Surprise, surprise: Jon Bostic is Bears' leading tackler
It might surprise some, but the Bears' leading tackler this season is - linebacker Jon Bostic.
The 2013 second-round pick out of Florida has 98 total tackles, according to team stats, although he's only started six games.
"He's been progressing, getting better in some areas, and we feel real good about him," defensive coordinator Mel Tucker said. "He's starting to play faster. We've played him at some different positions, and he's handled it, and we feel real good about him going into this game."
Bostic, 23, has started three games on the weak side, one in the middle and two on the strong side.
Another young player who has shown promise for the future is undrafted rookie Christian Jones, who has moved up to fourth on the team's tackle list with 71. The 23-year-old from Florida State has started just three games, one at each of the linebacker spots, including in the middle last week.
Both linebackers have struggled against play-action passes, a common problem for young players, but Tucker is satisfied that they're improving.
"We've gotten better and have a much better feel for the play-action," he said. "Usually one of the tougher things for a linebacker to learn in this league is (how to play) against good play-action teams. We're not where we need to be, but we're getting better."
Let's get physical:
In the 34-17 Thanksgiving Day loss to the Lions, the Bears' secondary, especially rookie cornerback Kyle Fuller, was strafed by Calvin Johnson's 11 catches, 146 yards and 2 touchdowns.
"It's going to take all of us to slow him down; it's not just up to Kyle," defensive coordinator Mel Tucker said. "He gains experience every day in practice and games. But just because he's gone against him before doesn't mean he's going to shut him down or anything like that. But it is helpful."
As in several games this season, the Bears did not effectively press the Lions receivers at the line of scrimmage last time (Golden Tate had 8 catches for 89 yards).
"We all have to play a physical football game, and the nature of the game is all about hitting," Tucker said. "That guy (the 6-foot-5, 241-pound Johnson) is a very, very tough guy to stop, and they have a lot of good guys around him as well, and an excellent quarterback, so it's going to be a challenge for us.
"We have to play tighter coverage, be more disruptive on the routes, and we have to hit the quarterback more. We'll work to get that done."
By the numbers:
Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford's 87.8 passer rating is almost 2 points lower than Jay Cutler's 89.5. ... In four games against the Lions, Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery has 368 yards and 3 touchdowns on 27 receptions. ... Jared Allen has 17½ sacks in 14 games against the Lions, and he's also forced 5 fumbles. ... Kicker Jay Feely, who will fill in for injured Robbie Gould for the third straight game, is 11-for-11 on his FG attempts vs. the Lions, including a long of 51.