Chicago Bears still have work to do despite a win over the Bucs

Defense’s might still win championships

I am not impressed with the two (almost three sacks). I am impressed that Mack has finally been vocal about how teams are holding him during the games. I know what Khalil Mack and company can do rushing the passer. They need to let these refs know when they missed something. Otherwise, teams will continue to hold and cheat their way to stopping the edge rushers get home.

Credit to the defensive line, though. When Brent Urban was in, the running game did not work. The two-gap scheme seems dead without a proper nose tackle playing. Maybe a one-gap strategy should be the theme as we advance.

Some of the Chicago Bears’ negatives on defense are very clear now that they are five weeks into the season. They can’t stop the run. The linebackers seem slow and unable to tackle. Robert Quinn appears to be taking his money and running. All of these things can be fixed though.

Brent Urban needs to be on the field more. As much as I stated how Bilal Nichols could bare the load after not having Eddie Goldman for the rest of the season, I was wrong. Nichols is still a monster as far as getting upfield at the quarterback, but he is not stout enough in the run game to help his linebackers.

The linebackers look okay, not good. Danny Trevathan seems old. Was signing Trevathan a better move than signing Nick Kwiatkowski? Yes, it still was. Kwiatkoski has been sidelined with another pectoral injury. 75 snaps are all Kwiatkoski has this season.

Not saying he won’t come back and be dominant once he is fully healthy, but imagine Josh Woods or Joel Iyiegbuniwe getting the balk of the load next to an inconsistent Roquan Smith right now. Smith does have the green dot on his helmet but does not entirely seem ready to be the main man in the middle just yet.

The arrow is still pointing up for Smith. While he has missed some key tackles, he has put himself in positions to make the elite plays. Chuck Pagano has his work cut out for him. The Chicago Bears have entered that meaty part of their schedule.

The Bears will face the Panthers, Rams, Saints, Titans (maybe), followed by all three divisional rivals. It does not get any less exciting than that. If the Chicago Bears are genuine contenders, it starts with this defense holding those teams from putting up big numbers.