Can most of us agree this position is our main weakness on defense. I have a suggestion. Why not put Perry and Neal at ILB. Both are bigger and played D line in College. I believe could immensely help our run D. Why not give it a try. It really cant get no worse than it already is. Lets get our 4 best LBs out there at the same time and see what happens.
Inside Linebackers
- Thread starter bubba
- Start date
thisisnate
Cheesehead
Because it's the middle of the season and we're in contention.
and neither can cover a RB or TE.
Shawnsta3
Cheesehead
Bubba had the right idea, just wrong player(s).
SoonerPack
Cheesehead
I still can't believe I'm watching Claymaker at ILB! It's made a big deference already and my hat is off to Dom for thinking outside the box here. We have other guys that can play opposite Pep and this allows us to have a HUUUUUGE, much needed, must have playmaking presence in the middle. Damn I love this move! Can I get an amen?!
PS I really hope Cutler plays till he's 50! Buahahaha...
PS I really hope Cutler plays till he's 50! Buahahaha...
GoPGo
Cheesehead
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2013
- Messages
- 1,862
- Reaction score
- 150
I mentioned the idea of putting him inside months ago along with a couple others on here and the idea was generally met with ridicule. My thinking though was that it could prolong Matthews' career by reducing hamstring pulls. Muscles are usually pulled (strained) due to a sudden burst of explosive power that stretches them faster than they can handle. He wouldn't be doing near as much of that playing inside instead of having to beat his man off the line every single play. I want to see more of it going forward. I'd like to see about a 70/30 split between inside and outside for him, much like tonight.
ExpatPacker
Cheesehead
Matthews at ILB, Peppers and Neal/Perry at OLB seems like a GREAT idea and it sure worked tonight.
searmh
Cheesehead
defence was brilliant last night. Have to think stopping the run really helped us. Chicago couldnt get anything going either through the air or on the ground. Have to give credit to capers making a great call with matthews and clay himself taking on the role so well last night....was this the missing peice of the puzzle???? to soon to call but a great start
Oshkoshpackfan
YUT !!!
Well..... I cant say clay didnt earn his pay last night.
Time will tell if he can keep up this type of play at ILB, he played well but it was against a sub par QB in cutler. I am hoping clay can learn and adjust quickly because this was hardly a trial by fire since he was facing cutler. I want to see his disrupt and destroy a top level QB. To bad we didnt do this before the bye week.
Time will tell if he can keep up this type of play at ILB, he played well but it was against a sub par QB in cutler. I am hoping clay can learn and adjust quickly because this was hardly a trial by fire since he was facing cutler. I want to see his disrupt and destroy a top level QB. To bad we didnt do this before the bye week.
D
Deleted member 6794
Guest
I was surprised by the move but if this works vs. good offenses as well this might help us win some games vs. playoff teams.
H
HardRightEdge
Guest
Hawk seems to be getting slower by the week so having Matthews in the middle certainly helps in coverage and pursuit. Capers letting him freelance in the box seemed to energize him; he showed some of the old special sauce when moving back to the edge against Bushrod; that head fake inside/burst outside sack was a work of art.
That said, I think it's premature to call his move inside a "cure". Once the surprise and novelty wear off, some tape of this stuff accumulates, and the opponent has a QB who has not lost his team, the results are not likely to be so impressive.
Whether we should call Matthews' run defense from the middle a series of run blitzes by design or impatience from inexperience into the wrong gap, more focused and polished offenses can exploit that. The fact the Bears had to play aerial catch-up so early also helped cover some sins in Matthews run defense.
Changing position does not recreate the player. Matthews strength in the run game has always been from the backside and in pursuit. Nobody would confuse him with a stout presence at the point of attack, working off blocks into a hole. I don't believe the days of giving up 150 yds. between the tackles are quite over. He no doubt shores up the pass D in the short zones when he's not edge rushing; that's clearly a double edge sword. Having him in the middle is a good look when the Packers are front running.
One thing I saw that really impressed me that seemed to get lost in all the pyrotechnics was a play where Matthews signaled Hawk to move right; the Bears ran a swing pass to that side. He's not just a pretty face out there.
We'll have to see where this goes, but it might have been a move to contain Forte with pursuit to the edges and in the pass game as much as anything else. In any case, Capers made a good move for this game and found a new arrow in his quiver for certain match ups and situations.
That said, I think it's premature to call his move inside a "cure". Once the surprise and novelty wear off, some tape of this stuff accumulates, and the opponent has a QB who has not lost his team, the results are not likely to be so impressive.
Whether we should call Matthews' run defense from the middle a series of run blitzes by design or impatience from inexperience into the wrong gap, more focused and polished offenses can exploit that. The fact the Bears had to play aerial catch-up so early also helped cover some sins in Matthews run defense.
Changing position does not recreate the player. Matthews strength in the run game has always been from the backside and in pursuit. Nobody would confuse him with a stout presence at the point of attack, working off blocks into a hole. I don't believe the days of giving up 150 yds. between the tackles are quite over. He no doubt shores up the pass D in the short zones when he's not edge rushing; that's clearly a double edge sword. Having him in the middle is a good look when the Packers are front running.
One thing I saw that really impressed me that seemed to get lost in all the pyrotechnics was a play where Matthews signaled Hawk to move right; the Bears ran a swing pass to that side. He's not just a pretty face out there.
We'll have to see where this goes, but it might have been a move to contain Forte with pursuit to the edges and in the pass game as much as anything else. In any case, Capers made a good move for this game and found a new arrow in his quiver for certain match ups and situations.
Last edited by a moderator:
SoonerPack
Cheesehead
Understandable but we only get a handful of games every year so I don't care if we are playing the Sisters of the Poor as long as we are putting on a clinic I just sit back and enjoy! I love that we have Philly coming up next. Very difficult O to prepare for a super aggressive D. This is a possible PO matchup so hopefully we can play at near the same level and really start to build so mo. GPG!
realcaliforniacheese
A-Rods Boss
No, our biggest weakness is NT.
Forget Favre
Cheesehead
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2009
- Messages
- 9,115
- Reaction score
- 1,807
OK, that made me laugh!
Would our team really be that mean?
brandon2348
GO PACK GO!
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2012
- Messages
- 5,342
- Reaction score
- 339
Some people keep saying "when we play a really good offense" and I don't get it. I know the Bears have there Cutler issues but aren't they one of the top offenses in the NFL on paper? I mean they have elite receivers, a monster TE, a pro bowl running back, a decent OL, and a franchise QB. Cutler threw picks but I gotta give our guys some of the credit for making him look bad and our front seven still had to fill gaps and make tackles.
The Bears have one of the most talented offense's in the league. I agree the D needs to be more consistent week to week and hopefully moving Clay inside on early downs is a fix for this season on a Super Bowl run. I had heard talk of Clay moving inside earlier but I think it was one of those things that Clay was maybe a little ambivalent about. I gotta say he looked like he was fully willing and capable of playing inside Sunday night. If he can continue to play with that kind of energy and "play making' from the inside then watch out. Like HRE mentioned I think the key for this team is to get out front early with a lead.
I really think this next game against Philly will tell a lot. I can't wait.
The Bears have one of the most talented offense's in the league. I agree the D needs to be more consistent week to week and hopefully moving Clay inside on early downs is a fix for this season on a Super Bowl run. I had heard talk of Clay moving inside earlier but I think it was one of those things that Clay was maybe a little ambivalent about. I gotta say he looked like he was fully willing and capable of playing inside Sunday night. If he can continue to play with that kind of energy and "play making' from the inside then watch out. Like HRE mentioned I think the key for this team is to get out front early with a lead.
I really think this next game against Philly will tell a lot. I can't wait.
D
Deleted member 6794
Guest
While the Bears have one of the best offenses in the league on paper they don´t show that on the field and that´s the only thing that actually matters. Their offense ranks 18th in yards and 22nd in points.
brandon2348
GO PACK GO!
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2012
- Messages
- 5,342
- Reaction score
- 339
Okay so if you go by 18th and 22nd that's still a middle tier offense with potential to do more. I guess I had that game being a little more close on Sunday then a lot of people on here did and expected to Bears to be able to put up some more points. The Bears offense is far from being called a joke so I give some credit to our defense.
On the field? Yeah the Bears offense ran all over us "on the field" in our first meeting so I saw a great improvement.
We shut down a legitimate offense and Capers and D deserve some credit.
El Guapo
Cheesehead
An overlooked post, but this is correct. Our ILB position is slightly below adequate but NT is terrible unless Guion is playing the Vikings. ILB's also look better when a good NT is taking up the blocks and making the occasional play.
D
Deleted member 6794
Guest
This works vice versa as well as a NT looks way better with good ILBs. Before Capers moved Matthews inside the position was clearly the worst on the roster IMO.
D
Deleted member 6794
Guest
The Packers defense has always been able to stop the Bears and Cutler and Capers. They haven't been productive vs. other good offenses over the past few years though. While I'm cautiously optimistic after seeing Matthews move to ILB on Sunday I want to see how that works vs. the Eagles and Patriots before I get too excited.
rodell330
Cheesehead
Our ilb play has been so bad I forgot about the NT haha. I think they bring Raji back but I think TT looks for one early.
brandon2348
GO PACK GO!
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2012
- Messages
- 5,342
- Reaction score
- 339
Yeah. These upcoming weeks are huge.
brandon2348
GO PACK GO!
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2012
- Messages
- 5,342
- Reaction score
- 339
Go back and watch Hawk trying to get to the edge. It doesn't matter who is playing NT for us in that situation but an upgrade at the position would be nice.
Similar threads
Staff online
-
Poppa San* Team Owner *
