Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli sings the praises of Chris Harris, Julius Peppers and rookie Major Wright:
“You teach and you test to see where we’re at,” Marinelli said. “A game, it’s awesome, because you teach, you test and you get feedback from the player and you can see where you are at.
“We want to see who can execute the concepts and the details we are asking. The tackling is very important. This is the first chance we get to go live tackling.”
New safeties Chris Harris and rookie Major Wright, playing confidently behind a Julius Peppers-led pass rush, have looked impressive in practice this week, making several interceptions for a team that had just one interception by a safety all last season. But Saturday is the first chance to find out how real that new-found aggressiveness is.
“You love to see the ball skills,” Marinelli said of Wright, “but how do you perform now under pressure? What are your keys? Don’t start guessing. Guys can start guessing and making up new defenses out there that we don’t have.
“There’s a trust factor. You want to see the trust that comes under the bigger lights and see how he functions within a system.”
The game vs. the Chargers on Saturday begins at 8 pm CDT and will be on Fox-32 and WBBM radio.