As you no doubt have heard, Starting Linebacker D.J. Williams is out for season. And that means the man brought in to specifically replace Brian Urlacher is himself a non-entity for 2013.
Jon Bostic is the (I can’t believe I’m actually typing this horrible shop-worn cliche but here I go) “next man in,” or “next man up” for the Bears defense.
Sorry about that. Since I’m done dumbing you down with that disgusting piece of trite coachspeak, let’s explore what the Bears can be on defense minus D.J. Williams.
The front seven went from having some significant issues with health and depth to now having severe issues of health and depth. Without a pass rush, it doesn’t matter what the secondary does back there. And yes, the Bears really don’t have a pass rush. That wasn’t exactly the specialty of D.J. Williams, but again his loss hurts the run D tremendously too.
Brandon Jacobs was out on the street a couple weeks ago, and he carved through the Bears defense, even with D.J. Williams like the man of a few years ago, not missing a beat. Had Eli Manning not horribly underthrown that sideline pattern to his receiver inside 4-5 minutes to go in the game last night, perhaps the New York Giants tie it up in the final minutes. Which just further validates my point about how many issues the Bears have on D.
If Eli Manning came that close to beating them, what does Aaron Rodgers due in a couple weeks?
The Bears next game is the 20th versus Washington. Then it’s Brigham Young East or BYE, and then the Green Bay Packers. Hopefully, Peanut Tillman gets healthy in this time, because Zack Bowman will not be able to do much against the Pack passing attack.
Again the DBs need help up front, and they’re just not getting it. Julius Peppers AGAIN registered a big goose egg in the stat sheet. The Bears are severely depleted at the three technique too, with both Henry Melton and his back up Nate Collins out for the year with the same injury. So what do they do now?
Hope Bostic grows up in a hurry. He was everyone’s preseason media darling; mostly due to his highlight reel hits. And he does stand out as a fun guy to watch because he is such a big hitter. But that’s all Jon Bostic is now. He’s a substantial step down from D.J. Williams.
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An analyst for 95.7 The Fan and 1620 The Zone, he also writes for Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks), Facebook, and RSS