How Do the 2018 Bears Compare to Previous Playoff Teams?

[Rory Sparrow]

Briggs and Urlacher would be pitted against Smith and Trevathan. Rose-colored glasses off, those two groups were very comparable in those respective years

LOL. Rose-colored glasses. Got it.

 

[Porkchop]

LOL. Rose-colored glasses. Got it.

Clearly you didn't if that's all you got from it.

If you are telling me that Briggs/Urlacher in 2010 were incomparably better than Smith and Trevathan in 2018, then take off the glasses and look at the tape, look at the statlines.

Urlacher and Briggs combined for 214 tackles, 21 TFLs, 6 sacks, 17 Passes defended and 3 picks.

Smith and Trevathan combined for 223 tackles, 16 TFLs, 7 sacks, 11 passes defended and 3 picks.

Very comparable.

 

[jive]

I think the better comparison is to the 2006 D. The 2010 D had holes in it, and they were aging. The 2006 was in it's prime like this current team is heading towards.

In terms of D line, it's pretty even. Khalil Mack is head and shoulders better than Brown or Ogunleye, but Tommie Harris was a freak that year. Before injury, he was a matchup nightmare like Mack. I think Harris was more gifted than Hicks or Goldman, and Ogun and Brown were more productive than RRH or Nichols. Tank wasn't bad that year, but I'd have to give Goldman the edge.

Linebackers would be 2006. Roquan was good and all, but Urlacher was 6' 6" and could run as fast as a WR. He was a prototype mike in the Cover 2. Briggs was a sure tackler and a near perfect will in that system, and I have to give the edge to him over Trevathan. Hillenmeyer was under-rated, but it's hard to compare him to Floyd because their roles are different. Floyd is more athletically gifted, but Hilly was a guy somehow managed to be around the ball.

Secondary would be 2018. I really shouldn't put Mike Brown as safety since he was injured early in the season. It wound up being a weak point for the team actually since Chris Harris hadn't quite developed yet. Manning had all the traits to be a top notch safety, but it never fully materialized on the field. Jackson was lights out in 2018 and was integral in it's dominance. Amos was solid, and didn't make the mistakes that Manning did. Tillman was good and he was clutch, so he gets the nod over Fuller. Vasher took a drop from 2005, but played solid. I would say 2006 Vasher was even with 2018 Amukamara. I give the edge to 2018 because of the safeties.

As far as depth, it's 2018 and 2019 could surpass depending on how Nichols and Tolliver play out.
2006 has Mark Anderson coming off the bench and sacking QBs left and right and Ricky Manning with a good year. Ian Scott and Alphonso Boone were productive. But not much depth in DBs or LBs. Todd Johnson and Cameron Worrell were liabilities. As far as 2018, Nichols really flashed potential. I think he could wind up being a key rotational player, if not the starter. Aaron Lynch and Kwiatkoski have shown they can produce, and it doesn't take much to be an improvement over Jamar Williams and Leon Joe. As far as DBs, Callahan had a good year and Bush is not as much a liability as Johnson. Tolliver could be a steal as he has good size and flashed some skills.

 

[Rory Sparrow]

Clearly you didn't if that's all you got from it.

If you are telling me that Briggs/Urlacher in 2010 were incomparably better than Smith and Trevathan in 2018, then take off the glasses and look at the tape, look at the statlines.

Urlacher and Briggs combined for 214 tackles, 21 TFLs, 6 sacks, 17 Passes defended and 3 picks.

Smith and Trevathan combined for 223 tackles, 16 TFLs, 7 sacks, 11 passes defended and 3 picks.

Very comparable.

Briggs/Urlacher much better all-around and much smarter players. They could do anything. Smith could be confused in pass coverage. Trevathan was a major liability if caught in man-to-man. They are both good LBs, but neither one of them is anywhere near Briggs, much less Urlacher. I don't understand how its comparable when both the 2010 guys are miles better than both the 2018 guys.