Editor’s note: Each week during the NFL season, former Bears defensive lineman Alex Brown shares his football wisdom with RedEye. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
The Bears (3-9) play at Detroit (8-4) at noon Sunday on CBS.
Alex Brown is a bit upset this week. As someone who played in the NFL for nine seasons, he rejects the notion that wins like the Bears’ victory over the woeful 49ers last week should be taken for granted.
“It’s pissed me off all week listening to people say, ‘It’s just San Francisco.’ It’s hard enough to win a game, period. So when you win one, you take that. You don’t discount it. No, no, no.”
What he’s not angry about in the least is the defense’s effort, especially the way Akiem Hicks performed in earning NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
RedEye’s conversation with Brown this week focused on what he likes to see out of defensive players, which of his teammates he didn’t want running with the ball and how one of his coaches handled fighting among his players.
On Akiem Hicks’ strengths and what makes defensive players special:
He gets great extension, he keeps the offensive linemen off his body and the guy makes plays. If you can go a whole game and you don’t get your name called over the loudspeaker, then you’ve got a problem. You’ve got to go out and do some things to affect the ballgame; you can’t just go out and “do your job,” so to speak. Within the scheme of the defense, of course, but when you’re one on one, you’ve got to beat that guy. When you have an instance where they have a brain fart and you come free, you’ve got to make that play. When the quarterback is getting pressured and the ball hits the safety right in the hands, you’ve got to make that play. Not only does he have to catch it, you’ve got to make that play as big as you can make it. You can find people to catch the ball. You can’t find a lot of people that can catch it and then take it back for a touchdown. That should be the goal.
On which of his teammates he’d prefer simply to create turnovers and leave it at that:
Wale [Adewale Ogunleye]. I didn’t want Wale running with the ball. He thought he was super athletic. Obviously he was a hell of a player, but I didn’t want the ball in his hands, that’s for sure. No chance. [Laughs.]
Tank Johnson is another one. Just fall on it, let the offense come out and they’ll go.
Anthony Adams—I did not want him him running with the ball at all. No way.
[Note: Ogunleye had 1 interception and 14 fumble recoveries in his career, and Johnson had one fumble recovery and Adams three.]
On dress codes, unwritten rules and how Lovie Smith would handle fighting among his players:
Everybody has a dress code. They want you to be presentable and look like a team when you’re headed to the game. Now, coming back from the game, it was always a little different. Sometimes you could wear the suit without the tie, or you could wear some type of Bear gear. When you have those rules in place, you just follow those rules. It ain’t that big a deal.
One of Lovie’s unwritten rules was you fight him like your brother. He didn’t condone fighting, but he understood in a way that inevitably it’s going to happen, and when it does, just make sure you fight him like you fight your brother. Don’t pick up a damn helmet and hit him upside the head with it; you wouldn’t do your brother like that. … That was something that he definitely said a lot. I don’t want you to fight, but if you do, make sure you fight him like your brother.
On how much the Bears would miss defensive coordinator Vic Fangio if he’s not with the team next year.
I think the defense is moving in the right direction even with all the injuries. They’ve been competitive in every game. You got guys that are moving in and out of the starting lineup all the time, the secondary’s beat up. Now the linebackers are beat up. It’s been a roller coaster ride for the most part all year with the defense, but they’ve played hard. They’ve made plays at times that could help win the game. If he leaves, then you’d better have somebody in mind that can run a 3-4 defense, and I don’t think that’s easy. It would hurt to lose him, but I do understand that this is a business and people move on.
On the Bears’ chances to beat Detroit on Sunday, completing a season sweep.
[Lions quarterback Matthew] Stafford is playing really well right now, but they still can’t run the ball. We got guys that can get to the quarterback. I think they have a good chance to go up there and win that game. Yeah, we’re hurting at linebacker, but they don’t run it, so that doesn’t really play a part. If we run the ball efficiently, [the Bears can win]. Not necessarily Jordan Howard going for three touchdowns again, but if he does do that, we’ve got a really good chance, for sure.
Catch Alex Brown before and after every Bears game exclusively on CSN Chicago’s “Bears Pregame Live” and “Bears Postgame Live.”
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