Bears' stingy 'D' just getting better
The Bears felt going into the season, with the addition of Julius Peppers and a healthy Brian Urlacher, that they would be a defense to be reckoned with.
They've been that and more.
“Going into the season you look at personnel, and we felt pretty good,” coach Lovie Smith said. “We had a lot of guys who have played at the highest level.
“So we thought we would be pretty good, but they're showing it each week. They're playing dominating ball at times. It's early in the season, but I like where the defense is right now, and I like where I think we'll be at the end of the season.”
The numbers say Sunday's defensive effort was the best of the season for the Bears.
Not only did the defense force 4 Brett Favre turnovers, it also held the high-powered Minnesota Vikings offense to just 240 total yards, their second-lowest output of the season and the Bears' stingiest effort in more than a month.
A week earlier the Vikings rolled up 507 total yards on Arizona, but they had only 184 yards against the Bears until their final desperation drive that ended with Chris Harris' interception. That effort lifted the Bears to No. 4 in total yards allowed for the season.
“Defensively we had control of the game,” Smith said. “Up front we had good pressure, and whenever you can hold a great player like (Adrian) Peterson down like that you have to be pleased with it.”
Though somewhat obscured for much of the season by the offense's inconsistencies, the Bears' defense has been solid the past five games, playing well enough to win even in home losses to “Seattle and Washington.
The run defense has never been worse than No. 6 all season. It was outstanding again Sunday, holding Peterson to 51 yards on 17 carries and limiting the Vikings to a total of 70 yards on the ground on 23 attempts for a 3.0-yard average.
Throw out the New York Giants game, when the Bears were gashed for 189 rushing yards, and they're allowing a skimpy 69 rushing yards per game.
The NFL average is 112, and even including the Giants game the Bears are allowing just 82.3 yards per game, second in the NFL.
Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli's crew is tied for No. 2 in the league at preventing third-down conversions after limiting the Vikings to 1-for-9.
“We've been one of the better third-down defensive teams just about every year we've been here,” Smith said. “That, of course, is big, too.”
The only major category in which the Bears' defense has been deficient is sacks, where they rank 30th. But they've been bringing enough heat to have helped create 14 interceptions, tied for No. 1.
“When you're on a good defense, you'll get a lot of them,” nickel back D.J. Moore said while discussing his team-best 4 interceptions. “I'm just happy to be in the middle, around the ball.
“With me being on the inside, you've got a chance to get to the ball pretty much every play. If you're running hard, getting to the ball, it will probably pop to you.”
While all those statistics are significant, the bottom line for any defense is points allowed, and the Bears are No. 2, behind only the Green Bay Packers, allowing just 15.9 points per game.
“We're right where we want to be,” said team sacks leader Israel Idonije, who has 5. “Momentum's building. We just have to keep this thing going.”
ŸFollow Bob LeGere's Bears reports via Twitter@BobLeGere. Check out his blog, Bear Essentials, at DailyHerald.com.