Chicago Bears' secondary dunks on ESPN personality while challenging quarterbacks

While Chicago Bears fans have been focused on Caleb Williams's struggles to begin his rookie season, they have missed the fact that passing numbers across the NFL are down.

Given the struggles that quarterbacks have had to open the 2024 season, ESPN's Mel Kiper had an outside-the-box idea to get quarterback play back on track.

To break it down, the two-high safety look is similar to the roles that Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker have in the Bears' offense. While there are times that Brisker will play close to the line of scrimmage in an effort to either stop the run or serve as an additional blitzer, his primary role is to be the safety net for the secondary. Between Brisker and Byard, the goal is for them to force quarterbacks to play the short game.

What's so fascinating about Kiper's take is the fact the two-high safety look is nothing new in the NFL. It's been a defensive concept in the NFL for multiple decades. Given that fact, it seems unlikely that a concept that has existed for, at least, the past 20 years is now what is ruining quarterback play.

If there is anyone who should be offended by Kiper's dumbfounded take, it's the Bears' secondary. Byard and Brisker were asked about the idea of the NFL banning the two-high safety look and not only dunking on Kiper but challenging opposing quarterbacks.

Be better.

That is what the Bears' secondary has to say about Kiper's take. Not only did they perfectly explain why Kiper's take was blatantly wrong, but they issued a challenge to quarterbacks to make better reads. If we want to look at why quarterback play is down this season, it's because there is a wide gap between elite-level quarterbacks and quarterbacks like Will Levis.