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Chicago facing unbearable defense

The Bears arrive Sunday in the shadow of five losses, inspired by the Buc defense.

By ERNEST HOOPER

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 8, 2000

TAMPA -- Telling the Bucs about their defensive dominance against the Chicago Bears is akin to telling a pitcher he's in the middle of no-hitter.

The players appreciate the fact Chicago has not scored a touchdown against them in 10 quarters, but don't remind them days before they're scheduled to meet the Bears in the home opener at Raymond James Stadium.

"We were trying not to think about that," linebacker Derrick Brooks said. "I didn't even know that until you brought it up to me. Can we talk about that next week?" defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin said.

The Bucs have beaten the Bears in five consecutive games, and every victory can be attributed to Tampa Bay's defense. Not only has Chicago failed to reach the end zone in 10 quarters, it has had only one offensive touchdown in the past 12 quarters.

The Bucs' mastery is surprising when you consider the Bears started a new pass-happy era with coach Dick Jauron and offensive coordinator Gary Crowton last season. Under Crowton, Chicago had three quarterbacks throw for more than 4,000 yards, averaging 258.5 passing yards with an array of quick screens, slants and deep balls.

The average was considerably lower in two desolate efforts against Tampa Bay. The Bears had 186 net passing yards in a 6-3 loss in Week 7 at Raymond James and 186 in a 20-6 loss in the season finale at Soldier Field. Three other teams didn't score a touchdown against the Bucs defense last season, but the Bears' scheme seems to play into Tampa Bay's strengths.

"I think our team speed, our hustle and our physical style of play kind of outmatches them a little bit," defensive end Chidi Ahanotu said. "We match up well with their scheme. It's a little difficult for them to methodically march down the field on us."

Second-year quarterback Cade McNown started the game in Tampa but gave way to backup Jim Miller after completing only 9 of 23 passes for 82 yards. In Chicago, he played the entire game but fared only slightly better, 20-for-42 for 196 yards.

In the off-season, McNown studied the Bucs more than any other team. Tampa Bay was the only NFC Central team the Bears did not record a victory against.

"They're very athletic underneath. A lot of times it seemed they would wait and see what we were going to do and then react to it," McNown said. "They read us. Their two outside linebackers, that's all they do it seems is read the quarterback's eyes. So they're looking to see what we do and then react to it.

"If we wait to see what they do, we just get into a staring match and all of a sudden I'm sacked."

The Bucs' active linebacking corps is one of the primary keys to their success. The Bears love to spread the field and get their cache of receivers and running backs in open space. But with Brooks, strong-side linebacker Shelton Quarles and middle linebacker Jamie Duncan, Tampa Bay has the speed to chase the players and prevent yards after the catch.

The Bucs also have the kind of athletic down linemen who can guard against McNown's scrambling ability. It will be a key again on Sunday because in the Bears' opener, McNown rushed for 87 yards on 10 carries.

"We'll keep a quarterback in the pocket and make him beat us with his arm," defensive tackle Warren Sapp said. "When you throw those wide receiver screens, that kind of plays into our hands with our team speed and quickness.

"Plus, we tackle really well. That's the thing you always have to do with these guys, is tackle really well. When you tackle well, they're in a second-and-8 situation and that puts us in a more opportunistic situation to go get a rush and do the things we do well as a defense."

The Bucs may be able to replicate their command of the Bears, but Kiffin cautions against such thinking. The Chicago players have a year of experience in Crowton's system and McNown is a decided starter who is brimming with confidence.

"It's critical for me to go out there and take the offensive and push the ball up the field right away in the passing game," McNown said. "That's going to help us quite a bit."

The Bucs are equally concerned about the Bears' big-play ability. Receiver Marcus Robinson had 84 receptions for 1,400 yards and nine touchdowns. Sunday, Robinson had seven receptions for 86 yards, including a 48-yard touchdown catch. Overall, the Bears had 425 yards of offense.

"They've very explosive, sort of like the St. Louis Rams," the ever-animated Kiffin said. "They have a lot of speed on offense. We've got to try to match it, which is not easy to do. When you watch them against the Minnesota Vikings, that wasn't a home game for them and they should have won that game. They were up and down the field.

"We don't need to talk about last year. We've got to talk about how we're 1-0 and we need to be 2-0. If we're 1-1, we just wasted that win in New England. We've got a chance to be 2-0 for the first time since 1997. So we got to come out smoking."

- Staff writers Roger Mills and Rick Stroud contributed to this report.

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