Defending other teams is hard enough. Vince Tobin would rather not have to defend himself.
The Bears` defensive coordinator had the blinds raised in his Halas Hall office Tuesday because he wasn`t watching film for a change. There was no need to sit in the dark, even though Tobin remains in the shadow of Buddy Ryan.
The Bears have not won a playoff game since Ryan left after the 1985 season. Moreover, the Bears` defense has not even shut out a playoff opponent like it did twice on the way to the Super Bowl XX title.
Head coach Mike Ditka said he was going to review his strategy on offense, defense and special teams. In the case of defense, the ”strategy”
might extend no farther than taking a trip down the hall to the office of Vince`s brother, player personnel chief Bill Tobin, to request more cornerbacks.
”We`ve got to start there,” Vince said. ”The big thing that hurt us the worst is when we played against really good, small, quick receivers. We have to have corners who can cover when we play man-to-man.”
Ryan used to beg for cornerbacks, too. Still does. His Philadelphia Eagles finished dead last-No. 28-in the National Football League in pass defense.
Tobin also hears the rumblings of ”maybe one or two players” who appear to have lost confidence in the defensive strategy.
”Anytime you don`t win, the first thing people do usually is try to look outside. They don`t look within,” Tobin said.
Tobin tried to shed light on the 21-17 loss to the Washington Redskins that has spawned a different opinion for every living, breathing Chicagoan.
First of all, the defense gave up only 14 points.
The defenses of the Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings, and Redskins themselves all gave up more points than that and are still in the playoffs.
Subtract the 52-yard punt return by Darrell Green and the Bears win 17-14 and Tobin is being asked how he plans to do as well against the Vikings this week for the title.
”That`s the nature of the game,” he said. ”When you lose, you always see ways you can play better. We teach that no matter how many points the offense scores, if you don`t hold them to less, you haven`t done your job. But I also think there`s some unfair criticism.”
The Bears` defense gave up 272 yards. The Browns, Vikings, Denver Broncos, and Redskins themselves all gave up more yards and are still in the playoffs.
”When you hold a team to 14 points in a championship ballgame and they get 272 yards and they`ve been averaging over 25 points and 370 yards, I mean heck,” Tobin said. ”Everybody thinks you`re going to shut every team out. You`re not going to shut every team out. We`d like to, but it doesn`t happen very often in the NFL. Other teams have good players and offenses have opened up a lot.”
The 1985 Bears were the only team ever to shut out two playoff teams in a row.
When Tobin replaced Ryan, the defense remained No. 1 in the league and improved in points allowed, setting a 16-game record. This year, the non-replacement Bears finished 4th in defense; Ryan`s Eagles finished 19th.
”But the image is left here,” Tobin said. ”That`s the thing I`m so disappointed in. You come in and have one year of comparison and it should be over and done. How long do you compare? How long do you compare to Lombardi and Green Bay?”
Tobin thinks ”most” of the defensive players understand that what is past is past.
”What happens is you`re fed an expectation. They remember two games in 1985 when they shut out two teams. When you get that expectation constantly re-inforced, you go in with the idea that in order to win or in order for the defense to be successful, they have to shut out an offense.
”That`s a tough burden. The only thing you should be judged on is either you do your job or you don`t. It`s hard to be judged against ghosts.”
It was not ghosts, but three or four big plays on third down that stuck in Tobin`s mind after Sunday`s game.
One was a 32-yard pass to Ricky Sanders on third and 9 over cornerback Maurice Douglass and in front of a safety that helped set up the first touchdown.
Another was the 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Clint Didier on third and 10 that tied the score before halftime. That was also against Douglass, who committed the cardinal sin of allowing Didier to break to the middle during a blitz.
”I would hope a tight end wouldn`t beat us one-on-one with a defensive back,” Tobin said.
It was only the second game ever for Douglass at cornerback.
”We got hurt on different things-a blitz, man-under, a two-deep zone, and on combination man,” Tobin said.
Eliminating any of those defenses would be foolhardy against today`s complex offenses.
”We`ve got to learn those perfectly,” Tobin said. ”I don`t see us changing basic stuff.”
Changing personnel is probable, especially at cornerback, unless Mike Richardson returns to good graces. The Tobin brothers aren`t the only ones searching for cornerbacks.
”You can`t say you need a corner and try to manufacture one,” Tobin said. ”If there`s not one there, it`s silly. If we don`t get one, we`ll play with the ones we have.
”It`s not like we had a collapse on defense this year.”
Next year, there will be no strike to interrupt mental concentration.
Maybe next year, there will be no more looking back. The Bears won`t be considered the No. 1 team anymore. They failed to finish No. 1 on defense for the first time in four seasons, finishing No. 4 in non-strike games. They failed to finish No. 1 in rushing for the first time in five seasons, plummeting to No. 13. So there is more work to do than wait for their No. 1 quarterback to get well.
Maybe the punt coverage team will get more attention. It finished No. 28 in the league without anyone really noticing-except Washington coach Joe Gibbs and Darrell Green.
