Safety first is the credo of this Bears defense.
The team is relying on second-year safety Mike Brown to become the unit’s quarterback on defense.
“If you’re strong up the middle, you can do a lot of things,” said Brown, a unanimous all-rookie selection in 2000. “There’s a lot of pressure on us to make plays, and we’re going to try to.”
The pressure manifests itself Sunday when the Bears travel to Baltimore to face the defending Super Bowl champion Ravens at PSINet Stadium. Brown and the rest of the Bears’ defense are expected to receive plenty of action Sunday.
“There’s a dimension about their offense that we are not sure about,” Bears defensive coordinator Greg Blache said. “They have not shown a lot in the preseason.”
With quarterback Elvis Grbac taking over after Trent Dilfer was not re-signed, the Ravens could present a more pass-oriented offense–especially because their top rusher from last season, Jamal Lewis, is out for the season with a knee injury.
“Being a free safety is a very patient position because you can have a game when you don’t do anything, you’re not involved in any tackles,” Brown said. “All you are doing is make checks. You have to be real patient, and that’s something I have to work on.
“Sometimes when I don’t get enough action, I start pressing a little bit. I have to relax and stay patient.”
Few observers are giving the Bears, who were 5-11 last season, much of a chance to upset the Ravens on Sunday. Blache refers to the Ravens as a defending heavyweight champion.
“We know that they’re the world champions,” Blache said. “We can’t go in there and `decision’ these people. They’ll win the decision. We have to go in there and knock them out.”
The 5-foot-10-inch, 202-pound Brown packs a solid punch. He was second on the team last season with 81 solo tackles, had an interception return for a touchdown and started all 16 games.
“He makes all of the calls in the middle for our secondary adjustments,” Blache said. “Mike’s a coach’s dream.”
A second-round pick (39th overall) out of Nebraska last year, Brown finished strong last season with 10 tackles against San Francisco.
“As a defense last year, we ended up on a pretty positive note,” Brown said. “And we have some new guys in here to get acclimated to the defense. Now it’s just a matter of seeing if we can take it to Sundays. The first game is going to be a great test for us.”
But more than a test, Brown is trumpeting a physical showdown Sunday.
“If you hit them enough times, that’s when the receivers start to drop balls,” said Brown. “That’s when running backs start fumbling. I think we’re going to be an aggressive defense.
“We have a lot of guys who like to hit. We’re going to have a very physical defense. That’s what Chicago is all about as a team. I think people should look forward to seeing some big hits on Sundays.”
