BEARS IN BRIEF: Defense can't afford lapse against Romo
September 21, 2007
BY BRAD BIGGS bbiggs@suntimes.com
Picking up where it left off against Kansas City is the plan for the Bears' defense against the high-scoring Dallas Cowboys.
The Bears generated three sacks and two takeaways in the fourth quarter of the 20-10 victory over the Chiefs, and while that was all well and good, one of the points coordinator Bob Babich has hammered home this week has been the four-play, 83-yard drive the Bears allowed just before halftime.
''That's the way we'd like to play always,'' Babich said of the final 15 minutes. ''With that type of urgency.''
But you can't confuse the Chiefs' personnel with what the Cowboys are bringing in. Quarterback Tony Romo has a 119.3 passer rating with six touchdowns and just one interception. All the attention he and the Dallas offense have been getting is becoming a little much for the Bears at this point. ''If Peyton Manning's a superstar, then I don't think Tony Romo is on that level,'' defensive end Alex Brown said. ''He's good, but I don't think he's Peyton. He can run, he can get out of the pocket and make throws. I'm not trying to take anything away from him, but if you say Peyton's a star and you say Romo's a star, I don't agree with you on that. I don't think they're in the same class. But no doubt he's good.''
If you look over the schedule, though, Romo might be the best passer the Bears face all season, although Brett Favre is experiencing a renaissance in Green Bay and Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck and New Orleans' Drew Brees are talented.
''He kind of reminds me of a young Favre in the way he creates plays and he makes things happen,'' cornerback Charles Tillman said. ''And he definitely can sling it in the hole. He makes some incredible throws that most quarterbacks probably wouldn't do. He's a daredevil.''
Health beat
Alex Brown (ankle), Tommie Harris (hamstring), Olin Kreutz (ankle), Ricky Manning Jr. (back) and Ruben Brown (shoulder) all returned to practice after missing Wednesday. Ruben Brown was involved in all drills, while the others had limited participation. For Dallas, cornerback Terence Newman (foot) had limited participation for the second consecutive day. Bears rookie defensive end Dan Bazuin underwent surgery on his left knee for the second time in four months. Bazuin had an arthroscopic procedure to repair the meniscus after rookie minicamp in May, but he never returned to full strength despite getting a sack during the preseason. The second-round pick was placed on injured reserve and got a second medical opinion in New York two weeks ago.
Sacks appeal
Brian Urlacher said the sack of Kansas City's Damon Huard to break his streak of 28 games without one was just like the previous 32½ sacks in his career. Of course, on some of those, he actually was blocked. He hopes Babich continues to set him loose and not drop him deep downfield in a zone. ''He has been aggressive, turning us loose,'' Urlacher said. ''Third-and-long, he's blitzing us. Second down, we're blitzing quite a bit. So he gives us a chance to make plays in the backfield, and Lance [Briggs] and I, neither of us got blocked on our sacks. That's a good thing.''
BY BRAD BIGGS bbiggs@suntimes.com
Picking up where it left off against Kansas City is the plan for the Bears' defense against the high-scoring Dallas Cowboys.
The Bears generated three sacks and two takeaways in the fourth quarter of the 20-10 victory over the Chiefs, and while that was all well and good, one of the points coordinator Bob Babich has hammered home this week has been the four-play, 83-yard drive the Bears allowed just before halftime.
''That's the way we'd like to play always,'' Babich said of the final 15 minutes. ''With that type of urgency.''
But you can't confuse the Chiefs' personnel with what the Cowboys are bringing in. Quarterback Tony Romo has a 119.3 passer rating with six touchdowns and just one interception. All the attention he and the Dallas offense have been getting is becoming a little much for the Bears at this point. ''If Peyton Manning's a superstar, then I don't think Tony Romo is on that level,'' defensive end Alex Brown said. ''He's good, but I don't think he's Peyton. He can run, he can get out of the pocket and make throws. I'm not trying to take anything away from him, but if you say Peyton's a star and you say Romo's a star, I don't agree with you on that. I don't think they're in the same class. But no doubt he's good.''
If you look over the schedule, though, Romo might be the best passer the Bears face all season, although Brett Favre is experiencing a renaissance in Green Bay and Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck and New Orleans' Drew Brees are talented.
''He kind of reminds me of a young Favre in the way he creates plays and he makes things happen,'' cornerback Charles Tillman said. ''And he definitely can sling it in the hole. He makes some incredible throws that most quarterbacks probably wouldn't do. He's a daredevil.''
Health beat
Alex Brown (ankle), Tommie Harris (hamstring), Olin Kreutz (ankle), Ricky Manning Jr. (back) and Ruben Brown (shoulder) all returned to practice after missing Wednesday. Ruben Brown was involved in all drills, while the others had limited participation. For Dallas, cornerback Terence Newman (foot) had limited participation for the second consecutive day. Bears rookie defensive end Dan Bazuin underwent surgery on his left knee for the second time in four months. Bazuin had an arthroscopic procedure to repair the meniscus after rookie minicamp in May, but he never returned to full strength despite getting a sack during the preseason. The second-round pick was placed on injured reserve and got a second medical opinion in New York two weeks ago.
Sacks appeal
Brian Urlacher said the sack of Kansas City's Damon Huard to break his streak of 28 games without one was just like the previous 32½ sacks in his career. Of course, on some of those, he actually was blocked. He hopes Babich continues to set him loose and not drop him deep downfield in a zone. ''He has been aggressive, turning us loose,'' Urlacher said. ''Third-and-long, he's blitzing us. Second down, we're blitzing quite a bit. So he gives us a chance to make plays in the backfield, and Lance [Briggs] and I, neither of us got blocked on our sacks. That's a good thing.''
posted by The Gryphon at 7:58 AM
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