Patchwork ‘ D’ comes up big
With Sharpton calling the shots at MLB, Tucker’s sub- filled unit puts a blanket over Falcons
ATLANTA— It didn’t look easy, but cornerback Charles Tillman, with a bulky, signature- filled cast on his right arm, loudly and proudly managed to turn attention to the corner of the Bears’ locker room where the linebackers sat.
“Here’s your unsung hero,” Tillman declared.
That would be middle linebacker Darryl Sharpton. The veteran can call his bruised forehead the mark of victory after he handled the defensive calls in place of Lance Briggs and excelled in place of starter D. J. Williams during the Bears’ 27- 13 victory against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
“My number was called,” Sharpton said. “I just listened to the coaches, gave it my best effort and did everything I could do to lead this team.”
Those doubting defensive coordinator Mel Tucker’s tactics should perhaps back off and wait until the next defensive meltdown because what happened at the Georgia Dome deserves rightful praise.
The Bears were without their top four linebackers and managed to hold an offense that was averaging more than 30 points when they woke up Sunday to a mere 13 points— including three in the first half.
The Falcons ran for only 42 yards, and quarterback Matt Ryan, whom Bears coach Marc Trestman described as brilliant last week, was hardly that en route to a 73.1 passer rating.
It was an impressive performance in every regard.
“Our entire defense and coaching staff deserves a lot of credit,” Trestman said.
The Bears’ starting linebackers against the Falcons— Sharpton, Khaseem Greene and Christian Jones— all emphatically commended the work of linebackers coach Reggie Herring.
That’s because Herring’s work was quite the feat.
Sharpton, who played for Herring for three years with the Houston Texans, was in Washington, rehabbing after a high ankle sprain a month ago and had just signed with the Bears on Sept. 25.
“I thank him tremendously,” said Sharpton, who had five tackles, a quarterback hit and a pass breakup.
Jones is an undrafted linebacker from Florida State who signed with the Bears because his father played with Herring years ago with the Seminoles. He played on the strong side and came out in nickel situations.
“We’ve been preparing for situations like this since rookie minicamp, since OTAs,” Jones said.
Greene, a fourth- round pick last year, was inactive the first two weeks, but led the Bears in tackles with eight against the Falcons.
“He was just telling us to have fun, play fast, be calm, relax, set the front, line up, get your feet in the ground and play football,” Greene said.
And they did it all well enough to best one of the better offenses in the NFL.
“They came in and it was like business as usual,” defensive end Jared Allen said.
Overall, it was the second strong performance for a defense that’s proving to be a far cry from the war- torn, bottom- dwelling unit from last season.
The Bears’ defense held the Falcons to a season- best 287 net yards, and for the third consecutive week, it held their opponent to less than 100 rushing yards.
The highly compensated defensive line also made their money’s worth of plays, sacking Ryan four times. New nickel back Demontre Hurst had a game- sealing interception in the final minutes.
“It was a great team effort,” Sharpton said. “We just came together as a defense and were able to get a victory.”
But it was the fruitful play of the backup linebackers on the road that shows this defense might be on the right path.
“We just went out there and played,” Greene said. “We know that we can’t control nothing but what we do, and that’s what we did. We controlled and played with maximum effort.”