The Chicago Bears once looked like a promising team this year after a 2-1 start to their season. Things have dramatically changed since then though, with Chicago losing four of its past five games and dropping to 3-5, tied for last place in the NFC North. Now, former Bears great Mike Ditka is voicing his displeasure, particularly with the struggling defense.
Mike Ditka calls out Bears’ ‘worst’ defense
The Bears’ recent struggles have led former head coach Mike Ditka to lay into Chicago’s poor defense.
Maddie Meyer
After the Bears' defense gave up 51 points to the New England Patriots in their most recent loss, Ditka took to his Chicago Sun-Times column to declare, "It's the worst defense I've seen in a long time." The former Bears coach spoke out against the antics of defensive end Lamarr Houston, who is out for the rest of the season after he tore his ACL during a sack celebration in the 51-23 loss. According to Ditka, "The only time you celebrate is after the game — if you win."
Even though Houston was one of the best players on that defense, it wasn’t exactly a unit that was performing great even with him in the lineup. The Chicago defense currently ranks 18th in the league in total defense and 29th in points allowed per game. Still, the offense has been under fire too -- earlier in the week, GM Phil Emery called Jay Cutler a “3-5 quarterback right now.”
But for the man who was in charge of the ‘85 Bears team that boasted arguably the greatest defense in the history of the NFL, most of Chicago’s problems can be put on one side of the ball:
“I think everybody deserves a little bit of the blame. But I think it starts with the fact that they are not a very good team on defense, and that creates a lot of problems for the offense. They consistently put the offense in a position where they have to score to win. Their defense hasn’t been able to stop anybody, that’s for sure.”
The Bears have a week off to try to right the ship before traveling to Lambeau Field for a Sunday night showdown with the rival Green Bay Packers in Week 10.
See More:
