Bears Not The Tampa Two Team Some Think They Are

The Bears are traditionally thought of as a Tampa Two defense. But, over the last few seasons they've moved away from that.

"I think it's a bit of a misnomer to call Chicago a primarily Tampa Two [defense]," Brian Billick said on Thursday's Boers and Bernstein Show. "They'll be the first ones to tell you that they're not. They're not in a Tampa Two the majority of the time. They're primarily in [cover] three, they bring the safety down, they'll play their share of man."

It's the switching from zone coverage to man-to-man coverage that has given the Bears' defense problems in this season.

The Bears need to be careful when they flip-flop between coverages, an elite quarterback can capitalize on defensive mistakes and confusion.

"Against [a player like] Tom Brady," Billick said. "You sit in zone too much and he'll cut you up like a surgeon. You have to change it up, even though there's a down side to it...But you have to change it up. If you sit in a zone, [elite quarterbacks] are going to take your spleen out without you even knowing it."