This Bears` defense is rapidly becoming a unit of considerable substance. And we`re not talking about any of the prohibited substances covered by the National Football League`s drug-abuse policy.
If they`re not in your face, they`re in your backfield, pounding on the door, stealing your passes, making complete pests of themselves.
”Pretty ugly? I don`t care. I thought it was a great team effort,” said Bears coach Mike Ditka following the 17-13 technical knockout of the Indianapolis Colts Sunday.
If the first two regular-season outings against Miami and Indianapolis are any indication, the Bears` defense should provide a sizable obstacle for NFC Central Division rival Minnesota Sunday at Soldier Field.
The Dolphins and the Colts managed to convert only two of 17 third-down opportunities. Neither team managed to get 200 total yards. And the Bears have a 5-1 turnover ratio after cornerback Vestee Jackson picked off two Jack Trudeau passes and Steve McMichael recovered a key Eric Dickerson fumble.
”One game doesn`t make a season and two weeks doesn`t mean you have remedied anything,” said Ditka. ”We will continue to talk about (turnovers) and we will continue to do the things we have to do. We have a long way to go yet. This season is young, but I think this football team is hungry. It kind of makes me feel good to see these guys go after them. That`s exciting to me.”
Proving that a team in transition can mean that it is an improving team, the Bears` defense continues to respond positively to questions raised about its future following the losses of Wilber Marshall, Gary Fencik, Todd Bell and Otis Wilson.
”I think we`re going to continue to answer questions,” said middle linebacker Mike Singletary. ”We`re on our way to being something special.”
Richard Dent, who is now attempting to schedule a hearing with Commissioner Pete Rozelle Friday in New York, provided the Bears` defense with a physical and emotional lift Sunday. The 30-day suspension the NFL handed him for violating its substance-abuse policy was lifted for the Colts` game, and he responded with a sack and several pressuring rushes.
”It was not just another win. It was a challenge,” said Dent. ”The defense really responded. We played good, we can play better. Vestee made some great picks (interceptions), and we`ve got a big game coming up against the Vikings.”
Somehow, Dent managed to relegate his legal hassles to the back burner while concentrating on football.
”It was kind of tough. There was a lot of frustration during the week,” said Dent. ”But it was Sunday; you have a chance to let it all out. That`s what happened.
”When you`re a professional athlete, you have to put adversity aside. That`s what I had to do. I didn`t feel like I was rusty or anything. It just took a few plays to get into the flow of things.”
On Dent`s first play, he and McMichael converged on Trudeau and sent him to the sidelines with sore ribs.
”I hurt my neck on that sack,” said Dent, whose injury was listed as a strain on Monday.
After missing three days of practice last week, Dent didn`t seem to miss a beat in the game.
”I pretty much knew the game plan. I did get a game book on Wednesday and I knew what (Indianapolis) was doing,” said Dent. ”But when you`ve got a guy like Dickerson, you know they`re going to run the ball. Their passing game is not the best. Their running game is what`s going on for them.
”You take that away and you`ve got a better chance to win the game. And when a guy like (injured All-Pro tackle) Chris Hinton is not playing, it makes it a little bit tougher on them.”
The Bears` defense wore down the Colts` sputtering offense all day, until Dickerson coughed up the key fumble on the Bears` 38-yard line with 5 minutes 30 seconds left in the game.
”Previously, he had taken two or three really good shots,” said outside linebacker Ron Rivera. ”I was coming from the backside and somebody hit him right on the arm. Then the ball was out.
”Dan (Hampton) had gotten hit (with a block) and his legs were in the air like a helicopter. He was able to get a leg on him, either in the chest or the face mask. The ball was loose and McMichael ended up on top of it.”
The verbal exchange between Dickerson and Bears safety Dave Duerson about Dickerson`s propensity for fumbling fueled the Bears` defense. Dickerson said Duerson was not a physical player.
”He made a few comments about our defense and we took it to heart. We had something to prove,” said Rivera. ”We knew that if we stuck with it, eventually we would get a turnover. The 11 guys out there were pretty inspired.
”We talked about (Dickerson`s comments) all the time. We`ve got some veterans in some key spots that still take a lot of things to heart. We have a lot of pride on this team, when somebody makes a comment like that.”
William Perry led the Bears with nine tackles Sunday. He has 10 in the first two games. Duerson and Singletary share the team lead with 12 tackles this season.
”It was a very physical game on the inside,” said Rivera. ”The defensive linemen for us played a very good game. They did the best they could controlling the front. They cut down on the cutback lanes.
”A guy like Mike Singletary really gets fired up for a game like this. It really does spill over to everybody. When we get in a physical contest with somebody, we can match up pretty darn good.”
Dickerson gained 95 yards on 24 carries and he scored one touchdown.
”We knew we couldn`t stop a great back like that to zero. What we could try to do was prevent the big cutbacks, the big plays. He hurt us a couple of times, but we were able to keep it down to a minimum,” said Rivera.
”We had good emotion on defense; I thought everybody played well out there,” said Ditka. ”I wasn`t happy about the penalties. I thought the penalties were stupid. We had 11 penalties last week, we had to approach 11
(actually 10) this week. There`s no reason for that.”
McMichael, who had eight tackles to go along with his fumble recovery, was issued a game ball along with Jackson and quarterback Jim McMahon.
”I thought they played awfully well,” said defensive coordinator Vince Tobin of his unit. ”We really only got burned one time, on that long pass (48 yards from Trudeau to Clarence Verdin). It`s too bad that that did happen. I put a blitz on and we had one-on-one coverage. That happens in football.”
