Q: Does the Bears defense remind you of any other teams?
CP:
They do a little bit of a number of things. They play a lot like Tampa Bay does. They have the same style with the same coach. Coach Smith was there in Tampa. It's a well-disciplined defense. You're not going to get a whole bunch of big plays on them. Guys are in the right spots, they're covering their man and they mix it up. They bring pressures and do a little bit of everything. Defensively, it's a huge challenge for us. We've got to be able to run the ball on these guys and get them out that Cover 2 and then try to throw it on them.
Q: Is discipline why the Bears defense has come up with so many turnovers?
CP:
They're very disciplined. They have a great front four and they get a lot of pressure on the quarterback. Everyone knows about Brian Urlacher, and they bring him a lot in a lot of pressures. Lance Briggs, their weakside linebacker, is playing great for them... Mike Brown is back there making plays. He's all over the place. It seems like every time he touches the ball it turns into six points. They have some playmakers in the secondary and some playmakers up front to get to the quarterback.
Q: What does the 7 turnover margin mean for this team?
CP:
That's why we're 2-0 right now. We get the ball and have great field position. Defensively, we've gotten a couple of stops and turnovers in the red zone and in turn we've gotten the ball in our own red zone off turnovers. It's created tons of points and taken points away from teams. We need to keep doing that. It's going to be tough for us because we've got some amazing numbers. We've got one guy with three picks and three guys with a pick in one game. That's a huge bonus for us offensively and defensively.
Q: How hard do you think it is for opposing defenses to plan for you guys?
CP:
It's tough. We do a good job of spreading the ball around and do a good job in the running game. With teams that are one-dimensional, that have just one guy they throw it to consistently, it's a little easier to slow down. But with guys like T.J. turning it on, guys like Kevin Walter, Chris Henry and Chris Perry in the backfield, there are a lot of guys touching the ball, so there are a lot of guys you've got to cover down. Then you have to worry about Rudi Johnson and the run game. We've been fortunate because things have been going well for our offense, everybody has gotten off to a fast start and gotten their hands on the ball and made some plays. It makes it tough to key on one certain guy.
Q: Marvin wants to distance players from the media hoopla. How tough is it to be distanced?
CP:
We're here so long, we're not out in the public that much. Marvin keeps us in here all day, so when we get out, people are home. We're not getting a real or true sense of that. We love that the crowd is behind us, that the city is behind us and that there's a lot of electricity in the city right now. That's great. But people also realize it's only two games. I don't think people have written us as going to the Super Bowl. We've played well early, but we all know in this locker room that 2-0 doesn't mean much.
You can get off to a great start and slow down, drop some games here and there, so he's just keeping the pressure on us to keep working hard, do what we've been doing week in, week out to get 2-0. That will lead to other things down the road. He's done a great job of letting guys know that you can't believe and read everything that's out there. There's a lot of stuff that will fill up your head and get your mind off track of what's important, and that's the Bears right now. I think guys have taken what he's said to heart and not really worried about the extra stuff that's gone on outside the stadium.
Q: Has he stepped up that pressure this week?
CP:
He's stepped it up and he'll step it up with every win. He likes to keep us humble and that's where we need to stay and where we need to be.
Q: What's his motivation this week?
CP:
Just worry about the Bears, don't worry about 3-0, don't worry about records or anything else. Just worry about getting the Bears taken care of.
Q: Explain what the Cover 2 defense is ...
CP:
It's a two-deep coverage where they have five guys underneath to cover that part of the field. It's normally a coverage that's susceptible to the run. You want to run the ball into it. It's a simple coverage that when played well with the right guys in the right spots like Tampa did a couple of years ago it's tough to beat.
Q: What do you see in T.J. Houshmanzadeh this year?
CP:
The same thing as last year. He just makes plays. The two touchdowns he had were him making a great play on both of them. He made great moves after he had the ball in his hands. He's a dependable guy. He's always in the right spot, he's running the right route, he understands the hots, running the right hot breaks and he does a great job in the run game blocking for the backs. He's a dependable, solid guy that's always in the right place and doesn't make mistakes.
Q: What's been the biggest difference for you this season? Dropping weight at all factor in?
CP:
I really don't feel the whole weight thing, I just think it's experience. The more times I get to play, the more and more comfortable I get....
Q: Chad gets attention for being a free spirit, but that can overshadow how good he's become. Talk about his development.
CP:
He's develops every day because of his work ethic. There's a lot of guys in the league that are fast and are good players but they don't work at it and Chad truly works at his game, physically and mentally. He watches film, he understands the game and he's always trying to run a better route, trying to get quicker off of the ball, trying to get a better release. The main thing that separates him from the rest of the group is dedication to the game, his work ethic.
