tackles-it should be the WILL who gets all the stats but is not completely deserved (for example, Cato June for the Colts got a Pro Bowl appearance last year, was tied with Urlacher in tackles this year (5th in the league)), but people are not calling him one of the top free agents this year with good reason, because his stats are inflated by the whole defense designed to bring the runner back to him. The fact that Urlacher has so many tackles shows both his extreme talent level, and the fact that the defense has been adapted in some way.

[BigSlick]

The Bears do rotate their DTackles, but my guess is they'll just do so a little less frequently. If Indy is in 3 wide, they'll be in nickel, if a RB lines up wide, they won't hesitate letting a LB cover him.

 

So if Dallas Clark goes in the slot, who would be assigned to cover him?

 

Well, this isn't backyard (you got that guy I got that guy) football, that could change on any given play. It could be a lineback, it could be a dback, or it could be nobody if they are in zone.

 

True, but usually one player gets the bulk of the responsibility-my main question was which linebacker usually gets coverage responsibilities in that sort of base-my guess is that in the Cover 2 system it's your WILL, but I'm not completely sure which outside backer your WILL is.

 

Briggs.

 

However, you are mistaken if you think we run a textbook Cover-2 . We change plenty of things around to fit Urlacher's skillsets.

 

Yeah, I can tell-it's a testament to the Cover 2 being changed when your MLB leads the team in tackles-it should be the WILL who gets all the stats but is not completely deserved (for example, Cato June for the Colts got a Pro Bowl appearance last year, was tied with Urlacher in tackles this year (5th in the league)), but people are not calling him one of the top free agents this year with good reason, because his stats are inflated by the whole defense designed to bring the runner back to him. The fact that Urlacher has so many tackles shows both his extreme talent level, and the fact that the defense has been adapted in some way.

 

Many people have said that the Cover 2 sorta wastes Urlacher out there, and there has been a lot of debate about this.

 

I'm kinda on the fence. I don't especially like the Cover 2 scheme, but with all the talent on our defense we could probably run any scheme. (I.E. we could basically run anything and our defense would still be awesome)

[Soul]

So much for the Colts SI cover jinx-this week's cover:

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_online/covers/issues/2007/0205.html

 

NO!! Can't be true! You totally photoshpped that, admit it!

 

:wink:

[Soul]

You should just go with my way of thinking and just consider anything the Bears defense does as gravy.

 

What? Thats mad talk? Not really.

 

The Colts will get their yardage. They'll get points. We wont stuff them. Just focus on two things: Getting turnovers, not giving up touchdowns instead of field goals.

 

Everything else will be on the offense, just like every other team that beat the Colts this year. Run, run, run. Kill that defense. Its really our only chance to beat them.

 

Yes, I'm fairly resigned to the idea that the Colts are going to get their yards against us.

 

I'm confused and worried about that Colts run defense. Has there ever been a run D so bad that suddenly got so good? I can't figure it. Can't just be Sanders. What's Dungy been feeding those boys?

 

We'll need to run on Mr. Sanders and his suddenly solid run D or else obviously we will lose the football game.

[goonys evil twin]

im gonna guess jemele hill has no idea what being a thug is. judging by the fact she is a writer on espn, she probably grew up rich and has no idea what inner city life is like in any sense

 

 

 

What? Being a writer on ESPN requires growing up rich?

 

most people who get jobs that there is a very competitive market for are pretty likely to have well off families with connections......obviously

 

Obviously you don't know what you're talking about. You think Bill Simmons got his job based on family connections? Think that's how Scoop Jackson got his? What about Hunter S. Thompson?

 

dude you really need to find something to do besides try to argue in online forums. I mean who honestly cares about this? I am going to guess all of them had some type of connection that got them the job

 

I get annoyed when I hear asinine statements based on propoganda and cliche.

[goonys evil twin]

So much for the Colts SI cover jinx-this week's cover:

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_online/covers/issues/2007/0205.html

 

NO!! Can't be true! You totally photoshpped that, admit it!

 

:wink:

 

The big brunette on CSN claims the jinx is not in play since this issue is actually dated February 5. I got a good chuckle out of that.

[Banedon]

It's a Gene Wojo article actually worth reading!

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=2748764

 

It's a very nice story.

[CubColtPacer]

You should just go with my way of thinking and just consider anything the Bears defense does as gravy.

 

What? Thats mad talk? Not really.

 

The Colts will get their yardage. They'll get points. We wont stuff them. Just focus on two things: Getting turnovers, not giving up touchdowns instead of field goals.

 

Everything else will be on the offense, just like every other team that beat the Colts this year. Run, run, run. Kill that defense. Its really our only chance to beat them.

 

Yes, I'm fairly resigned to the idea that the Colts are going to get their yards against us.

 

I'm confused and worried about that Colts run defense. Has there ever been a run D so bad that suddenly got so good? I can't figure it. Can't just be Sanders. What's Dungy been feeding those boys?

 

We'll need to run on Mr. Sanders and his suddenly solid run D or else obviously we will lose the football game.

 

The run defense by the Colts has been a combination of several things.

 

1) Booger Mcfarland has finally gotten comfortable, and now he is drawing constant double teams. That means more free passes for the linebackers.

2) The DE's for the Colts are not running quite as far outside as they did earlier in the season, which is tightening the running lanes

3) Rob Morris has taken over at SSLB-Morris is a good run stopper, even if he's terrible in pass coverage-he replaced Gilbert Gardner, who was the worst player I have ever seen.

4) Sanders-he lets everyone move a little faster, because Sanders can make up for mistakes that others make. He is truly a special player when healthy.

5) When Sanders moves into the lineup at safety, that means that Marlin Jackson can play more corner, and Marlin is the best tackler the Colts have at corner (with Nick Harper also a good tackler, but Jason David struggles against the run because of being tiny).

 

Finally, it's confidence and attitude-the Colts defense was really run down near the end of the season, and that caused them to go a little slower-now they have that swagger back, and it has allowed them to play closer to what the defense did in 2005 with basically the same lineup, instead of the horrible run defense seen in most of 2006.

[goonys evil twin]

It's a Gene Wojo article actually worth reading!

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=2748764

 

It's a very nice story.

 

What a tough way to live. It's funny that Wojo breaks off from his 2-3 month non-stop Bear bashing with a "nice" article about the Bears. Doesn't look like he got any quotes from the Bears though.

[Magnetic Curses]

 

The run defense by the Colts has been a combination of several things.

 

1) Booger Mcfarland has finally gotten comfortable, and now he is drawing constant double teams. That means more free passes for the linebackers.

2) The DE's for the Colts are not running quite as far outside as they did earlier in the season, which is tightening the running lanes

3) Rob Morris has taken over at SSLB-Morris is a good run stopper, even if he's terrible in pass coverage-he replaced Gilbert Gardner, who was the worst player I have ever seen.

4) Sanders-he lets everyone move a little faster, because Sanders can make up for mistakes that others make. He is truly a special player when healthy.

5) When Sanders moves into the lineup at safety, that means that Marlin Jackson can play more corner, and Marlin is the best tackler the Colts have at corner (with Nick Harper also a good tackler, but Jason David struggles against the run because of being tiny).

 

Finally, it's confidence and attitude-the Colts defense was really run down near the end of the season, and that caused them to go a little slower-now they have that swagger back, and it has allowed them to play closer to what the defense did in 2005 with basically the same lineup, instead of the horrible run defense seen in most of 2006.

 

you forgot to mention 3 things:

 

1. the patriots, for some mystifying reason, maybe they wanted to lose or something, ran the ball 5 times in the second half after dominating the line of scrimmage in the first half. why did big fat slobby want brady in the shotgun for the entire half? who knows? all i know is that both dillon and faulk averaged nearly 7 yards per carry in that game and the belichek, looking like he just fell out of bed, doesn't go with the ground game in the second half, unbelievable--this perception of belichek as some sort of genius has made him the ultimate arrogant poo-hole.

 

2. the ravens just kept turning the ball over, and that's a credit to the colts defense, no doubt. but it's not like jamal lewis was held down or anything. both lewis and mike anderson were over 4 yards per carry in the game--they just didn't have a chance to run the ball very much, what with the exalted steve mcnair throwing goal-line interceptions and such.

 

3. the chiefs just didn't have time to get johnson started. most of that can be attributed to the colts ball control offense holding the ball for twice as long as the chiefs.

[BigSlick]

 

The run defense by the Colts has been a combination of several things.

 

1) Booger Mcfarland has finally gotten comfortable, and now he is drawing constant double teams. That means more free passes for the linebackers.

2) The DE's for the Colts are not running quite as far outside as they did earlier in the season, which is tightening the running lanes

3) Rob Morris has taken over at SSLB-Morris is a good run stopper, even if he's terrible in pass coverage-he replaced Gilbert Gardner, who was the worst player I have ever seen.

4) Sanders-he lets everyone move a little faster, because Sanders can make up for mistakes that others make. He is truly a special player when healthy.

5) When Sanders moves into the lineup at safety, that means that Marlin Jackson can play more corner, and Marlin is the best tackler the Colts have at corner (with Nick Harper also a good tackler, but Jason David struggles against the run because of being tiny).

 

Finally, it's confidence and attitude-the Colts defense was really run down near the end of the season, and that caused them to go a little slower-now they have that swagger back, and it has allowed them to play closer to what the defense did in 2005 with basically the same lineup, instead of the horrible run defense seen in most of 2006.

 

you forgot to mention 3 things:

 

1. the patriots, for some mystifying reason, maybe they wanted to lose or something, ran the ball 5 times in the second half after dominating the line of scrimmage in the first half. why did big fat slobby want brady in the shotgun for the entire half? who knows? all i know is that both dillon and faulk averaged nearly 7 yards per carry in that game and the belichek, looking like he just fell out of bed, doesn't go with the ground game in the second half, unbelievable--this perception of belichek as some sort of genius has made him the ultimate arrogant poo-hole.

 

2. the ravens just kept turning the ball over, and that's a credit to the colts defense, no doubt. but it's not like jamal lewis was held down or anything. both lewis and mike anderson were over 4 yards per carry in the game--they just didn't have a chance to run the ball very much, what with the exalted steve mcnair throwing goal-line interceptions and such.

 

3. the chiefs just didn't have time to get johnson started. most of that can be attributed to the colts ball control offense holding the ball for twice as long as the chiefs.

 

The Chiefs had an awful gameplan and didn't gain a 1st down until waaaaaaaaay into the 3rd quarter. It was one of the worst offensive efforts I've ever seen in a football game. (And yes, I've seen the 2004 Bears)

 

Literally, they ran Larry Johnson into a stacked line on 1st and second down, and then some receiver would drop a ball on 3rd down. It was excruciating.

 

That is really the only game where the Colts run defense looked phenominal. Not to say it wasn't pretty good in the other games, but it isn't "OMG JUGGERNAUT WHERE DID THIS GREAT RUN DEFENSE COME FROM" It has been improved and all, but not that tested.

[Balsa]

I think if the Bears can keep the Colts defense on the field long enough, they'll tire quickly....

 

...But then I'm just making stuff up at this point. :P

 

Some more bears photos!!!

 

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/150/374288600_5371bae574_o.jpg

 

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/164/374288582_8d7546a0dc_o.jpg

 

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/157/374288496_a9739aee03_o.jpg

 

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/164/374288687_312170a81a_o.jpg