MIAMI - You might have noticed, the Eagles aren't here. The biggest reason for that is their defense, which gave up 208 yards rushing in a playoff loss to New Orleans, after ranking 15th in points allowed this season, 23rd in first downs allowed and 26th in rushing yardage allowed.
The Chicago Bears are here. The biggest reason for that is their defense, which shut down the top-ranked New Orleans offense in the NFC Championship Game, after ranking third in points allowed this season, second in first downs allowed, and sixth in rushing yardage allowed.
Interestingly enough, the Bears' defensive coordinator is Ron Rivera, who coached the Eagles' linebackers from 1999 to 2003. In Philadelphia, Rivera worked within Jim Johnson's system, which is predicated on blitzing. The Bears play the "Tampa 2,'' Cover 2 style defense head coach Lovie Smith learned when he was the Bucs' linebackers coach under current Indianapolis head coach Tony Dungy, his friend and adversary in Sunday's Super Bowl XLI. (Which means, of course, that both teams will be playing that defense, though their differing personnel makes them less than identical.)
The Bears tend to blitz much less than the Eagles, Rivera was saying yesterday.
"We don't have to be as aggressive as Jim Johnson,'' Rivera said. "He's an aggressive-minded guy. He really believes in attacking, believes you can put the stress on your defensive backs. This situation, I don't want to say we want to protect our guys, but we don't want to put 'em in those types of stress situations. At the same time, we want to be able to play with vision on the quarterback.''
Rivera and several of his players said their defense counts on the front four to get pass-rush pressure. The linebackers, who seem to be more of a focal point than they are in Johnson's defense, provide run support but spend a lot of time in pass coverage. In particular, middle linebacker Brian Urlacher is expected to do more in pass coverage downfield than is called for from Eagles middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter.
Of course, all schemes rely to some extent on the talent of the personnel. The Bears know they are very lucky to have six-time Pro Bowler Urlacher patrolling the middle.
"Brian Urlacher, there's only one of him. I'm glad he's on our team,'' defensive end Alex Brown said. "He thrives in this defense. I think he would thrive in any defense, but he makes a lot of plays for us.''
Brown said the Tampa 2 suits Urlacher especially well because "he's fast, he can take away the middle of the field,'' and because Urlacher understands the scheme so well.
"I know every situation we're in, I know what coach Rivera's thinking at certain times, I think I know what call he wants to make,'' Urlacher said. "I know where all the guys are supposed to be.''
Though he said he feels the Bears' version is "a good, aggressive defense,'' particularly against the run, Urlacher said he hates the Cover 2 concept, "because I have to run down the middle of the field. I'm streaking 40 yards down the field while Lance [Briggs, the weakside linebacker] is making the tackle. I'm the guy who comes back and tells everybody 'good job,' after they make the tackle.''
"The way we use [linebackers] is different,'' Rivera said. "In Philly, you blitzed 'em a lot, you really did. They were attacking the line of scrimmage through blitzes. We ask our guys here to be downhill linebackers, in terms of attacking the run. Getting into the creases, getting upfield as much as possible, being disruptive. But in the passing situation, we ask 'em to play with vision on the quarterback, see the quarterback, be ready to break, get into those throwing lanes and make plays, whether they're actually intercepting the ball, knocking the ball down, or really just influencing the quarterback's throws.''
In at least one respect, the defense Rivera oversees now is like Johnson's. Both place strong emphasis on creating turnovers - Chicago was fourth in turnover margin this season, the Eagles were ninth. The Bears particularly work hard to create fumbles.
"Lovie's style is about getting to the ball,'' defensive end Adewale Ogunleye said. "When you get there, get there angrily, get the ball out. Those are the kinds of plays that turn the game around.''
Ogunleye said that while all coaches talk about creating fumbles, the Bears "take it to a level where it's almost annoying. Everything we do is about strippin' the ball. If the equipment guy is walking and he fumbles the ball, [Smith] would probably want somebody to run over and run it into the end zone."
"In practice, it's always about securing the tackle initially, and with the off hand, the free hand, you're trying to rip at the ball,'' Rivera said. "We also feel that if we've got one guy there, the other 10 should be coming. You get into the pile, you just rip it out. You're looking for an opportunity to just rip and strip.''
Rivera interviewed for several head-coaching jobs during the playoff bye-week window, but was off-limits for follow-up interviews while teams were filling vacancies over the past few weeks. With Dallas rumored to be close to rehiring Norv Turner, it seems Rivera might again get shut out, despite entering the postseason the past 2 years as one of the NFL's hottest commodities.
He is in a similar position to former Eagles colleague Brad Childress, now the Vikings' head coach, when Childress was Andy Reid's offensive coordinator - everyone knew it was Reid's offense. Identifying how much of the success belonged to Childress wasn't easy. In Chicago, Rivera's most visible role is in making the calls on the sideline, game strategy rather than the overall scheme, which, of course, is Smith's.
"It is Lovie's defense, but coach Rivera puts us in good situations,'' was how cornerback Charles Tillman broke it down.
"I think they work great together, they're always on the same page,'' said Brown.
Said Rivera: "I think a big part of it is the philosophy when it comes to play-calling. What I get to do, it's in terms of, 'This is what I want to use out of this package, this is what I want to call during the game.' But I'd be lyin' if I said I didn't sit down with [Smith] on Fridays and we discuss what I'm thinkin' and why I want to do certain things. He's been a great influence on me, the way I look at things and how I want to attack an opponent.''
Over the past few weeks, Rivera has polished and perfected his answer when asked about missing out on opportunities.
"We're here. We're at the Super Bowl, which I can live with,'' Rivera said. "I'm not the first coach this ever happened to. Charlie Weis went through it. Romeo Crennel went through it. These are great coaches that every year just kept getting passed over, that were on great teams. Eventually, they just got their shot. Eventually, I know I'll get my opportunity. Until then, the fact that we're winning and we're playing good defense, I'm more than happy to be a part of this.'' *