From the Chicago Sun Times

October 19, 2007BY BRAD BIGGS bbiggs@suntimes.com

They come from all angles. That’s the book on Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson and the array of blitzes and pressure packages he will have in store for Bears quarterback Brian Griese on Sunday.The Eagles are tied for second in the NFL with 19 sacks, one ahead of the Bears, and they’ve already had their bye week. Right end Trent Cole leads the team with six, tying him for second in the league, but the telling statistic is that eight players have at least one sack. That’s what Johnson does. He comes at you with waves of players.

Johnson will gamble more than many play callers, overloading a side and doing unorthodox things such as putting an end on a wide receiver. It’s a huge play if you can hit it, but you have to get rid of the ball.The Detroit Lions couldn’t when the Eagles piled up nine sacks in Week 3. Johnson might have more opportunities to roll the dice this week with his top cover cornerback, Lito Sheppard, returning from a sprained knee that has kept him out since Week 1.

”They bring one more guy than you can pick up,” said Bears center Olin Kreutz, who’s charged with helping determine where the pressure is coming from. ”They take a few more chances that other teams won’t take, so if you can’t account for a guy, it maybe will leave someone open. But they’re counting on getting to the quarterback.”It’s hard to recognize. Jim Johnson does a good job recognizing what protections you’re calling and attacking those protections. They don’t have one guy you can read and say, ‘Follow him,’ and that’s where the blitz is coming from. He brings everyone.”

‘Tackling the issue

Along with not having the right fits and being out of their gaps — explanations given for the shoddy defensive effort against the Vikings — the Bears plain and simple missed tackles. It’s an easy topic to discuss, but teams trying to get healthy during the week aren’t out tackling one another in practice.”Take a picture of your face and put it on a tackling dummy and just, grrrrr, hit it hard,” cornerback Charles Tillman said when asked how you improve your tackling form. ”No, you just go back to the basics. Just basic Football 101. Get a tackling dummy, just working on it when we’re doing the team drills, everybody running to the ball, fitting, proper leverage, getting low, real good football position.”That was a joke, by the way. Don’t get sensitive on me.”

Health beat

Defensive tackle Tommie Harris (strained left hamstring) participated in portions of practice, leaving cornerback Nathan Vasher (groin) as the only player sitting out. Defensive tackle Darwin Walker (left knee) also worked in parts of practice, and left guard Ruben Brown (shoulder) was a full go.

For the Eagles, safety Brian Dawkins (neck) was limited in practice, and left tackle William Thomas (knee) was held out after being limited Wednesday.