Bears' aim: Bring pressure to cool Saints' Drew Brees
By Vaughn McClure | Tribune reporter
10:39 PM CST, December 8, 2008
Statistics show the New Orleans Saints rushed for a season-high 184 yards in a 29-25 win Sunday over Atlanta, but Lovie Smith isn't completely sold on the numbers.
"I don't think they get off the bus running the ball," the Bears coach said. "They get off the bus throwing the ball."
Drew Brees brings the NFL's top passing offense to Soldier Field on Thursday night, an offense good for 310.2 passing yards per game. Brees has passed for 674 yards and five touchdowns in his last two outings against the Bears, including the 2006 NFC championship game. And both were cold-weather games at Soldier Field.
"He's been excellent since he got to New Orleans," Bears end Alex Brown said. "I thought he was good in San Diego, but I think he's taken another step. He's been at that level, playing at a high, high level."
Brown and the rest of the defensive line will have to do the same. Pressure, or lack thereof, has been a story line for the Bears throughout this up-and-down season.
For as good as the line looked against the Jaguars on Sunday—it harassed quarterback David Garrard with three sacks and countless tipped balls—the Bears remain infamous for going sackless against Tampa Bay despite Brian Griese's 67 pass attempts.
Now in steps the most pass-happy team of the NFC South. Brees has been sacked just 10 times in 503 pass attempts. The good thing is, the Bears sacked Brees six times and picked him off three times in the last two meetings, both Bears wins.
"Yeah, we're going to need to put pressure on him," Brown said. "He's going to make some plays.
"But we want to win. To win, we're going to have to get pressure on him. We're going to have to stop the run, first. Then we got to get pressure on him because they're going to throw it."
The electric Reggie Bush is back from a knee injury, giving the Saints a solid two-back tandem of Bush and emerging Illinois product Pierre Thomas. But no matter what the Saints accomplish on the ground, the Bears need to bring intense pressure to limit what Brees accomplishes through the air.
Brown and fellow starting defensive end Adewale Ogunleye each have five sacks. Reserve Mark Anderson notched a sack against the Jaguars, his first full sack since September of last season.
Israel Idonije received a game ball for the way he harassed the Jaguars. And Tommie Harris (five sacks), when healthy, is capable of putting just as much pressure on a quarterback as any edge rusher, although he's battling injuries.
"It's always a key when you play against an offense that can move the ball like that," Smith said of his front four. "You need to get pressure. ... We have done that in the past [against the Saints]. Hopefully, we can do it again."
vxmcclure@tribune.com
