Bears know stopping Brady easier said than done
The mission for the Bears' defense Sunday against the New England Patriots is clear-cut yet extremely difficult: Stop Tom Brady.
Not since Oct. 17 has any opponent succeeded in containing the NFL's leading passer, whose .770 winning percentage is by far the best among current players and the best of any quarterback since 1966.
Since throwing 2 interceptions in a 23-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens that day, Brady has 17 TD passes and no interceptions. That's 228 passes without a pick.
“The guy has been one of the best around for a lot of years,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said. “They get the same kind of play from him each week, consistent play, and (he's) a Hall of Famer.”
Brady was so good Monday night while completing 21 of 29 passes for 326 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 45-3 dismantling of the Jets that he even made it difficult for the New York offense.
“They were lights out, early and often,” Bears quarterback Jay Cutler said. “They've been able to score a lot (No. 1 in the NFL in points), and that puts a lot of pressure on us as an offense to be able to go down there and match them score for score.
“We've got to have a complete game: offense, defense and special teams.”
It's not just the stunning numbers that Brady has been putting up for the past decade, it's the almost effortless style that impresses opponents.
Looking downfield, waiting for a receiver to come open, Brady's body language resembles someone standing on a street corner waiting for a bus.
“It's just how relaxed he is in the pocket,” said Bears nose tackle Anthony Adams. “He's calm and he's cool; the rush doesn't bother him. He'll take a hit.”
Not very often, though. He has been sacked 18 times this season and just six times in the past six games. By comparison, Cutler has been dropped 41 times.
“It's his whole demeanor,” Bears safety Chris Harris said. “He's so calm and cool back there; he doesn't really let much get to him. We're going to have to try to get him off his mark, try to make him uncomfortable in the pocket.”
Easier said than done, but the Bears do have 12 sacks in their last three games, their best pass-rushing stretch of the season.
“We can force him to throw some interceptions if we can get in his face or bat a ball down or force him outside the pocket or chase him,” Adams said. “We can definitely affect some of his throws.”
Nickel back D.J. Moore, who leads the Bears with 4 interceptions, isn't conceding anything to Brady.
“I think it's kind of exciting (playing him), but every year there's great quarterbacks,” Moore said. “I mean, he's a good quarterback. He won a Super Bowl (three, actually). It's not past years or whatever. They didn't come off a Super Bowl win last year. So it's just another team on the schedule.”
Most of Moore's teammates would disagree especially about Brady.
“He's arguably the best player in the NFL right now, the best quarterback,” Harris said. “We're definitely going to have our hands full.
“He's playing tremendous football. He's putting up monster numbers, so if they had the vote today, I wouldn't argue him being MVP.”
For the season, Brady has 27 touchdown passes, 4 interceptions and a 109.5 passer rating. His 94.7 career passer rating (252 TDs, 103 interceptions) is sixth in NFL history.
But in two career games against the Bears, Brady has been a mere mortal, but they haven't faced him in more than four years.
The Patriots won the last meeting, 17-13 in Foxboro, Mass., as Brady completed 22 of 33 passes for 269 yards and 1 TD, but he was picked off twice by Charles Tillman and finished with a 76.2 passer rating.
In 2002, in Champaign, the Patriots won 33-30 with Brady completing 36 of 55 for 328 yards, with 3 touchdowns, 1 interception and a 92.1 passer rating.
&bul;Follow Bob LeGere's Bears reports via Twitter@BobLeGere. Check out his blog, Bear Essentials, at dailyherald.com.