SB Nation User Blog: ChiCity85

Should Bears fear Packers New 3-4 D?

ChiCity85 — Wed, 13 May 2009 02:00:46 -0000

I posed this question to Brad Biggs, editor of the Inside the Bears blog hosted @ Suntimes.com. Here's the exchange:

Q: My question concerns the Green Bay Packers implementation of the 3-4 Defense. Under Lovie Smith's tenure, the Chicago Bears' record versus teams that run the 3-4 is 2-6. Here are the results:

- 2004: Houston Texans (coached by Dom Capers) 24 v. BEARS 5
- 2005: Cleveland Browns 20 v. BEARS 10; BEARS 17 v. San Francisco 49ers 9; Pittsburgh Steelers 21 v. BEARS 9
- 2006: BEARS 41 v. San Francisco 49ers 10; New England Patriots 17 v. BEARS 13
- 2007: San Diego Chargers 14 v. BEARS 3; Dallas Cowboys 34 v. BEARS 10
- 2008: no 3-4 Defensive opponents

Dom Capers (an associate of 3-4 students Bill Cowher 7 Dick LeBeau) has taken three separate basement dwelling defensive units and flipped them into formidable forces in his first year on the job. The 3-4 defense can can prove to be exotic, dynamic & perplexing all within the same possesion. What are your thoughts on Dom Capers and his history? Any insights on how the Bears prepare themselves for the Packers new defense?

A: To take your well made point a step further, the Bears are 0-6 vs. teams that implement the 3-4 defense that are not in San Francisco. I think the 49ers were running more of a hybrid 3-4 there at the time, however, because of some personnel shortages. At any rate, Capers' success has been well documented and Dan Pompei recently put together a nice story in the Tribune about it. There is a lot of work that goes into switching a defense and the key is acquiring the personnel. The Packers believe they are off to a good start after landing tackle B.J. Raji and linebacker Clay Matthews in the draft. I don't know what to say about that 2004 game with Houston, though. That meeting came at the end of a disastrous offensive season for the Bears. If you recall, Chad Hutchinson was the quarterback at the time. I think the one thing the Bears have going for themselves in this situation is new quarterback Jay Cutler. He comes from the AFC where the 3-4 has been more prevalent and he's played twice a season against one of the better 3-4 defenses in the league in San Diego.

He's got experience against the scheme and that's going to be useful because the Bears are destined to see the best the 3-4 has to offer this season. They will see it against Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cleveland and Arizona. So that's at least six games vs. the defense by our count. Cutler may have a better feel against the defense than Kyle Orton. If the Bears don't feel they have a lot of experience vs. it, they'll be singing a different tune after opening against the Packers and Steelers in the first two weeks. A little tidbit: teams using the 3-4 have won six of the last nine Super Bowls.

The Lions are beginning anew under a changed regime. The Vikings & Brett Favre continue to play footsies. The Windy City can not wait for the Jay Cutler Era to begin. As far as NFC North storylines go, I feel as if the Packer's switch to the 3-4 has not gotten the attention it deserves. Dom Capers has proven to be one of the most successful defensive minds of this era. Dan Pompei did a great breakdown of his credentials. On top of that hire, the Packers went out & grabbed two great 3-4 prospects in BJ Raji & Clay Matthews

What say you, Bears Nation? Will the Packers ride the 3-4 to a division title? What role will Jay Cutler's experience versus 3-4 teams in the AFC play? I'm hoping this post serves not only as a projections post, but as an educational one as well. The 3-4 is a complex system. Any of you guys out there with defensive knowledge, please, share your thoughts. . .

POLL - Terrell Owens & Filling the void at #1WR. . .

ChiCity85 — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 20:04:13 -0000

Imagine how dynamic the Bears' West Coast-Style offense would be with an elite wide receiver. A viable #1 threat lessens the pressure on Devin Hester & also frees up Greg Olsen & Desmond Clark to work up the seams. With Matt Forte coming out of the backfield, the Bears would field an offense other teams would actually be afraid of. . .

With word out of Dallas that Terrell Owens has worn out his welcome, a release could be imminent. Regardless of your personal feelings for the guy, the Chicago Bears owe it to their fanbase to probe these developments in hopes of improving our inept offense. A player with Terrell Owens' skillset fits the profile of what we need. This idea actually occurred to me last night & Neil Hayes of the Suntimes wrote about it this morning. Have a look: "Owens to Bears? Worth Considering. . ."

Discuss fellow Grabowskis. . .

Poll

If Terrell Owens becomes available, would you support the idea of the Bears signing him?

YES - I Love Me Some Me!

24 votes

NO - T.O.?=Hell No!

40 votes

64 votes | Poll has closed

Going all in for 2010. . . (Bulls/Rockets/Kings)

ChiCity85 — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:30:11 -0000

I wish making these deals work was as easy as ESPN's Trade Machine. . .

Bulls/Rockets/Kings Deal

Bulls get: Tracy McGrady Salary: $20,370,437 Years Remaining: 2

Kenny Thomas Salary: $8,562,500 Years Remaining: 2

Brad Miller Salary: $11,375,000 Years Remaining: 2

Brent Barry Salary: $1,910,000 Years Remaining: 2

Shane Battier Salary: $6,448,900 Years Remaining: 3

Rockets get: Larry Hughes Salary: $12,827,676 Years Remaining: 2

Drew Gooden Salary: $7,151,183 Years Remaining: 1

Kirk Hinrich Salary: $10,000,000 Years Remaining: 4

Andres Nocioni Salary: $8,000,000 Years Remaining: 5

Kings get: Joakim Noah Salary: $2,295,480 Years Remaining: 2

Rafer Alston Salary: $4,900,000 Years Remaining: 2

Thabo Sefolosha Salary: $1,931,160 Years Remaining: 2

Focusing on the Bulls end of the deal, this trade would put our beloved Bulls on the hook for a mere $30M in a year where the cap should be between $55M-$60M. It would also force the Bulls to pay now (Lux Tax) for (POTENTIAL) future prosperity.

I realize what I've done with the deal as currently constructed. The glut in the backcourt has turned into a crater in our rotation. However, this is not the only way to go in order to fix our roster. Paying the luxury tax over these next 2 seasons is definitely worth potentially being $25M-$30M under the cap once 2010 rolls around. You guys are free to discuss, but I'd bet my girlfriend's precious kitten that this deal works our better for us than anything PAX is contemplating at the moment. . .

Steve Kerr Should Pull a Kevin McHale/Jerry West. . .

ChiCity85 — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 13:35:05 -0000

. . .and help out his old team:

Trade Scenario 1

Bulls get: Amare Stoudemire

Suns Get: Drew Gooden, Andres Nocioni

Trade Scenario 2

Bulls Get: Amare Stoudemire

Suns Get: Larry Hughes, Tyrus Thomas

Trade Scenario 3

Bulls Get: Amare Stoudemire

Suns Get: Drew Gooden, Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah, Thabo Sefolosha, & Cedric Simmons

All 3 of these scenarios are obvious pipe dreams. So were the Kevin Garnet & Pau Gasol power-shifting deals. In both cases, you had execs doing favors for their former playing teams, (McHale almost certainly got a ring for the Garnett deal & West tried his damndest at getting one by convincing the Grizz to give Gasol to the Lakers).

As was the case with both Garnett & Gasol, Stoudemire is beginning to chirp about his unhappiness in his current uniform. Steve Kerr has already suggested some drastic changes would be made. With 3 coaches already losing their jobs this year, firing Porter wouldn't be seen as too drastic. Trading Amare seems like the shake up that would send a message. Kerr has already unloaded one disgruntled Sun (Shawn Marion), so why would he hesitate this time around?

All it takes for this deal to go through is for PAX to invite Kerr over to Harry Caray's to celebrate the rings they've helped deliver to the Windy City. A couple of bottles of Jack Daniels later, PAX is throwing out trade proposals, seeing if Kerr is blitzed enuff to say yes. Next thing you know, there's a pressconference scheduled & Amare has a Bulls jersey, and Derrick Rose has a new PnR buddy, & the Bulls live happily everyafter. . .

. . .I can dream, can't I?

Let's solve our big man/post presence problem (Brook Lopez)

ChiCity85 — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 19:26:14 -0000

THIS POST IS WRITTEN UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT THE CHICAGO BULLS WILL SELECT DERRICK ROSE WITH THE #1 PICK IN THE 2008 NBA DRAFT. WHILE DRAFTING ROSE WILL GO A LONG WAY IN SOLVING OUR BACKCOURT/PG PROBLEMS, HIS UPCOMING ARRIVAL SHOULD NOT BE VIEWED AS THE FINAL STEP TOWARD THE BULLS RETURNING TO PROMINENCE . . .

Every great point guard needs to have a solid big man to succeed. Magic had Kareem. Stockton had Malone. Mark Jackson had Ewing. Kidd had Kenyon Martin & now Dirk Nowitski. Deron Williams has Boozer. Chris Paul has both David West & Tyson Chandler. Although Derrick Rose is a great PG prospect, his ultimate success currently depends upon the development of current Bulls bigs Joakim Noah & Tyrus Thomas. (Drew Gooden SHOULD NOT be viewed as anything more than a trade waiting to happen.) In my view, this situation is far from ideal. Although both Thomas & Noah have displayed immense defensive talents, neither will ever become a force on the offensive end.

One thing all of the bigs that played with the great PGs had in common was a proficiency in scoring. Be it through skyhooks, jumpers, or back to the basket maneuvers, they knew how to put the ball in the hole. Currently, there is no one on the trading block worth kicking the tires on. Although many were calling for the head of PAX after not dealing for Pau Gasol & Kevin Garnett, we should probably be thanking Jeebus, Budha, & Muhammad himself that these deals didn’t go through. Gasol was exposed as being softer than Gerber’s Mushed Peas in the Finals. While tenacity & defensive intensity are great intangibles, Kevin Garnett would not have been our answer. He tends to shy away from post contact, (the butter-soft combo of Odom & Gasol made him look like a beast in the Finals) relying on a shake & bake fade-away he owes Michael Jordan royalties for. He knows damn well he owes his 1st ring to Paul Pierce & Rajon Rondo’s rapid rise.

So, where am I going with this? I don’t want PAX dealing for Zach Randolph. I don’t want a second helping of Elton Brand either. Day-by-day, I’m leaning more towards the Bulls solving their big man/ post presence conundrum through this year’s draft. Specifically, I’m hoping the Bulls use some combination of Thomas, Nocioni, Noah, Gooden’s expiring contract & possibly next year’s 1st round pick to obtain another lottery pick this Thursday.

Prior to the actual lottery drawing on May 20th, I had my sights set on Brook Lopez out of Stanford. While not spectacular in the paint, he is fully capable of generating an offense within 7 feet of the hole. He averaged almost 20ppg. His rebounding needs improvement, however his shot blocking (2 bpg) and size (7’0’’, 260lbs.) make him a defensive presence capable of banging around with Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett & the other talented bigs in the Eastern Conference. Overall, he projects to be a better pro than Noah. There is no veteran presence that’s available this offseason that can come in a make a championship impact on this squad. With a rookie coach, #1 pick & loads of young talent, PAX’s main objective over the next couple of seasons should be to build a talented base so that the Free Agent Class of 2010 (Mainly LeBron & Wade) has a reason to believe they can win in Chicago. With multiple lottery teams looking to wheel & deal, gaining possession of a 2nd lottery pick is not as far-fetched as it sounds. If I were PAX, this is one deal that I would ponder over . . .

What say you, Blog-A-Bull Community? Agree/disagree? Your ideas are welcome & encouraged. Let’s hear some feedback . . .

Brook Lopez Draft Express Profile