Fangio says Bears success is breeding confidence
The Bears come into Detroit playing with a lot of confidence, thanks in large part to a defense that allowed an average of 265 total yards and 4.61 yards per play in back-to-back victories.
By comparison, the Denver Broncos' defense leads the NFL with a yield of 278 yards per game and 4.34 yards per play, so the confidence is justified, at least on defense.
Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio knows there's no easy way to build the current level of confidence.
"You just have to play good," he said. "There's no magic potion, there's no sports psychology b.s. that you can go to and get it done.
"You have to play good and you have to have success. Good things have got to happen to you. Tiger Woods, as great as he was, he's lost his confidence. So, until you experience success as an individual and then as a unit, then the confidence can come."
Even though the Bears were whitewashed 26-0 in Seattle in Week 3, Fangio and his players have pointed to that game as the beginning of the current upswing. The defense allowed just 1 touchdown in that game to the two-time NFC champs.
"There were some good things in that game, maybe more so than the (previous) games," Fangio said. "So that does breed confidence."
Going deep:
Alshon Jeffery's return, which could come this week, gives the Bears a big-play option they've been missing. But, in the four weeks Jeffery's been out, other players have stepped up, giving the offense more depth.
Josh Bellamy, who has bounced around the league for the previous three years, mostly on various practice squads, has the first 7 catches of his career. Undrafted rookie Cam Meredith has 7 catches as well, and Marquess Wilson has 15 catches, just 2 fewer than he had last season in seven games.
"The last four or five weeks, with these other guys kind of floating in and out of the lineup and getting a lot of reps at practice, we've got a lot of confidence in a lot of guys, all the way down the line," quarterback Jay Cutler said. "When Alshon does get back, it will take a load off of some of those guys. But we'll also be able to stay fresh and rotate guys in."
Big matchup problem:
Now that former starting cornerback Alan Ball has recovered from the groin injury that slowed him for two weeks, his size (6-foot-2, 197 pound) makes him an interesting matchup for the Lions' 6-foot-5, 237-pound wide receiver Calvin Johnson.
But Tracy Porter has played well in Ball's absence, especially shadowing Raiders rookie Amari Cooper.
Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was asked if he would use one player to shadow Johnson.
"Maybe," Fangio said. "But they've got Golden Tate, too, who's such a good receiver. So probably not."
Linebacker by committee:
With Shea McClellin (knee) not expected to play vs. the Lions, his position is up for grabs.
LaRoy Reynolds, who signed with the Bears just 13 days prior, stepped in last week when McClellin went out early in the third quarter. He was credited with 2 tackles, including 1 for negative yardage.
He's a contender for the starting job vs. the Lions, but there are options. Lamin Barrow has played in all five games and has 3 special teams tackles. Undrafted rookie John Timu played briefly in the first four games, was waived and then re-signed to the practice squad. Jonathan Anderson, who had 2 sacks in the preseason finale, was promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster on Tuesday.
"We're sifting through that," defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. "We'll figure it out throughout the week. Maybe it'll be one guy, or maybe it'll be a group effort."
Simple solution:
With more than a dozen players on the injury report every day for the past two weeks, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was asked if he had a policy/philosophy on injured starters losing their jobs.
"I don't," Fangio said. "I don't know what John (Fox's) philosophy is. To me, the best player plays. (If) somebody goes in there and plays better than the guy who was out, then he stays in there."