The Chicago Bears Stars on Defense

The Bears have been doing very well on defense during the early part of the season and thanks and credit have to go to three players in particular. Linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs, along with defensive end Julius Peppers have been money for the Bears so far this season and are a huge reason why the Bears are doing so well.

Any Bears fan will remember what happened to Urlacher last season. In the Bear’s first game of the season (against the Packers) he went out with a wrist injury and wouldn’t return for the rest of the season. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise because Urlacher got one year to rest up and be very well prepared for the 2010 season. He came into this regular season injury free and feeling good and the results have showed in each game the Bears have played.

Briggs has been feeding off of what Urlacher has been capable of doing so far this season. He’s been making big plays in just about every game so far this season and is a big reason why the Bears are number one in the NFL in rushing defense so far this season. Briggs looks like he’s having fun out there whenever he’s on the field and is playing some of the best football of his career.

The Bears felt that Peppers would be able to come in and get a lot of sacks in their defense and that’s why they paid him the money that they did. So far, the sacks haven’t come but his impact on games has certainly been noticeable. He has gotten plenty of pressure on opposing quarterbacks at times and his presence has been enough to cause problems (see the two false start penalties he helped cause during the Bears Monday night win against the Packers).

Just having Peppers in the lineup is enough to make a difference. If he can continue to help the Bears by getting some sacks then that would be that much better.

These three guys have really made impact on the Bears this season and are a huge part as to why the Bears are where they are today. Last season, this unit was missing Urlacher and just didn’t seem to play “right” without him. Granted, there were other problems on the defense including the injury that outside linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa suffered as well as some shuffling in the secondary but the Bears just aren’t the Bears without Urlacher in the lineup.

What does the future hold for the Bears and their defense? As long as the key players in this group can stay healthy all season there is no reason to think that their defense can’t lead the NFL in rushing defense (which they are as of this writing) especially with the talent that they have at linebacker. If they can get a solid pass rush going, they should be able to be in the top ten in the NFL in pass defense as well.

These are shades of 2006. The Bears won in 2006 with a defense that could stop the run and the pass as well as create turnovers for the offense. The defense this season is starting to look more and more like that one in 2006.

That same defense in 2006 helped lead the Bears to the Super Bowl. Can this defense help get the Bears there as well? We shall find out.