Washington on Bears pass rush, previews matchup with Texans |
CHICAGO—Defensive coordinator Eric Washington has to be proud of how his defense performed in the Chicago Bears' 24- 17 season-opening victory against the Tennessee Titans. One promising aspect for Chicago that will be important going into their next game against the Houston Texans this Sunday (7:20 p.m. / NBC) is the success of the Bears’ pass rush.
Washington attributed this to the energy the defense brings, as well as the success of the secondary. “Energy and coordination and the coverage doing an exceptional job of forcing the quarterback to hold the football. Those things have to work in concert for the rush to get home, but it starts with that urgency, the energy,” Washington said. “(Defensive line coach) Travis (Smith) did an excellent job of managing the rotation so that we had the players, we had the right players, fresh and explosive at the right time.” One player who stepped up for the Bears was defensive end Darrell Taylor, who has been a member of the Chicago Bears for less than a month after getting traded to Chicago near the end of August. In his Bears debut, he was third on the team in tackles with eight, second in solo tackles with seven, and second in sacks with two. Washington has been impressed by Taylor's immediate impact on the team. “To come in the way that Darrell did without the benefit of the offseason and to, first of all, learn our defensive system and not only the specifics of scheme but just the way that we do things here. It says a lot about him and his professionalism. He’s got length and quickness,” Washington said. “He has all of the requisite tools that you need to be a really dynamic one-on-one pass rusher, but you have to do that in concert with the other three guys or the other four guys if we’re adding (a) person. So, just a lot of credit to him and Brian Bing for really helping to accelerate his growth and knowledge of what we’re doing defensively.” Washington’s defense faces a new challenge in the Texans. Houston dominated its season opener. The team had the ball for 40 minutes, 417 total yards, and was three for three in the red zones. It played complementary football in the run and passing games. Chicago’s defense recognizes the challenge of facing quarterback C.J. Stroud, running back Joe Mixon, and a trio of elite receivers: Tank Dell, Nico Collins, and Stefon Diggs. “The quarterback is dynamic. The offensive line has done a nice job of creating lanes for their runner, Joe Mixon. They’ve got a receiving core that can really produce explosive plays, and we’ll have our hands full in terms of keeping this offense in front of us and doing everything that we can to address the way that they try to attack you, especially with the explosive plays,” Washington said. “Joe Mixon has done a really nice job of protecting the football, and for a defense that has aspirations of taking the football away, that’s going to be a tremendous challenge for us, and we’re going to need a special effort to get that done. So, good challenge for us, good opportunity for us to grow and to continue to make progress against a really, really good offense and a dynamic young quarterback.” Collins was Houston’s leading receiver in their opener with six receptions for 117 yards; Diggs recorded both receiving touchdowns for the Texans. Eight total players caught a pass in their victory against the Indianapolis Colts. So, they have a lot of dynamic players, and Collins is certainly not a player to overlook. “Not only the speed, the catch radius. Your quarterback does not have to be perfect and 100 percent accurate for him to make a play on the football, and what gets lost in the whole thing is his ability to walk on the perimeter,” Washington said. “Very physical blocker, all of the receivers are, and so, we’re going to have to do a really good job of being physical and disconnecting from blocks, especially against perimeter runs. But, he’s the full, total package.”
