Lanschaften » McDaniels and defensive coordinator

LAKE FOREST http://www.tampabaybuccaneersteamonline.com/mike-edwards-jersey , Ill. (AP) — Defensive end Akiem Hicks refers to the Chicago Bears‘ defense as dominant.Resilient might be a more appropriate description.The NFC North champion Bears (11-4) keep bouncing back from difficult situations to bring the heat on defense, and are within sight of achieving one major goal they set before the season as they head to Minnesota for Sunday’s regular-season finale with the Vikings (8-6-1).“Dominant, that’s it,” Hicks said. “We are aggressive. We like to hit.“All the stuff that I was telling (media) before the season started, we’re everything that we said we were. And hopefully we can get to another level for these playoffs.”It hasn’t been a solid, steady rise for coordinator Vic Fangio’s defense, yet they rank fourth in the league and are No. 1 at taking away the ball with 36 turnovers forced.Prior to this season, Hicks and many Bears spoke openly about trying to get into the top five in overall league rankings. Whether it’s pass-rush pressure from Khalil Mack or a secondary that plays tight coverage, the defense is making it difficult for offenses at the right time.“It’s just that we’ve continued to play better, we’ve avoided the self-inflicted bad plays that we had in the Giant game, which contributed to our failings in that game,” Fangio said.The Bears’ defense struggled and gave up 23 of the Giants’ 30 points Dec. 2 in a 30-27 overtime defeat. Since then, they have allowed a touchdown only once: a 9-yard run around end against Green Bay. They beat the Rams 15-6, the Packers 24-17 and, last week, the 49ers 14-9.They bounced back in a similar way earlier this year after allowing more than 30 points in back-to-back losses to Miami and New England.“When we have a team like that, we’re scary to other teams,” linebacker Danny Trevathan said. “We haven’t even played our best ball, but it’s getting there.”Trevathan has taken to calling this a classic bend-but-don’t break defense because the Bears can get into trouble, then come up with a big turnover like his interception in the red zone to help beat the 49ers.“It looks a little gloomy out there, but we never stumble over ourselves, we never think twice http://www.tampabaybuccaneersteamonline.com/matt-gay-jersey ,” Trevathan said.If there was a time this season for the Bears to take a step back on defense, this could have been it. They lost safety Eddie Jackson to an ankle injury and it’s possible he’ll miss a second straight game Sunday. Nickel defensive back Bryce Callahan had his strong season cut short three weeks ago by a broken foot.However, the defense flourished with Deon Bush at safety and Sherrick McManis at nickel corner.“Since I’ve been here, we’ve been losing a lot of players every year,” safety Adrian Amos said. “It’s just next man up, stay to our assignments, everybody going to practice and everybody doing well.”The Bears finished with eight key defensive players on injured reserve last year and six the previous season. But this year they’ve been relatively healthy.“We lost two key pieces a little bit the last couple weeks, but it’s just about how we respond. Don’t flinch,” Amos said. “We just are a close-knit team, a good team, and good teams overcome adversity. In an NFL season, there is going to be adversity.”The Bears lead the league in interceptions (27), fewest points allowed to opposing offenses (16.8 per game) and lowest opposing quarterback passer rating (72.5).Individually, Kyle Fuller is tied for the NFL interceptions lead with Miami’s Xavien Howard at seven, and Mack is tied for the league lead with six forced fumbles.Defense is setting off a Chicago fan fervor, as it always has — from Lovie Smith’s units to the 1985 champions to the Dick Butkus era.Fangio is from the New York-Philadelphia area and said he didn’t quite realize how much defense meant to Bears fans when he came to Chicago in 2015, although he’d been told once by the late Jim Finks, a former Bears general manager.“Jim Finks, my good buddy, told me way back when that if I ever had a chance to come to Chicago, I needed to because it’s a good sports town,” Fangio said. “They love the Bears http://www.tennesseetitansteamonline.com/a.j.-brown-jersey , they love defense and we’re starting to feel that.“Hopefully, we’ll continue it this Sunday and into the playoffs.”Fangio said it surprised him when even the defensive coordinator got recognized in public like Mack, even if it was a bit of a rarity.“I got recognized one time in the four years here when I was out in public. I think that’s it,” Fangio said. “Just in a gas station paying for my gas.”NOTES: Jackson (ankle), wide receiver Allen Robinson II (ribs) and linebacker Aaron Lynch (elbow) missed practice for the second straight day Thursday. … Defensive back DeAndre Houston-Carson missed Thursday’s practice due to illness.
MINNEAPOLIS — Neither New England nor Philadelphia is a tropical paradise, so for the Patriots and Eagles, the Minnesota winter weather has been pretty normal for them. That’s a good thing as both teams head into their Super Bowl LII meeting on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium trying to treat it like just another 60-minute game.

After the media circus they endured Monday in St. Paul, the players for both the Patriots (15-3) and the Eagles (15-3) welcomed the opportunity to get back to some semblance of normal game week preparation and to focus on the football, even if it’s in a new place.

“Today’s a real day. We’ve got to go out and practice and kind of get away from the madness,” said Philadelphia defensive end Fletcher Cox on Wednesday after the Eagles practiced at the University of Minnesota. “I just treat it as a regular game week. Things I would do at the facility, I’m doing here. I’m not doing anything different outside of what I would do if I was in Philly.”

One thing the Eagles did successfully at home and on the road all season was pressure the opponent’s quarterback, and when the Patriots have faltered in two Super Bowl losses to the Giants in the past decade, a relentless pass rush has contributed. But the highly touted Eagles defense, which did not allow a point after the Vikings’ opening drive of the NFC title game, is wary about putting too much of their attention on Patriots star Tom Brady.

“It’s Tom plus 10 guys on the field. We can’t just focus on one guy, if we’re going to be real about it,” Cox said. “I think we have to focus on their whole offense, because they’ve got a lot of great players. We have to go out and be ourselves. We’ve got to go out and do the little things right and not beat ourselves in order to be victorious.”

Which of those great players will be in uniform for New England is still a question mark, especially in regard to tight end Rob Gronkowski, who missed the second half of the AFC title game win over Jacksonville due to a concussion. He participated in the Patriots’ Wednesday practice at the Vikings team facility, but wore a red “no contact” jersey. New England coach Bill Belichick said Gronkowski is “working his way back” and they are hopeful he will be on the field ready to play on Sunday.

Gronkowski was one of four Patriots to have limited participation in practice on Wednesday, while Eagles defensive tackle Tim Jernigan did not practice due to illness.

“Rob’s a tough guy. Obviously http://www.tennesseetitansteamonline.com/amani-hooker-jersey , this isn’t something you can just fight through,” said Brady, who wore only some black tape on his injured right hand at Wednesday’s practice. “I think everyone’s being really smart and cautious about it, as we should be based on all the information we’ve learned over the years. He’s got to clear everything before he gets out there and plays, but we’re hopeful and we’ll see how it goes.”

While the Patriots offense has revolved around Brady since their first Super Bowl win in 2002, the defense has been one of constant evolution, and the unit adopted yet another new look late in the regular season when linebacker James Harrison came on board after he was jettisoned by the Steelers.

“When you’re in a system for as long as he’s been, there are a lot of things that are habits that get ingrained, which they should be. Some of those things carry over. Some of them kind of don’t,” Belichick said of Harrison, who has played 178 of his 193 NFL regular-season games for Pittsburgh. “He’s done a great job of trying to separate them and do what we’ve asked him to do.”

While the Eagles will be looking for the franchise’s first Super Bowl title, having lost the big game after the 1980 and 2004 seasons, there may be more pressure on the Patriots, who will be seeking their sixth title and their second in a row, knowing that the coaching staff will look significantly different next season. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia are both widely expected to be head coaches in Indianapolis and Detroit, respectively, next season.

“I realize and I understand and I appreciate the talent in the coaches in our building. I’m grateful for the opportunity to even be coached by them,” said Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola, sounding very much like he was saying goodbye. “Whatever their opportunities are in the future, I’ll be excited for them.”

There’s one more opportunity for them on Sunday. And it sounds plenty exciting.