Why the Chicago Bears can’t rely on their defense
The Chicago Bears cannot continue to lean on their defense.
The Chicago Bears defense is good. No check that — the Bears defense is outstanding. In fact, over the last couple of seasons, they have been among the league’s elite. While many feared regression would surely follow the transition from Vic Fangio to Chuck Pagano as defensive coordinator, the unit did not skip a beat.
While some may debate this point, the defense was primarily responsible for the team’s 12-4 record in 2018. Last season, there can be no debate. The defense was the only reason the team was even still sniffing a potential playoff berth late in the season. They carried the team’s anemic offense and managed to claw out eight wins despite the offense only scoring 17.5 points per game.
In what has become as popular a refrain in Chicago, some are calling on the Bears to “lean on” their defense next season. Specifically, Chris Simms stated that the Bears should “play through” their defense, and if they do, the unit can “win [them] a number of games.”
So what does “play through” the defense mean? It’s code for John Fox football. In other words, run, run, and run some more. And just when the defense thinks you’re going to pass the ball, you run some more.
Alright, perhaps that’s a little hyperbolic, but not by much. He’s, of course, advocating for the team to play conservative on offense by pounding the football, limit mistakes throwing the ball, and hoping the defense can overcome for the offense’s deficiencies.
The problem with that approach, as we saw in the last two seasons is, it doesn’t work. It’s hard to play better than the unit did in the last two seasons. And yes, while the formula may have led to a shiny 12-4 record, the Bears’ paltry offense was exposed in the playoffs and simply could not put up enough points to win a game it should have won comfortably based on the defense’s performance.
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At some point, the team must join the rest of the league and become a more balanced team who of course can run the ball, but can also win games slinging the rock when needed. Without the ability to be a two-dimensional offense, the Bears will forever be relegated to a mediocre franchise with the hopes of catching lightning in a bottle every six to seven years.