What to do at edge rusher?

[Tjodalv]

Exactly. That's why I don't understand Probie's "don't have much cap room going forward," "this team will look like it is currently constructed for better or worse for the next few years," and "It seem that EDGE will have to come from within most likely" comments. They will have plenty of flexibility to sign a stud OLB if one miraculously comes available.

 

[UK_STALEY]

What about isaiah irving. Is he still on the team

Exactly!! Short memories round here, last preseason there were more hard ons for this kid than there is at Aaron Rodgers house

 

[Starion]

Nothing wrong with making the D better yet!

Hopefully Fitts can be this year's Eddie Jackson...injury drop, but skilled potential.

Depth Chart as of now: http://www.ourlads.com/nfldepthcharts/depthchart/CHI
Wouldn't mind some cheap vet 1 year prove-it deals to add depth.



The following is an FYI for those who have been chirping since the draft about "failing to address EDGE" despite it being a weak draft for the position.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/defense/sort/sacks

https://imgflip.com/memegenerator

 

[Starion]

Chicago Bears: Did Ryan Pace Play Cards Just Right at EDGE?


The Chicago Bears did almost everything right. They needed to execute a near-flawless off-season in order to position for a possible playoff run in 2018.
Somehow they’ve pulled it off. Get Mitch Trubisky some new weapons at wide receiver? Yep. Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel, Anthony Miller, Bennie Fowler, Marlon Brown and Javon Wims all arrive to completely overhaul the unit. Find a replacement for Josh Sitton at guard? Indeed. Second round pick James Daniel, widely considered a huge steal, should plug that hole seamlessly. Find another playmaker for the defense? Say hello to Roquan Smith, widely viewed as the best linebacker in college football.

They also managed to lock up Akiem Hicks, Kyle Fuller, and Prince Amukamara to long-term deals. It couldn’t have gone much better. Except it could’ve. They say it’s impossible to meet every need in one off-season and that’s true. Especially for a rebuilding team like the Bears. Still, it’s hard to accept that they weren’t able to secure more help at edge rusher outside of cheap free agent Aaron Lynch and 6th round pick Kylie Fitts.

They could’ve done a little better there, right? Well sure. The problem is sacrifices are made in the name of the greater good. GM Ryan Pace is no doubt aware of the issue, but he had plenty of issues to sort out and only so many resources to deal with them. Then there’s another factor that often gets forgotten.

Building a team isn’t just about the present. It’s about the future. In this case, the near future.


The 2019 crop of edge rushers is going to be loaded for the Bears
One reason that hasn’t been explored enough to this point is the fact that the solution to their problem may merely be a year off. Most agree the 2018 class of pass rushers, both in free agency and the draft, was weak. Not just in terms of star power but also depth. It marked the first time less than two rushers went in the top 10 of a draft since 2012. Only Bradley Chubb of N.C. State made the cut. Only two went in the entire 1st round. That pretty much sends a clear message.

Such will likely not be the case in 2019. Both the free agent and draft crops are looking strong. Really strong. The list of potential names is hard to ignore:

Free agents
Khalil Mack
Ezekiel Ansah
Demarcus Lawrence
Danielle Hunter
Clay Matthews
Jadeveon Clowney
Dante Fowler Jr.
Dee Ford
Markus Golden
Shane Ray
Trey Flowers

The Draft
Nick Bosa
Clelin Ferrell
Austin Bryant
Josh Allen
Montez Sweat
Joe Jackson

Now obviously all of those names won’t be available to the Bears. Most of the big free agents will be locked up by either long-term deals or franchise tags. Not all of the big draft names will be there when they pick either. What this means is they will at least have a greater opportunity to land one good talent for their edge rusher position next year, if not two. Far better odds than they had at any point this off-season.

Is it possible Pace knew this and geared his entire plan around that realization? It wouldn’t be the first time a GM of a team has done such things. Bill Walsh was famous for it in the 1980s.

I don't normally quote entire long posts, but when I do, it's a great post. Where'd you get this?? Would be pro of you to give credit / link.

I didn't realize next year was going to be that solid for EDGE options. Fantastic!

Not that it'd be as bad as this year. Pretty cool they were able to quietly be as good as 7th in sacks in '17, but did lose a few guys since then. Hopefully the success continues with what they're able to string together til next off-season.

 

[Washington]

Nothing wrong with making the D better yet!

Hopefully Fitts can be this year's Eddie Jackson...injury drop, but skilled potential.

Depth Chart as of now: http://www.ourlads.com/nfldepthcharts/depthchart/CHI
Wouldn't mind some cheap vet 1 year prove-it deals to add depth.



The following is an FYI for those who have been chirping since the draft about "failing to address EDGE" despite it being a weak draft for the position.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/defense/sort/sacks

https://imgflip.com/memegenerator

You need to see the posts Remy made showing where the team ranked in pressures overall. They were, for example, disparately lower than Philly. Overall, it is pressures that matter most.

 

[modo]

Lamar Houston or Willie Young would at least make me feel secure and has to be a better way to spend money than Simms

I don't think Pace's job is making fans feel secure with people they know....his positional coaches and coordinators are the ones that need to feel secure about the players.

 

[Sculpt]

Floyd, Irving, Howard Jones
Lynch, Fitts, Acho

Maybe even Kwiatkowski.

There's some guys to work with...

Besides Floyd, there might not be any top passrushers, but there's guys who can play the position soundly. Irving and Fitts may surprise.

 

[dabears70]

Exactly!! Short memories round here, last preseason there were more hard ons for this kid than there is at Aaron Rodgers house

I think it was more about people hoping he could help then it was anything else and i don't think anyone forgot about him or Howard Jones, it's just that neither one has shown anything for anyone to actually have a hard on for. Pretty sure both were UDFA's. It sure would be nice to see Irving take that next step though.

 

[Bearly]

Bears really don't have much cap room going forward. The flexibility Pace created with the cap has more or less been cashed in, and this team will look like it is currently constructed for better or worse for the next few years. They still need to extend Goldman which will be a big hit. They will also likely extend Amos (not a big contract but certainly a large increase from his rookie deal). Howard will be around the corner if he is in the long-term plans, which I hope he is not. Really the only two guys that are potential cap casualties for next offseason are Sims and Long.

It seem that EDGE will have to come from within most likely.

There will be more to work with in 2019. Simms will get released, +6m, Trevathan may go, +6.4M, Chase Daniel cauld add $5m in a June 1 cut but I doubt that happens yet. Point is that there's an easy $12.4m there and may play into our 4th round pick. Still not a ton but enough to make a big move if he so chooses. I agree it will be addressed in next years draft if needed but he's not that handcuffed.

 

[dabears70]

I don't normally quote entire long posts, but when I do, it's a great post. Where'd you get this?? Would be pro of you to give credit / link.

I didn't realize next year was going to be that solid for EDGE options. Fantastic!

Not that it'd be as bad as this year. Pretty cool they were able to quietly be as good as 7th in sacks in '17, but did lose a few guys since then. Hopefully the success continues with what they're able to string together til next off-season.

I'm not sure you or anyone on here will be able to take this so if everyone could please sit down real quick..................................................................










E.Lambert of Sports Mockery is where this came from.

 

[Bearly]

Brilliant stuff. He didn't force an edge rusher because he could draft one of the 3 best players in the draft and no other healthy ones were available with a high pick after that. Of course it gets pushed over to next year. Had Smith been gone, he may have drafted Davenport. None of us know his board. I'm sure Edge wasn't ignored. It had to do with how the cards fell... like every draft. Forcing picks is how GMs fail.

 

[dabears70]

There will be more to work with in 2019. Simms will get released, +6m, Trevathan may go, +6.4M, Chase Daniel cauld add $5m in a June 1 cut but I doubt that happens yet. Point is that there's an easy $12.4m there and may play into our 4th round pick. Still not a ton but enough to make a big move if he so chooses. I agree it will be addressed in next years draft if needed but he's not that handcuffed.

As long as there's enough to get a legit #1 edge rusher to go with our #2 in Floyd which shouldn't be a problem. It will be very interesting to see what A.Lynch does next year for us and what Pace does with him depending on how he does. Even if he did have a good year i'd still be worried about re-signing him with all the question marks he had in San Fran. I know a lot of it was them getting him to add weight and play inside but he's had other question about his work ethic and not sure but think there was even some character issues with him.

Back to the money, we need money for a legit edge rusher, 3rd CB depending on if M.Cooper can show some of what we hoped he'd be last year or if K.Toliver or M.Joseph (UDFA's) can look like good pickups, 3rd safety cause D.Hall, D.Bush and D.Houston Carson all have shown basically nothing yet and RT.

 

[Bearly]

That's just it. Floyd may be a good #1 pass rusher with more pressure elsewhere. He was in the backfield a lot when it was his assignment. He was getting held like crazy. Once we start getting more pressure elsewhere or get better known as a sack team, those may turn into holding calls and sacks.

 

[dabears70]

That's just it. Floyd may be a good #1 pass rusher with more pressure elsewhere. He was in the backfield a lot when it was his assignment. He was getting held like crazy. Once we start getting more pressure elsewhere or get better known as a sack team, those may turn into holding calls and sacks.

Good point and Floyd did get plenty of pressure on the QB when he didn't end up with a sack.

 

[Dick Jauron]

I would see if Denver is willing to part with Shane Ray for a 4th or 5th rounder. See what Fangio can do with him.

There's a ton of veterans out there as well. Willie Young or Lamarr Houston. I would be fine with bringing them back, just for depth.

If you're looking to go young, and 3-4 specific EDGE rushers, there's a few guys who are quite young:
Billy Winn
Jared Crick
Jhaustin Thomas
Quinton Dial
Angelo Blackson
Ed Stinson
Johnny Maxey

All guys are 24-29. I have never heard of these guys, so I am assuming they are just scrubs. But you can find a diamond in the rough. See: Aikem Hicks. Who knew he would explode here? We knew he was good, but not All-Pro good!

 

[dabears70]

I would see if Denver is willing to part with Shane Ray for a 4th or 5th rounder. See what Fangio can do with him.

There's a ton of veterans out there as well. Willie Young or Lamarr Houston. I would be fine with bringing them back, just for depth.

If you're looking to go young, and 3-4 specific EDGE rushers, there's a few guys who are quite young:
Billy Winn
Jared Crick
Jhaustin Thomas
Quinton Dial
Angelo Blackson
Ed Stinson
Johnny Maxey

All guys are 24-29. I have never heard of these guys, so I am assuming they are just scrubs. But you can find a diamond in the rough. See: Aikem Hicks. Who knew he would explode here? We knew he was good, but not All-Pro good!

I've heard of Winn, Crick and Stinson but none of the others. I still have C.Barwin up there with L.Houston on a one year deal and hit edge rusher first next off season.

 

[Sculpt]

Speaking of

Isaiah Irving...

Breaking down Chicago Bears Isaiah Irving defensive debut


by Parker Hurley5 months agoFollow @parkerhurley

Isaiah Irving saw major defensive snaps for the first time in his NFL career. What can he bring and what can he build on?

The Chicago Bears run to the postseason officially ended on Sunday with their embarrassing loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Bears now have five games to play out the season, and if they were smart get players who may be in the plans for 2018 on the field to see what they need to work on this offseason. That plan came to fruition for an undrafted free agent in Isaiah Irving on Sunday.

With Leonard Floyd sidelined for the season, the major beneficiary was veteran Sam Acho. However, the team did mix in the rookie from San Jose State as well, and Irving wound up playing 36 snaps. For a player who only had five snaps on defense in his career before this game, this was a huge uptick in work for him. How did he play, and is there anything in Irving that warrants a longer look?​

Pass Rush

Irving is not a power house of a man or a freak athlete either. However, he is a player who is technically sound, and in that, there is some potential to build on.Below, you see one of his better pass rushing attempts. Keep in mind he is up against perennial All-Pro performer Lane Johnson. However, despite Johnson owning him in size and strength, Irving still gets under him and drives him back towards the quarterback.The key to eye in on are his hands. Notice how quickly he gets them up into the shoulders of Johnson. He uses his low size to leverage his strength and getting his hands and arms in proper technique and out faster than Johnson was what was able to get him into Johnson’s shoulders clean, and give him the power edge in this matchup. While it did not end in a sack, it showed promise.​

Read the rest at:

https://beargoggleson.com/2017/11/29/breaking-down-isaiah-irving-defensive-debut/
​

​

 

[Starion]

The point about Bears being low in pressures while still 7th in sacks is valid.

I'll figure that Bears didn't blitz nearly as much as Philly or others...instead, playing it a bit safer since they didn't have the talent to cover and prevent blitzes from being burnt because, well, they don't yet have the talent to have a high rate of success while blitzing. Hence, need for another Edge guy to secure the spot.


Wheels are in motion and there's parts to work with and can be relatively successful while in progress. Cool to see. Getting there.

 

[Tjodalv]

Nothing wrong with making the D better yet!

Hopefully Fitts can be this year's Eddie Jackson...injury drop, but skilled potential.

The following is an FYI for those who have been chirping since the draft about "failing to address EDGE" despite it being a weak draft for the position.

What you failed to mention in this is that 26% of the sacks produced by the 7th ranked sacking D last year were by guys that are no longer on the team and were, essentially, replaced by Lynch and Fitts. That may work, it may not.

As for people "chirping [about] failing to address EDGE despite it being a weak draft for the position..." While top end talent was thin for pass-rushers, there was value at each level that the Bears passed on:

Landry went at 2:9 (two picks after Daniels)
Carter at 3:2 (easier trade up than Miller)
Hubbard (not really a rusher, but an edge setting SAM) at 3:13 (same as above)
Sweat at 4:30

I don't expect any of those guys to be studs; but they'll probably end up contributing more than the Houston/McPhee/Young that they'd replace in the rotation.

As usual, Pace et al identified the guys/positions they wanted and went to get them. But to say they didn't leave some value on the table at a position of need is kind of homeristic.

 

[Starion]

What you failed to mention in this is that 26% of the sacks produced by the 7th ranked sacking D last year were by guys that are no longer on the team and were, essentially, replaced by Lynch and Fitts. That may work, it may not.

... to say they didn't leave some value on the table at a position of need is kind of homeristic.

Thanks for the stats. I was wondering about that. Pretty sure I mentioned that they lost some of that production and need to replenish or hope the new guys pick up the slack. Possibly in another thread, if so my bad.

Can only do so much in one off season. Pretty much maxed out the capital to work with. Hard to expect much more.

Are there some cap casualties at Edge to be available before season starts? Would be nice to rent a vet or 2 for a year or two to plug this potential hole.