Chicago Bears, or Chicago Blitz?

BOURBONNAIS -- Replacing the coordinator of a defense that was one of the NFL's best last season might seem like risky business.

But Bears head coach Lovie Smith has no doubt he got the right man for the job in long-time associate Bob Babich.

"Bob Babich is a good football coach," Smith said of his former linebackers coach, who was the first assistant he hired after getting the Bears' job. "I put him in that role because I believe in him, and he's done a great job with the players."

Not much about the Bears' elite defense is expected to change this year with Babich replacing Ron Rivera, but there could be some subtle differences.

"There really is no difference as far as the scheme is concerned," said veteran safety Mike Brown. "(But) I know we made some calls in the first preseason game early on that were really, really aggressive, things that we normally don't do. So maybe we're going to be more aggressive than we have been in the past."

That would be great with the players, who almost always prefer attack mode rather than reacting to what the offense does.

"I think the majority of our guys like to press the issue, instead of waiting back and letting the offense do what they do," Brown said. "We want to force them into things, and hopefully we get an opportunity to do that."

Babich obviously doesn't want to be predictable, and he isn't ready this early to predict how much difference there will be between his defense and Rivera's, although Smith's input will influence Babich as it did Rivera.

"So many things dictate the way you call a game," Babich said. "Personnel, the way the game's going, the team that you're playing. I don't have any idea at this point (how different we'll be). We just want to make sure that we know what we're doing and play fast."

If the limited blitzes the Bears plan for the preseason, more will be seen in the regular season.

"Preseason games give you an opportunity to do things that you'd like to try out," said Babich, who will get to see his unit in action again Monday against Indianapolis. "Depending on how they work out, that will determine if we see that in the regular season."

Babich and Smith are closer in defensive philosophy than Rivera and Smith were.

They have a bond that dates to the mid-1980s, when both were assistants at Tulsa -- Smith as a linebackers coach and Babich as a graduate assistant at first, and then a coach of tight ends, offensive linemen and safeties. When Smith was the Rams' defensive coordinator, he hired Babich as his linebackers coach before bringing him to Chicago.

Although Babich was head coach at North Dakota State from 1997-2002, he had never been a defensive coordinator anywhere until Smith promoted him six months ago. He says his workload has increased, but not so that it's unmanageable.

"It goes both ways," he said. "I have some more work to do, but also I don't have the individual position meetings and those type things, so I gain some time there."

Working on the Bears' blitz package -- another way to make the defense more aggressive -- has been occupying a lot of Babich's time, and he believes he's got enough capable athletes to put together an effective package. Strong safety Adam Archuleta was effective in that role with the Rams, and free safety Brown has also shown a knack for it in the past.

"Both of them have proved in the past that they can blitz," Babich said.

Middle linebacker Brian Urlacher has been utilized as a pass-rush weapon in the past, even though he didn't record any sacks last season.

"Last year Brian (still) created a lot of problems," Babich said. "Not only did he make the quarterback throw it early, but guys were blocking him so other guys came free. … I think he does an awful lot for our blitz package.

"We just need to make sure when we blitz we get to the quarterback, whether it's the blitzer or a lineman that frees up because of the blitz. We just need to make sure that if we apply pressure, that we can get the ball out of the quarterback's hand quick or get a sack."