Setting up to defend the pass

[Seamonk]

This point was brought up in another thread.. but.. Chris Harris DID miss a lot of tackles. I think he started getting caught up on trying to lay the wood that he often whiffed. So while he was a major player in the run game, we can't really expect it to be worse or better just yet. Have to see how the newcomer plays that spot.

[panthers55]

someone else will step up. i'm not worried about that.

i'm worried about a few teams we will be playing next year but chicago isn't one of them. harris and peppers may have something to prove but the rest of the team probably has a lot to prove as well.

i'm going to be surprised if harris wasn't pulling for this trade. if that is the case then the rest of the players are going to be feeling a bit betrayed.

Teams need leaders at every level. Typically the MLB may call plays but the secondary coverages are usually called by someone in the secondary, particularly changes when offensive players go in motion or we have to make adjustments.

That guy was Harris.

I realy can't see Gamble or Godfrey making the calls. In fact it was only last year that Godfrey even knew where he should be let alone everyone else in the secondary. Marshall is pretty disgruntled and not a team leader. Martin who is still very green? A guy just arriving or one of the backups?

Sometimes you change the recipe so much it isn't the same thing at all. We are at that point. As for Harris being okay with the trade, who could blame him. He got a nice restructure as part of the deal.

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/04/bears-restructure-chris-harris-contract.html

As for trading him we gave him a five year extension in 2008, why would you do that and get rid of him 2 years into the deal. Another example where apparently the thinking of the team has undergone a radical change between 2009 and now. Makes you wonder if there is any rational thinking going on.

[panthers55]

panthers55 trolling again

Imparting football knowledge to the unknowing. And yes you are vying for top honors in that group.

[panthers55]

This point was brought up in another thread.. but.. Chris Harris DID miss a lot of tackles. I think he started getting caught up on trying to lay the wood that he often whiffed. So while he was a major player in the run game, we can't really expect it to be worse or better just yet. Have to see how the newcomer plays that spot.

He made 60 of them last year in only 13 games. That was good for 6th on the team and only behind Marshall in the secondary. Exactly how many do you think he missed????

[Seamonk]

Well.. you guys wanted a busy offseason right? I guess our FO wasn't happy with returning 21 out of 22 starters this time. I thought this was what people wanted.

[Seamonk]

He made 60 of them last year in only 13 games. That was good for 6th on the team and only behind Marshall in the secondary. Exactly how many do you think he missed????

If I whiff on a tackle by taking a poor angle and then have to run a guy down. Does it still count as a tackle?

[panthers55]

If I whiff on a tackle by taking a poor angle and then have to run a guy down. Does it still count as a tackle?

Now how could slow old Harris run anyone down? That right now that he was traded he is only average right. Nevermind that our defense got instantly better when he returned.

You guys are grasping at straws. LOL

[SmootsDaddy89]

The only point you have is that we just traded our signal-caller in the secondary, and WE, a bunch of posters on a message board, don't know who will step into that roll. I agree that Gamble, Marshall, and Godfrey aren't likely to be that guy. But I think you're dismissing Martin too quickly. His being green doesn't mean he can't be the quarterback of the secondary. It certainly didn't stop Beason from becoming the leader of the defense. I personally haven't seen enough of him either way to know for sure if he's ready for that responsibility, but I won't dismiss him out of hand because it conveniently fits my notion that the front office is doing acid and banging hookers 24/7 now.

[Seamonk]

Now how could slow old Harris run anyone down? That right now that he was traded he is only average right. Nevermind that our defense got instantly better when he returned.

You guys are grasping at straws. LOL

You didn't answer my question. Please tell me what changed between the first 3 games of the season when Harris was out, And the end of the season; What did the FO see to make Chris Harris expendable?

[rayzor]

. Makes you wonder if there is any rational thinking going on.

weak.

[panthers55]

The only point you have is that we just traded our signal-caller in the secondary, and WE, a bunch of posters on a message board, don't know who will step into that roll. I agree that Gamble, Marshall, and Godfrey aren't likely to be that guy. But I think you're dismissing Martin too quickly. His being green doesn't mean he can't be the quarterback of the secondary. It certainly didn't stop Beason from becoming the leader of the defense. I personally haven't seen enough of him either way to know for sure if he's ready for that responsibility, but I won't dismiss him out of hand because it conveniently fits my notion that the front office is doing acid and banging hookers 24/7 now.

That is hardly the only point I have but it is good that you grasp it because it is an important one. As you noted there are not very many guys in the secondary that could fill the role of signal caller from the group we have. As for Martin he started a total of 5 games and barely knows the defense. If he stays at free safety, he might not even be a starter.

The guy could be one of those or somone like Francisco or heaven forbid Hudson who have much more experience than Martin. In any case the loss will be a bigger one that you think. This addition by subtraction has slowly rendered negative numbers.

[rayzor]

The only point you have is that we just traded our signal-caller in the secondary, and WE, a bunch of posters on a message board, don't know who will step into that roll. I agree that Gamble, Marshall, and Godfrey aren't likely to be that guy. But I think you're dismissing Martin too quickly. His being green doesn't mean he can't be the quarterback of the secondary. It certainly didn't stop Beason from becoming the leader of the defense. I personally haven't seen enough of him either way to know for sure if he's ready for that responsibility, but I won't dismiss him out of hand because it conveniently fits my notion that the front office is doing acid and banging hookers 24/7 now.

agreed.

a lot of people tend to forget that martin was a bit older than the typical rookie and has a good bit of maturity on him. he isn't a cagey old vet by any means but he is still very capable of stepping up into a leadership role.

[SmootsDaddy89]

I personally think Martin moves to strong safety (it makes sense because that's traditionally where our signal-callers in the secondary play, also because I think if they liked him better at free safety, he would have stayed there when Godfrey came back.) but either way, I think they're looking at Martin to be that guy. Again, we'll see. I'm not going to knock him for only starting five games last season when you can easily make the argument that Jimmy Clausen, personality-wise, is much better suited to being a leader at quarterback than Matt Moore, based on what he has shown so far. Even though he's a rookie. It's also worth noting that, as far as age goes, Martin is older than any of our projected starters in the secondary, except for Gamble. Don't count him out.

[panthers55]

You didn't answer my question. Please tell me what changed between the first 3 games of the season when Harris was out, And the end of the season; What did the FO see to make Chris Harris expendable?

I didn't see you asked a question. Just some comment about taking a poor angle nonsense.

What changed? Did you watch the season? If you had you would know that we became more physical, played tighter coverage and were generally better able to defend the pass than before when we gave up too much cushion, waited to break on the ball too long and missed a bunch of tackles.

Why was he expendable? I don't have insider knowledge but I suspect he wasn't happy with the changes and was a vocal critic they decided to get rid of him. Just like we did with Jenkins and others who complain. The only one who complains ans we have kept is Smitty. maybe he is next.....