Chicago Bears DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR/ASSISTANT HEAD COACH ROD MARINELLI - Ingles

Thursday, January 20, 2011

On if coaches stress approaching this week like every other week

“Yes, you believe in routine and sticking to a routine – consistency, practice is the same and the focus is always on us. I think it is a little easier to stay with a consistent format that way.”

On if there was anything done or said since halftime of the Jets game that has improved the pass coverage

“No. One thing we always have is we’ll come back and tighten our fundamentals up. You have home base and when something happens and you get off track maybe a little bit, you just kind of come back in and you come back to your basic concepts, your defense, your fundamentals and that brings a guy back home. So now you have a chance to see things clearly, with clarity and you get back on rhythm.”

On if he has an explanation for the improved play of Tommie Harris

“Oh yeah, good hard work. Consistent, you keep coming, you come to work every day. He’s just getting better. A big thing in this league, if guys will show up and go to work every day, you have a chance to get a little bit better. He’s getting healthier and it’s the right time for him and it’s the right time for us with him.”

On how he has been successful in his first year as a play-caller

“I think the preparation you do in the meeting room all week, how you prepare all week and if you are top of it. It’s our staff, it’s not just me. It’s Coach (Lovie) Smith, it’s Bob Babich, it’s Jon Hoke, it’s all of us together – Gil Byrd and Eric (Washington). We come in and meet and this is what we feel good about and this is what we do in these situations and then you go ahead and apply it.”

On if he had an indication that CB Tim Jennings has the kind of capability he does

“The one thing we did see when we looked at Tim was he was a tough, competitive guy, but he’s taken that to another step. Both our corners are so physical. I’m so proud of what these guys do and how tough they are and how well they tackle and how well they compete. They have good ball skills, man coverage, but in our system you have to tackle. You have to be physical, there’s no ifs, ands or buts about it and both of them have done a great job with tackling. To answer your question, he’s a heck of a ballplayer.”

On why CB Charles Tillman is so good at forcing fumbles

“He just brings that to the table. You can teach it, he just does it extremely well. The one thing we’re able to do, though, is it magnifies it to the other players that the urgency to get the ball out – he is just exceptional. I don’t know if there has been anybody ever in this game as good as this guy as how he takes the ball away and his ball skills. Then add all the other things that he can do. What he does, he puts an emphasis on it everyday for every guy on our defense and our coaches.”

On how Brian Urlacher compares to the great linebackers in history

“It’s hard to measure somebody. You look at his stats, which obviously are awesome – [Bears] all-time leading tackles and all those things. He’s got a knack for the big play. He just has a way about him. You’ve seen it all year. He stacks up with anybody in the league like that. As you know, this man, in our system, he’s unparalleled in terms of his leadership and his knowledge of our system. Those guys look to him for that leadership, not just strong, loud, good player, but his adjustments gameday, the checks, he’s got it all. He’s the full package. That, to me, is what really separates him from others.”

On what Brian Urlacher can do that can help Chicago against the Green Bay offense

“The biggest thing he does is he brings a calming effect to the entire defense because he they know if something comes up that is a surprise or whatever, he’s going to handle it. It’s a tremendous calming effect for the defense. His verbiage, his communication, is always right. He’s able to put the players in the good situation all the time. So it’s a comforting feeling for a coach, but also for the defensive team.

On the coaching job Lovie Smith did this season

“It speaks for itself. We come into the season and not much is said about us or where we’ll going to be, but I think internally we knew we were going to be pretty good and it starts with Lovie coming up and setting the tone with our coaches. Set the tone that we’re going to be good and once you see the standard of what good is, it gives you something to shoot for. The one thing he’s done is he’s stayed consistent the entire year through the ups and downs. This is a good football team. We’re able to carry his message to the players and the players know they’re good too.”

On how close the Bears defense is

“It’s a tight group. They really are. They have a lot of trust within each other. This is really a good bunch of football players here, really good players. That’s the first statement. We’re good because they’re good. I mean that, but what they bring is they let you coach them. They are really a coachable bunch of guys. They are on it, they show up every day, there is not a lot of talk. They just go to work. The accountability is extremely high. The standards are high as well as the accountability. They hold themselves accountable together. I take my hat off to them. It’s a heck of a group.”

On the Packers having a lot of holding penalties in the first game against the Bears

“I think the biggest thing, if they do get held, and they do get called, that’s a big play for us. So it’s on us when we’re rushing, to get to move, stay on the edges and force them. If you can’t get there, you have to force the hold. We have some guys who are active. The thing about it, we can’t officiate the game. We just keep coaching.”

On why he felt the need to emphasize to his player the Monsters of the Midway theme

“I just think it’s a big plus for us. We should understand the history of this franchise. It’s unbelievable. You go through football at times and a lot of football players, or older players, may not have an appreciation for. I think they do find out what it is and how special it is, I think they kind of gravitate toward that. It’s fun. It’s just fun. Our history is so awesome here. We have a high standard to live up to. If that is true, let’s see what the standard is and who set it.”

On Packers QB Aaron Rodgers

“He is an awesome competitor. He is talented and gifted and all those things. A lot of players in this league are, but he will not let a play die. Obviously, they do a great job of changing the launch point for him, which makes it tougher for rushers. He’s got the mobility so they can change the launch point. I’ll tell you what, when he’s outside the pocket, he’s extremely accurate. It’s uncanny. He is something else. He steps up in the pocket well. The thing I admire, he’ll take the hit to get the ball down the field. He’s tough and I admire toughness. I’ll say that offensive line of theirs is just as tough. That’s a tough football team we are going to play.”

On what a defense does to combat the Packers changing the launch point

“It’s part of what we are, built in. You have to adjust all four guys that are rushing, unless we’re blitzing, they’ve got to work together. I always tell them four equals one. We have to know where each other is. Each guy has got to do his job and be accountable. You can’t let it take the aggressiveness out of our pass rush.”

On how much of the pass-rush responsibility falls on DE Julius Peppers

“It’s all four of them. They all have to work together. It’s four guys. They all have to work together. It’s critical, but when you get your single and you get your matchup that you have – you try to work for matchups – you have to win it. Now sometimes you win it and the guy breaks out of there so you get a great rush and somebody doesn’t contain and it’s all for naught. So it’s a bunch of men working together and understanding the type of player that we’re playing. He’s outstanding. He does it all. He’s got it all. He’s smart, he has got a great release, he’s mobile, but he’s as good as we’ve played.”