The Sad Truth About The Bears' Secondary

As a Bears fan who has watched the defense struggle this year, I think the time has come for the Bears to face some unpleasant but unavoidable truths about the secondary.

Sure, we can point fingers at Bob Babich and Lovie Smith for their conservative fourth quarter play calling. We can even complain about the defensive line not applying pressure. We can blame the referees, or whoever was working the clock in Atlanta, or Peanut Tillman for losing his temper in overtime of Week 3. But at the end of the day, it is up to the players to win games between the whistles, and right now, the Bears' pass defense ranks 29th in the league, and the one (healthy) player in the secondary who has not performed well all season has been veteran safety Mike Brown.

Let me first say that I am one of Mike Brown's biggest fans. For years he was a force to be reckoned with in the Bears secondary and all of his teammates refer to him as the heart and emotional leader of the defense. Fans who watched him play in that magical 2001 season still get misty-eyed thinking about it.

In only his second year in the league, he won back-to-back games in overtime with interceptions returned for touchdowns, and he forced a late fumble that essentially lifted the Bears over Detroit. When some of us think of Mike Brown, we think of his devastating hits and clutch plays he had for us in the 2005 and 2006 season before being injured both years, and we think about how much the secondary suffered at the hands of Steve Smith and Reggie Wayne when he was sidelined.

We also think about his only game last season against San Diego. For the first three quarters, Brown played like a man possessed: he had an interception, a fumble recovery and several big hits on third down situations. He was poised to make another huge play in the backfield when he was horse-collared by San Diego fullback Lorenzo Neal, tearing his ACL on the play. I will never forget that play because it shaped the outlook for the entire 2007 season, and changed Mike Brown's career forever.

One year later Brown is back, but his level of play has faltered. Maybe it was just one injury too many for Brown. Maybe he is just unlucky and his no-holds-barred playing style just makes him highly prone to injury. But for whatever reason, listening to Mike Brown's fans sing his praises has begun to sound more and more like a redundant funeral eulogy.

As one of my favorite Bears players, it hurts me to say that perhaps the time has come for the Bears to part ways with Brown.Since this season has begun, he has been nearly invisible and has not come up with many big plays or hits. His counterpart, second year safety Kevin Payne has had all of the big plays for the Bears secondary. Payne took over Brown's old position of free safety, leaving Brown to play strong safety. In the Bears' cover 2 defense, both safeties get plenty of opportunities to make plays up field.

Brown's lack of production has been startling for observant Bears fans, but the poor play of the secondary has received attention accross the league. Watching mediocre quarterbacks pick apart the Bears' defense week after week has been hard to watch. But watching Brown falter has been an even harder pill to swallow.

Brown's leadership qualities make him a good role model for younger players, and I think he is worth keeping around, but that doesn't mean other players shouldn't be given reps at his position. I think that the success of the younger players in the Bears secondary against the Vikings showed us all that the Bears have the talent to perform at a high level, but in order for them to shine, the defense must forgo certain aspects of what might have been considered their defining qualities in seasons past.

It is a shame to say that Mike Brown may be one of them, and it hurts to think that his best contribution to this team's success in the future might be deciding to step down following this season. The fact of the matter is that as long as he is healthy, he will start, simply because of his experience and leadership qualities, as well as how important he seems to be to his teammates. But I have to wonder if the Bears players and coaches are all turning a blind eye to his missed opportunities and missed tackles this season (just as many of his fans have).

Brown is not the Bears' only problem, and if he was just a rookie or some player with no experience then maybe we wouldn't be disappointed in his performance because we wouldn't expect much. But the fact of the matter is he isn't a rookie or a scout team player bumped up to the active roster. He's Mike Brown, and there can be no arguing that he has never played this poorly, and that should be cause for serious alarm. Even for his biggest fans.