hondo in seattle Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 (edited) To play a little devils advocate. The defense to me was worrisome at time. Forte averaged nearly 11 yards per carry. If you take out his long, it is still 9.8 yards per carry. A little more willingness to stick with the run, and the Bears may win. And Cutler completed something like 70% of his passes. The D played good enough to win yesterday. But only barely. (Is the Monday after a win too early for "nattering negative nabobs"?) Edited September 8, 2014 by hondo in seattle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLFan Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 (edited) Chicago has an elite offense and there was no way they were going to be contained entirely. Great game plan. As another poster pointed out, it was ugly to watch at times, but overall effective because they made big plays when they had to. That is what it takes to win. They held the Bears to 20 points - I could not care less how many yards or how many sacks they they had. They had enough pressure and enough coverage to make Cutler look like Cutler in the end. Pettine's D gave up 30 points to the Steelers and they lost by 3. How many times did we see that last year? Edited September 8, 2014 by MDFan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt in KC Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 I noticed many less twists and stunts by our D-Line. I think that really helped our run defense, but seemed to slow down the pass rush significantly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All_Pro_Bills Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 The big difference yesterday was the defense finished the game. They held Chicago to a FG on the last regulation drive rather than do something we've come to expect- which is to allow a TD with 30 seconds left. And they held on the opening drive of OT. Let's hope this is a trend rather than an expection but if I'd characterize the play of the Schwartz defense to the Pettine defense I'd say this year's version played with more 'control'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Lightning Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Two sacks and Robey should have had a third. Made some key stops and got timely turnovers. The PI calls against McLovin and Aaron Williams were pathetic. So down a starting LB and CB and losing our starting FS and another LB to injury, I'd say it was a Damn good start for Schwartz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jauronimo Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 We were getting gashed left and right until we started getting pressure on Jay. I'm not so confident in our defensive scheme this year, honestly. We came up with some opportune turnovers, but we won't get those every game. We need to not give up so many first downs. We need to make consistent stops. Part of the issue yesterday was our LBs. I imagine things will get a bit better when we get Bradham back. Having Kiko would be a big help. We got abused by screens and Forte really started going off when Rivers left the game. I would have really liked to have seen what Pettine's D would have looked like with Spikes solidifying the middle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 To play a little devils advocate. The defense to me was worrisome at time. Forte averaged nearly 11 yards per carry. If you take out his long, it is still 9.8 yards per carry. A little more willingness to stick with the run, and the Bears may win. Yeah and it would have went way down if they decided to run the ball more....Forte had some decent average because they were throwing it.....if that makes any sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Security Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 The rush defense was the key. Pettine never figured out the run. Heck, Pittsburgh had 127 and averaged 4.5 a carry yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 We gave up 86 rushing yards, I'd be 186 rushing yards if Pet was still here. Not necessarily. I agree D coordinator is one item of impact, but don't underestimate the addition of a legit run stuffing MLB in spikes and a promising Preston who projects as a thumper himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 (edited) The gameplan was obvious.... keep it infront of us, don't give up the big play, don't let them get behind. It worked. Yep! After they rope-a-doped CHI into believing they could get behind them like they did in w/the Bears first series. Give a little and then yank the rug out. Okay, maybe it wasn't really like that, but I can pretend it was! ;-) Edited September 8, 2014 by ExiledInIllinois Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan1959 Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Chicago has an elite offense and there was no way they were going to be contained entirely. Great game plan. As another poster pointed out, it was ugly to watch at times, but overall effective because they made big plays when they had to. That is what it takes to win. They held the Bears to 20 points - I could not care less how many yards or how many sacks they they had. They had enough pressure and enough coverage to make Cutler look like Cutler in the end. Pettine's D gave up 30 points to the Steelers and they lost by 3. How many times did we see that last year? Absolutely right. They do have an elite offense and the game plan was the right one. The defense gave up one play of over 20 yards the entire game. For the most part, they kept the ball in front of them. When a team wants to throw the ball 50-60 times a game (Cutler threw 49 passes) a defense that doesn't give up the big play, and still stays aggressive, will usually have their opportunities for turnovers or drive ending plays. The defense had the right game plan for the Bears' offense and did a great job given the circumstances. I loved Pettine and I wish him well in Cleveland. He did a wonderful job turning the Bills' defense around and instilling an aggressive, confident attitude. However, far too many times last year I watched the Bills play very good defense, but still give up big plays numerous times during the game. I didn't see as much of that yesterday. I saw a defense that can still play aggressive while being a little more disciplined in their assignments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyHorseAteTheKid Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 May The Schwartz Be With You... Still not sold on him, but can't argue with a win and holding the Bears under 100 yards rushing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 We were getting gashed left and right until we started getting pressure on Jay. I'm not so confident in our defensive scheme this year, honestly. We came up with some opportune turnovers, but we won't get those every game. We need to not give up so many first downs. We need to make consistent stops. You need to win the game. It doesn't matter how you do it. Holding that group to 20 points is a success, unless we learn later this year that they aren't as good as last seasons top scorning offense they put on the field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDIGGZ Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Pettine's D will produce more sacks but also gave up more big plays and they couldn't stop the run. Schwartz's D will stop the run and while they might not get to the QB as much, they also won't be giving up the big plays. We are probably better off with Schwartz. I liked what I saw vs the run. Spikes was as advertised as a run stopper. My concern is with our LB's on passing downs. The line was getting the initial push and then left a lot of empty space for Forte on the screens and swing passes. We need our LB's to cover better at the 2nd level and sniff those plays out. As for the dbacks, McKelvin was a liability in coverage. If he isn't 100% then maybe he shouldn't be out there. If he is 100% then yikes. Graham played awesome, best CB on our team at this point imo. Gilmore always has an excuse. If he gets burned next week he will say it's because his hamstring is bad. The guy seems to always be injured and people defend him and say he's our best coverage guy but he's hurt. I honestly haven't seen what all the hype is about yet. I would put Graham out there and then whoever is the healthiest between McKelvin and Gilmore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunnerBill Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 but if I'd characterize the play of the Schwartz defense to the Pettine defense I'd say this year's version played with more 'control'. Yep. That is what this is. It is a controlled, disciplined defense. It unquestionably helped Schwartz yesterday in that he knows how to beat the Bears. He did it twice last year. Don't give them the big play and see if they can stay patient or will they make the mistake going for the big play and trying to force things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billshank Redemption Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Literally hate doing these threads after week 1. I liked what I saw but it is still a long season, hopefully we can keep building from here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QCity Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 We were getting gashed left and right until we started getting pressure on Jay. I'm not so confident in our defensive scheme this year, honestly. We came up with some opportune turnovers, but we won't get those every game. We need to not give up so many first downs. We need to make consistent stops. I don't want to sound negative after an opening day road win, but I agree with you. We gave up 427 yards of offense and when they had both of their big receivers in the game they moved the ball well on us. Those 3 turnovers are what held them to 20 points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky Landing Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 (edited) This is a hard comparison to make this early in the season. We're certainly improved in stopping the run. But, Spikes has something to do with this. Also, with Cutler throwing 49 times, and Forte (who had a great game) carrying all but one of their rushing attempts, it's hard to make a definitive statement on our run defense. To me, the difference in this game to a Pettine led defense, looked more like a measured approach to game-planning. It was important for us to stop the run for this team, since we were so bad at it last season. But, it was more import to defend the pass for this game. And so, Forte had great game. Cutler did not. Of course, it shouldn't be surprising that Schwarz would know exactly how to rattle Cutler. And, rattle him we did. Edited September 8, 2014 by Rocky Landing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 If the defense could only figure out how to defend the screen pass. Perhaps they don't get to defend it in practice because the offense doesn't seem to know how to effectively run one, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jauronimo Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 If the defense could only figure out how to defend the screen pass. Perhaps they don't get to defend it in practice because the offense doesn't seem to know how to effectively run one, Thats my theory. Much like last year, we cannot stop or execute a screen pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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