Ahh, good news. The Bears defensive line was undeniably the deepest and arguably the most productive unit (I say arguably because Charles Tillman is coming to punch my balls) on the team this year. The entire rotation contributed with seven different lineman getting to the quarterback. The Bears were consistently able to get good pressure on quarterbacks with just their front four, allowing the defense do run the zones they thrive in. In the end, the Bears finished 8th in the NFL with 41 sacks, with 38 coming from the defensive line. If there was a weakness, it was that the team finished just 14th in yards per carry allowed and struggled to contain the top-flight rushing attacks they faced in the second half of the season. A certain linebacker certainly contributed to the defense's struggles in that department, but it is still a place where there's room for improvement.
Defensive Ends:
#90 Julius Peppers: 16 games, 16 games started, 39 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 2 passes defensed, 1 FF, 1 fumble recovery.
On the surface, Julius had yet another stellar campaign as a Bear, finishing for the second straight year with at least 11 sacks. Behind the numbers he wasn't quite as dominant as he had been his previous two years in Chicago. Pro Football Focus had him at +9.9 for the season, a very good grade, but not the +21.7 he posted the year before. He wasn't quite able to take away an entire half of the field in the run game as he had done before, and he wasn't the relentless pass-rushing force he was before, with his sacks tending to come in bunches with some distance between.
That said, we knew this would happen. The Bears were never going to get THE Julius Peppers for the entire length of that contract. That's just the reality of free agency. The important thing is that, even as he struggled with injury this year, Julius was still a damn good defensive end. You'd take Julius Peppers in a "down" year over just about all but a handful of defensive ends in the NFL at their peak. He also managed to post similar line stats to his 2011 campaign despite taking nearly 100 fewer snaps at DE. You hope going forward that Shea McClellin can continue to develop behind him and that Corey Wootton can stay healthy, because the best bet for the Bears to continue to get production, if not the superhuman annihilation of opposing offenses he was known for before, from Julius for the remainder of his deal. Regardless, I love Julius Peppers.
#71 Israel Idonije: 16 games, 11 games started, 48 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 1 FF
You don't have to know much about me to know that I'm not exactly the kind of fan who thumps his chest and gets all teary-eyed over grit and hustle or to tout the merits of some kind of lunch pail player. The exception to this rule is Israel Idonije. Izzy's been with the Bears since 2004, and in that time he's played every spot on the line. Up until 2010 he was usually the third defensive tackle off the bench. Then he switched to a mostly full-time DE, and the result was an extremely productive season. He tailed off as a pass-rusher in the second-half of 2011, even though his run defense remained stout. You couldn't really blame the Bears for opting to get younger at the position with the addition of Shea McClellin, and the emergence of Corey Wootton was also a pleasant surprise. It appeared Izzy's days were numbered.
Izzy responded with a great season, however. He was tops among all Bears defensive lineman in tackles, had an even better year against the run, with a +7.4 grade in that category. He was benched midway through the season for Wootton, and took the demotion in stride, especially he spent plenty of time at DT after his demotion.
Right now Izzy is a free agent, and I understand that the Bears brought in Turk McBride and that Shea and Wootton will both play bigger roles next year. My heart still wants Izzy back on the team, however, because he's as easy a player to root for as there is, and because he's still a damn good football player.
#98 Corey Wootton: 16 games, 7 games started, 27 tackles, 7.0 sacks, 1 pass defensed, 2 FF
Up until this year it seemed the Corey Wootton would go down as a trivia answer for his only career sack being the death of Brett Favre, but then he managed to stay healthy for an entire season for the first time since his junior year of college. With his new-found health Wootton erupted with 7 sacks as a rotational DE, eventually moving into the starting role. His development was huge as it allowed the Bears to give much-needed rest to Julius Peppers and it kept the team from having to expand Shea McClellin's role too quickly. While Wootton struggled a bit against the run when he moved into the starting lineup, it seems only reasonable to suspect that he'll improve as he gets more experience.
#99 Shea McClellin: 14 games, 0 games started, 14 tackles, 2.5 sacks
I think Shea McClellin is a good football player, I really do. Although he finished with slightly below average rating from Pro Football Focus for the season, primarily due to being a complete non-entity against the run, he graded out positively as a pass-rushing specialist, with 22 hurries to go along with his 2.5 sacks. That was all the team really needed from him last year, and, as I said, the resurgence of Izzy and the emergence of Wootton meant Shea really didn't have to do much other than provide pressure on the quarterback on 3rd down. If Izzy's not coming back, and with Pepper being a year older, Shea will have to be a more complete player next year. Hopefully with a year of experience, some better health, and a full offseason, he'll be ready, but he's going to have to put up some big numbers to silence the critics.
#95 Cheta Ozougwu: 2 games, 0 games started, 3 tackles.
Awesome name. Otherwise nothing special. Probably won't make the roster next year.
Defensive Tackles:
#69 Henry Melton: 14 games, 14 games started, 44 tackles, 6.0 sacks, 2 FF
I really hope the Bears can work out a long-term deal with Melton, because he's truly something special. He finished the year as Pro Football Focus' 7th rated defensive tackle in the NFL, although he ranks even higher if you only count other 4-3 DTs. Considering that Henry was a runningback less than four years ago, and that he's only been a full-time DE for two, his rapid progress is nothing short of remarkable. Last year he burst onto the scene with two sacks in the opener against the Falcons but followed with a largely up-and-down season as a pass-rusher and he struggled often with being over-aggressive and exposed against traps, draws, and screens. This year he became a truly dominant pass-rusher week in and week out, and he developed into a fairly average run defender. The sky's the limit when you consider Henry's talent, however, so I'm willing to bet that the best is yet to come.
#92 Stephen Paea: 15 games, 14 games started, 24 tackles, 2.5 sacks
Stephen Paea started to show some flashes of being the dominant nose tackle that Lovie envisioned two years ago this year. Overall he graded out positively with a +1.7 grade on the season. He was, naturally, better against the run than the pass, but he still contributed in that department with 2.5 sacks, more than his predecessor, Spice Adams, managed in his four years as the Bear's primary nose tackle. Hopefully the Bears have found their main duo for years to come in Melton and Paea.
#93 Nate Collins: 9 games, 0 games started, 11 tackles, 1 pass defensed, 2 FF
Nate Collins was the line's second biggest surprise after Wootton, finishing the season with a stellar +4.9 rating from PFF in his time in the rotation. He has the flexibility to play either the nose or the three-technique, and he was one of the few Bears defensive linemen to grade out well against both the run and the pass. I'm glad the Bears managed to bring him back, as that leaves them with three young, talented, and still-developing players in their rotation.
#91 Amobi Okoye: 9 games, 0 games started, 12 tackles, 1.0 sack, 1 FF
Amobi served two stints with the Bears this year, as he was cut early in the season after Nate Collins beat him out, but returned to finish out the season after injuries to Melton and McClellin left the team in need of more depth. While he wasn't quite the impact player he was in 2011, he was still fairly solid for a third-string DT and I wouldn't be surprised if the Bears brought him back on board if he's still hanging around on waivers this summer.
#75 Matt Toeaiana: 3 games, 2 games started, 4 tackles
Toeiana was never really much more than a body. He was more effective than a post-injury Tommie Harris and the older, slower version of Spice Adams, but he was never really going to be the long-term solution at the nose. The team is currently waiting for him to get healthy enough that they can work out an injury settlement and then cut him.
That's all for now. Next time: Lance Briggs is still awesome, but Brian Urlacher is not.
Showing posts with label Israel Idonije. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Israel Idonije. Show all posts
Monday, April 1, 2013
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Bears 33, Redskins 31 (Preseason Game 2)
The Bears first team offense came firing on all cylinders tonight. The first drive, an 82 yard beauty marked by the first Cutler-Marshall bomb in a Bears uniform and two more great throws to Marshall and rookie Alshon Jeffery, ended in a TD, as did the third drive following an Israel Idonije strip sack. All told, Cutler and company racked up 17 points before exiting the game with over 6 minutes left in the first half.
On the other side, the first team defense looked equally crisp, with the defensive line getting consistent pressure and RGIII having very little room to do much of anything. They held the Redskins first unit to just 3 points on their first four drives.
That about sums up the relevant (well, as relevant as any preseason game gets) part of the night, so onto the individuals:
The Good:
Jay Cutler: God's it's good to see him again, isn't it? Cutler came out very sharp and completed 5 of his first 6 passes for 99 yds. He threw a beautiful deep ball to Marshall on the first play, but was most impressive with his quick decisions and the darts that he threw in the intermediate game (20 yds to Marshall, 16 yards on a skinny post to Jeffery, an 18 yard laser to Hester after avoiding the rush). He misfired high to Bennett, and had one near-interception, but also had another deep ball to Marshall that could very well have been a TD that Marshall was unable to catch after he stopped his route too soon. Cutler also ran for another first down. All in all a very good night for #6 in his return.
Brandon Marshall: He started with a 41 catch on the first play and followed up with a 20 yard catch and run where he actually muscled over a CB for more yards, becoming the first Bears wideout to do so since, well, ever.
Alshon Jeffery: Confession. I'm totally writing this in the 2nd quarter because there's no way I'll watch this whole game. As I write, however, Jeffery just picked up a 34 yard reception on a beautiful catch and run. He has 3 catches for 62 yards, following his strong performance last week. The sudden surplus of talent at wide receiver for the Bears is startling and glorious.
The rest of the receivers: Earl Bennett and Hester added 3 catches for 41 yards from Cutler. Suddenly this is the most dangerous looking unit on the team.
Michael Bush: 5 rushes for 21 yds and 2 TDs in his role as red zone battering ram. Hopefully he's finally the answer to their #2 runningback woes.
The Defensive Line: Israel Idonije isn't quite ready to give up his starting job to Shea McClellin. The always underrated Izzy had 2.5 sacks and played well against the run. I love how they're rolling him inside to DT with McClellin at end to add more speed to their nickel pass rush.
The rest of the line played very well, though, as well. Toeaina added half a sack. Price and Melton made some nice plays against the run. Peppers recovered a fumble forced by Idonije. McClellin forced RGIII outside the pocket twice.
Updated for the second half:
Robbie Gould: He was 4-4 on field goals, including a 57 yard game winner. I love Robbie.
Eric Weems: Had a couple of nice returns and a great 33 yard catch and run.
Evan Rodriguez: the rookie has some nice moves and great hands. He had 3 catches for 49 yds.
The Bad:
Jason Campbell: True, it's only the second quarter but good heavens, that guy holds the ball FOREVER. Cutler was rushed a few times, but got made good decisions and avoided sacks. Campbell's been sacked three times and it's not even halftime. (Update: okay, he finished 9/15, 141 YDs with a 91.3 rating, but those sacks were awful).
Replacement Refs: They called pass interference on Charles Tillman on a ball that was uncatchable. Oh, and the receiver was out of bounds. But yeah, totally pass interference.
The Ugly:
Sam Rosen: Apparently Gabe Carimi is actually named Ben, and Blake Costanzo is named Matt. Oh, and it's Jake Campbell. Somebody get this drunken bore a program.
That's all for now. The Bears got everything they could have hoped for out of their starters tonight. Hopefully that improve the narrative somewhat after the DOOM of Urlacher's minor surgery. At the very least it's only increased my excitement for the opener. Football, folks. It's back.
On the other side, the first team defense looked equally crisp, with the defensive line getting consistent pressure and RGIII having very little room to do much of anything. They held the Redskins first unit to just 3 points on their first four drives.
That about sums up the relevant (well, as relevant as any preseason game gets) part of the night, so onto the individuals:
The Good:
Jay Cutler: God's it's good to see him again, isn't it? Cutler came out very sharp and completed 5 of his first 6 passes for 99 yds. He threw a beautiful deep ball to Marshall on the first play, but was most impressive with his quick decisions and the darts that he threw in the intermediate game (20 yds to Marshall, 16 yards on a skinny post to Jeffery, an 18 yard laser to Hester after avoiding the rush). He misfired high to Bennett, and had one near-interception, but also had another deep ball to Marshall that could very well have been a TD that Marshall was unable to catch after he stopped his route too soon. Cutler also ran for another first down. All in all a very good night for #6 in his return.
Brandon Marshall: He started with a 41 catch on the first play and followed up with a 20 yard catch and run where he actually muscled over a CB for more yards, becoming the first Bears wideout to do so since, well, ever.
Alshon Jeffery: Confession. I'm totally writing this in the 2nd quarter because there's no way I'll watch this whole game. As I write, however, Jeffery just picked up a 34 yard reception on a beautiful catch and run. He has 3 catches for 62 yards, following his strong performance last week. The sudden surplus of talent at wide receiver for the Bears is startling and glorious.
The rest of the receivers: Earl Bennett and Hester added 3 catches for 41 yards from Cutler. Suddenly this is the most dangerous looking unit on the team.
Michael Bush: 5 rushes for 21 yds and 2 TDs in his role as red zone battering ram. Hopefully he's finally the answer to their #2 runningback woes.
The Defensive Line: Israel Idonije isn't quite ready to give up his starting job to Shea McClellin. The always underrated Izzy had 2.5 sacks and played well against the run. I love how they're rolling him inside to DT with McClellin at end to add more speed to their nickel pass rush.
The rest of the line played very well, though, as well. Toeaina added half a sack. Price and Melton made some nice plays against the run. Peppers recovered a fumble forced by Idonije. McClellin forced RGIII outside the pocket twice.
Updated for the second half:
Robbie Gould: He was 4-4 on field goals, including a 57 yard game winner. I love Robbie.
Eric Weems: Had a couple of nice returns and a great 33 yard catch and run.
Evan Rodriguez: the rookie has some nice moves and great hands. He had 3 catches for 49 yds.
The Bad:
Jason Campbell: True, it's only the second quarter but good heavens, that guy holds the ball FOREVER. Cutler was rushed a few times, but got made good decisions and avoided sacks. Campbell's been sacked three times and it's not even halftime. (Update: okay, he finished 9/15, 141 YDs with a 91.3 rating, but those sacks were awful).
Replacement Refs: They called pass interference on Charles Tillman on a ball that was uncatchable. Oh, and the receiver was out of bounds. But yeah, totally pass interference.
The Ugly:
Sam Rosen: Apparently Gabe Carimi is actually named Ben, and Blake Costanzo is named Matt. Oh, and it's Jake Campbell. Somebody get this drunken bore a program.
That's all for now. The Bears got everything they could have hoped for out of their starters tonight. Hopefully that improve the narrative somewhat after the DOOM of Urlacher's minor surgery. At the very least it's only increased my excitement for the opener. Football, folks. It's back.
Monday, April 23, 2012
2011 Bears Position Reviews: The Defensive Line
#90 Julius Peppers, DE: 16 games, 16 games started, 37 Tackles, 11 sacks, 4 pass deflections, 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries.
What can I honestly say about Julius Peppers? I mean, hell, look at that stat line. The man's incredible, considering he did all of that despite battling a knee injury for most of the season. Who can forget when he left the game against the Eagles and came back to sack Vick and end an Eagles drive on his first play? There's no way to overstate just how much he means to the entire Bears defense. For long stretches over the last two years he was the only effective pass rusher, he completely dominates one half of the field in the run game, and he's a turnover producing machine, considering he's created 8 of them during his time in Chicago. The only major concern with Julius going forward is that he just turned 32 in January, but he's in great shape and guys like Bruce Smith, Michael Strahan, and Reggie White had 10.5, 18.5, and 13.5 sacks respectively in their age 32 seasons. If you think I'm wrong to compare him to three Hall of Fame defensive ends, well, you need to watch Julius Peppers play football.
#69 Henry Melton, DT: 15 games, 15 games started, 24 tackles, 7 sacks.
Henry Melton was my pick for breakout player of the year before the season, and for once I managed to get one of those predictions right. The former runningback took over for Tommie Harris, but he personally reminds me of John Randle. Melton ended the season tied for third among all NFL defensive tackles in sacks, and he was Pro Football Focus' highest rated pass rushing DT. Unfortunately, he sometimes struggled against the run and he was also inconsistent, with some huge games and some games where he completely disappeared. Lovie called him out midway through the season and he seemed to respond with a strong finish. Next year I'd expect Melton to play even better with a year of experience. Hopefully he can develop into a guy that can create on his own without having to rely on the favorable matchups generated by the attention teams devote to Peppers. If Melton and the rest can carry pick up more of the slack the Bears can prolong Peppers' effectiveness.
#75 Matt Toeaina, DT: 12 games, 12 games started, 16 tackles, 0 sacks.
Like most of the nose tackles in Lovie's scheme, Toeiana doesn't have much in the way of statistics to show for his efforts. He's a nice player, although I'm not sure he can hold off Stephen Paea's challenge to his job. He plays the run well and he's a high motor guy. Regardless of whether or not Paea becomes the starter as I suspect, Toeaina will be a key part of the rotation.
#71 Israel Idonije, DE: 16 games, 16 games started, 53 tackles, 5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 TD
I love Izzy. Who doesn't? He's a classic over-achiever who has been a Bear for longer than most people even realize (2004). Unfortunately, his production tailed off considerably this year. His sacks and hurries both declined, and he just didn't profit as much from being the bookend to Julius Peppers as you would like him to do. Obviously the Bears understand this, which is why they brought him back on a much more cap-friendly deal and they're taking a good hard look at young defensive ends in the draft that they can bring in and rotate with him. We'll see if fewer snaps will lead to greater productivity for Idonije next year.
#95 Anthony Adams, DT: 11 games, 4 games started, 16 tackles.
Anthony seems like a nice guy, and he was a solid but unspectacular contributor from 2007-2010. Last year, however, he was one of the biggest weaknesses on the team during the horrid start on defense in the first five games. He was no longer the run stuffing presence he once was and it showed, considering the run defense improved from 124.5 yards allowed per game to 87 yards per game after Anthony was pulled from the starting lineup. The Bears smartly made the decision to let him walk in free agency. Thanks for everything, Anthony.
#91 Amobe Okoye, DT: 16 games, 1 game started, 27 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 pass defensed.
Let's give Jerry Angelo credit for one of the last good signings of his tenure as Bears GM. Okoye was a solid bargain pickup and he paired with Melton to give the Bears more production from the under tackle position than they've had since Tommie Harris fell apart in 2007. Unfortunately, he priced himself right out of the Bears' budget and Melton's next backup will have to come from the draft. Still, I wish Okoye the best because he's a very good pass rusher when he's used correctly in a 4-3 defense.
#92 Stephen Paea, DT: 10 games,14 tackles, 2 sacks.
Stephen Paea is an intriguing player. He's incredibly strong, as he set an NFL combine record with 49 bench press reps at 225 lbs last year. He's got a quick punch and he's a rare player who can be effective at both under tackle and nose in Lovie's defense. It took him a while to crack the rotation, but he was a very effective sub over the last 10 games and he graded out against both the run and pass according to Pro Football Focus. If the Bears can find a way to get one of the top edge rushers in this year's draft, a front four of Peppers, Melton, Paea, and Coples/Ingram/Mercilus would be very frightening for opposing passers on third down. Either way, I think the Bears future at DT is bright with Melton and Paea.
#98 Corey Wootton, DE: 7 games, 4 tackles.
So far in his NFL career Corey Wootton has been exactly what everyone was afraid of when the Bears drafted him: fragile. He's flashed some potential in training camp and the preseason, and he started to come on late in 2010:
Yes, I did just want an excuse to post that video. Unfortunately, injuries have derailed any opportunities Corey's had to develop. The team could really have used him last year as Izzy struggled. We'll see if he can be healthy and effective enough to hold on to a roster spot with the addition of 1st or 2nd round defensive end to compete with him.
#94 Chauncey Davis, DE: 6 games, 9 tackles, 1 sack
A decent rotational DE who was an okay waiver-wire pickup from the Falcons. He may make the roster again next year if Wootton under-performs again, but he's nothing special.
#94 Nick Reed, DE: 6 games, 6 tackles, 1 pass defensed
No, that's not a typo. Reed wore #94 first, then was waived to make room for Davis. He knocked down a pass against the Falcons. That's about it.
#78 Mario Addison, DE: 2 games
An undrafted rookie out of Troy, Mario did nothing remarkable in 2 games before he was waived in November and claimed by the Colts. Bright future, I'm sure.
#93 Thaddeus Gibson, DE: 2 games
A late season pick up from Pittsburgh. He played some special teams and his still on the roster, so he may get a look in camp this year. I don't expect much, though.
The Bears got 30 sacks from their defensive line, which is acceptable, but they're still too over-reliant on Peppers. As I said, I don't expect Peppers to tail off much this year, Melton will be more consistent in his second year as a starter, and Paea will also improve in year two. As it stands now, though, they only have Melton, Paea, and Toeina under contract at DT and only Peppers, and Idonije seem like locks to make next year's roster at DE, so I'd expect both a defensive end and a defensive tackle at some point in the draft.
What can I honestly say about Julius Peppers? I mean, hell, look at that stat line. The man's incredible, considering he did all of that despite battling a knee injury for most of the season. Who can forget when he left the game against the Eagles and came back to sack Vick and end an Eagles drive on his first play? There's no way to overstate just how much he means to the entire Bears defense. For long stretches over the last two years he was the only effective pass rusher, he completely dominates one half of the field in the run game, and he's a turnover producing machine, considering he's created 8 of them during his time in Chicago. The only major concern with Julius going forward is that he just turned 32 in January, but he's in great shape and guys like Bruce Smith, Michael Strahan, and Reggie White had 10.5, 18.5, and 13.5 sacks respectively in their age 32 seasons. If you think I'm wrong to compare him to three Hall of Fame defensive ends, well, you need to watch Julius Peppers play football.
#69 Henry Melton, DT: 15 games, 15 games started, 24 tackles, 7 sacks.
Henry Melton was my pick for breakout player of the year before the season, and for once I managed to get one of those predictions right. The former runningback took over for Tommie Harris, but he personally reminds me of John Randle. Melton ended the season tied for third among all NFL defensive tackles in sacks, and he was Pro Football Focus' highest rated pass rushing DT. Unfortunately, he sometimes struggled against the run and he was also inconsistent, with some huge games and some games where he completely disappeared. Lovie called him out midway through the season and he seemed to respond with a strong finish. Next year I'd expect Melton to play even better with a year of experience. Hopefully he can develop into a guy that can create on his own without having to rely on the favorable matchups generated by the attention teams devote to Peppers. If Melton and the rest can carry pick up more of the slack the Bears can prolong Peppers' effectiveness.
#75 Matt Toeaina, DT: 12 games, 12 games started, 16 tackles, 0 sacks.
Like most of the nose tackles in Lovie's scheme, Toeiana doesn't have much in the way of statistics to show for his efforts. He's a nice player, although I'm not sure he can hold off Stephen Paea's challenge to his job. He plays the run well and he's a high motor guy. Regardless of whether or not Paea becomes the starter as I suspect, Toeaina will be a key part of the rotation.
#71 Israel Idonije, DE: 16 games, 16 games started, 53 tackles, 5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 TD
I love Izzy. Who doesn't? He's a classic over-achiever who has been a Bear for longer than most people even realize (2004). Unfortunately, his production tailed off considerably this year. His sacks and hurries both declined, and he just didn't profit as much from being the bookend to Julius Peppers as you would like him to do. Obviously the Bears understand this, which is why they brought him back on a much more cap-friendly deal and they're taking a good hard look at young defensive ends in the draft that they can bring in and rotate with him. We'll see if fewer snaps will lead to greater productivity for Idonije next year.
#95 Anthony Adams, DT: 11 games, 4 games started, 16 tackles.
Anthony seems like a nice guy, and he was a solid but unspectacular contributor from 2007-2010. Last year, however, he was one of the biggest weaknesses on the team during the horrid start on defense in the first five games. He was no longer the run stuffing presence he once was and it showed, considering the run defense improved from 124.5 yards allowed per game to 87 yards per game after Anthony was pulled from the starting lineup. The Bears smartly made the decision to let him walk in free agency. Thanks for everything, Anthony.
#91 Amobe Okoye, DT: 16 games, 1 game started, 27 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 pass defensed.
Let's give Jerry Angelo credit for one of the last good signings of his tenure as Bears GM. Okoye was a solid bargain pickup and he paired with Melton to give the Bears more production from the under tackle position than they've had since Tommie Harris fell apart in 2007. Unfortunately, he priced himself right out of the Bears' budget and Melton's next backup will have to come from the draft. Still, I wish Okoye the best because he's a very good pass rusher when he's used correctly in a 4-3 defense.
#92 Stephen Paea, DT: 10 games,14 tackles, 2 sacks.
Stephen Paea is an intriguing player. He's incredibly strong, as he set an NFL combine record with 49 bench press reps at 225 lbs last year. He's got a quick punch and he's a rare player who can be effective at both under tackle and nose in Lovie's defense. It took him a while to crack the rotation, but he was a very effective sub over the last 10 games and he graded out against both the run and pass according to Pro Football Focus. If the Bears can find a way to get one of the top edge rushers in this year's draft, a front four of Peppers, Melton, Paea, and Coples/Ingram/Mercilus would be very frightening for opposing passers on third down. Either way, I think the Bears future at DT is bright with Melton and Paea.
#98 Corey Wootton, DE: 7 games, 4 tackles.
So far in his NFL career Corey Wootton has been exactly what everyone was afraid of when the Bears drafted him: fragile. He's flashed some potential in training camp and the preseason, and he started to come on late in 2010:
Yes, I did just want an excuse to post that video. Unfortunately, injuries have derailed any opportunities Corey's had to develop. The team could really have used him last year as Izzy struggled. We'll see if he can be healthy and effective enough to hold on to a roster spot with the addition of 1st or 2nd round defensive end to compete with him.
#94 Chauncey Davis, DE: 6 games, 9 tackles, 1 sack
A decent rotational DE who was an okay waiver-wire pickup from the Falcons. He may make the roster again next year if Wootton under-performs again, but he's nothing special.
#94 Nick Reed, DE: 6 games, 6 tackles, 1 pass defensed
No, that's not a typo. Reed wore #94 first, then was waived to make room for Davis. He knocked down a pass against the Falcons. That's about it.
#78 Mario Addison, DE: 2 games
An undrafted rookie out of Troy, Mario did nothing remarkable in 2 games before he was waived in November and claimed by the Colts. Bright future, I'm sure.
#93 Thaddeus Gibson, DE: 2 games
A late season pick up from Pittsburgh. He played some special teams and his still on the roster, so he may get a look in camp this year. I don't expect much, though.
The Bears got 30 sacks from their defensive line, which is acceptable, but they're still too over-reliant on Peppers. As I said, I don't expect Peppers to tail off much this year, Melton will be more consistent in his second year as a starter, and Paea will also improve in year two. As it stands now, though, they only have Melton, Paea, and Toeina under contract at DT and only Peppers, and Idonije seem like locks to make next year's roster at DE, so I'd expect both a defensive end and a defensive tackle at some point in the draft.
Friday, October 28, 2011
The Bears at the Bye, Part II- The Defense and Special Teams
Continuing from yesterday
The Defensive Line
-Henry Melton, DT: It's hard to get a good read on Henry Melton. On the one hand, he's been the pass-rushing threat I had hoped he'd be, since he's got 3 sacks in 7 games (consider that that's nearly as many as his predecessor Tommie Harris had in 09 and 10 combined). On the other hand, he hasn't made a huge impact against the run and he tends to run very hot and cold. Consistency would be nice, although the team may be less dependent on him now that Amobi Okoye has emerged
-Amobi Okoye, DT: I never understood why people thought this was a bad signing, besides the "LOL, THE BEARZ ER SIGNIN EVERYUNS BUSTS CUZ JERRY ANGELO IS A DERP LOL" crowd. Okoye had been moderately successful rushing the passer as a Texan and he had an incredibly low price tag. He's been a force on passing downs (3 sacks), and he's got 12 tackles as well. Henry's starting job may be in trouble, and Henry hasn't even played poorly. This is a good thing. Consider this: between Okoye (3), Melton (3), and Paea (1), the Bears have almost as many sacks from the DT position already this year (7) as they had all of last year (8). The consistency isn't quite there yet, but it's already better than last year.
-Matt Toeiana, DT: Matt had a nice year last year, but he's been hurt and outplayed so far by Melton and Okoye. That's not a bad thing. As a starter, Toeiana was alright, but as the third guy in the rotation? Those are nice, fresh legs to have. It'll be interesting to see if he gets activated after the bye, since Paea's come on strong.
-Stephen Paea, DT: My mancrush on this kid isn't quite commensurate with his actual production so far, but it's close. His numbers in college and his work at the combine speak for themselves. In his first game he blew up the Vikings interior in order to get to McNabb for a safety, and he's been a big part of the improvement against the run the last two games, even if it doesn't show up on the stat sheet. I think he's going to take more and more of Anthony Adams' playing time, which is good thing, since Anthony's never been anything more than "solid."
-Anthony Adams, DT: I mean no disrespect to Adams. He's been a solid run stuffer for most of his time in Chicago, but he doesn't add much in terms of pass-rushing ability (never had more than 2 sacks in a season) and at this point you know he's never going to be an extraordinary player. Again, I think it's likely that you'll see Paea start to phase him out as the year goes on.
-Israel Idonije, DE: Izzy got off to a slow start, but he's played well of late and is now at 3 sacks on the year, and it seems likely he'll match last year's numbers, at least. He's not a star, but he knows how to take advantage of being the bookend to Julius Peppers.
-Julius Peppers, DE: He's still the man. What else do you need to know? The bye should help him rest his banged-up knee, and I'm sure he'll tee off on a shaky Philly offensive line.
Linebackers:
-Brian Urlacher: He's still playing like the guy from last year who suddenly found the fountain of youth. He's already racked up 41 tackles, 3 run stuffs, a fumble recovery for a TD, 3 awesome interceptions, and 4 pass deflections. I have no idea how long he can keep playing like this, but for now it's sure as hell nice to have.
-Lance Briggs: He pissed us all off with his offseason shenanigans, but he's made up for it on the field lately. He leads the team in tackles, with 55, and got his first interception during a monster game against the Bucs. As usual, he's near the top of the league with 5 run stuffs. It'd be easy to question the linebackers given the success opposing teams had earlier this season in the game, but these two haven't been the problem.
-Nick Roach: He plays the most thankless position in the entire Cover 2 scheme, and hasn't registered much on the stat sheet. He also hasn't been caught of position much, either. In short, he's Nick Roach, and he's...alright. He's not Hunter Hillenmeyer, so, that's one in the win column for him.
Cornerbacks:
-Charles Tillman: He still gets a ton of shit for stuff that isn't his fault. Calvin Johnson's TD? Not Charles' assignment. Devery Henderson? Not Charles' guy. He got victimized again by Greg Jennings, but he wasn't the guy matched up on Steve Smith. As far as the things he's been responsible for? Charles has been pretty good. He played a surprising amount of man against Roddy White and was very successful at it. He's made far more tackles (35) than a corner should have to make, thanks to the shoddy safety play, and, of course, he's forced one fumble. Like Briggs and Urlacher, he hasn't been the problem.
-Tim Jennings and Zack Bowman: These two have been part of it, that's for sure. I lump them together because they're equally useless. The Bears smartly recognized that Tillman isn't fast enough to cover speedy guys like Jennings and Steve Smith anymore. The result? A combined 17 catches for 300 yards (17.6 YPC). Guh.
-DJ Moore: Who doesn't love DJ and his seven interceptions (and two TDs) in two years? Communists, that's who.
Safeties:
-Chris Harris: He sucked. I know he was injured, and I was as shocked as anybody by his incredible drop off from last year, but he absolutely sucked. I'd still rather they have kept him over Black Todd Johnson, but there's no way to hide how bad Chris was in limited action. He struggled in run support, he was completely out of position on both Jahvid Best and Calvin Johnson's TDs in Detroit, and he got punished on Freeman's second TD pass against Tampa. He also dropped an interception opportunity right before that TD. I'll always like Chris, but he didn't belong in the lineup anymore.
-Brandon Meriweather: I have no lingering fondness for Meriweather (Black Todd Johnson). He's as clueless as a young Danieal Manning and as undisciplined as LaVar Arrington. He has no sense of where the ball is, or where it's going, and he's a dirty player. I don't care what he says about the NFL trying to "change his game." Nobody teaches you to tackle with your head, because, as Brandon has shown us, it often fails to result in a fucking tackle at all. Jesus, I can't believe I was excited about him. Him and Harris were undoubtedly the biggest problem on this defense.
-Chris Conte: Well, he's played two games and has either had his name called for good plays (incredible interception to prevent a Tampa TD) or hasn't had it called at all. I'll take it.
-Major Wright: He scares the shit out of me. He's played very well against Atlanta and Minnesota. He broke the cardinal rule and let Devery Henderson get behind him in New Orleans. He gets hurt All of the damn time. At this point he's a bigger question mark than Conte, even, but he's also far better than Brandon Meriweather.
Special Teams:
-Robbie Gould: He still hasn't missed a field goal in America. He's awesome. That hasn't changed.
-Adam Podlesh: He's certainly gotten enough work, hasn't he? He's done a good job. Nice leg. He can boot balls that Brad Maynard just couldn't do anymore.
That's it for now. I'll get to the coaching staff/rants about Mike Martz on Monday. I think the defense will be much better in the second half. Hard to see them giving up the big play so consistently from here on out. Will it be enough? I don't know.
The Defensive Line
-Henry Melton, DT: It's hard to get a good read on Henry Melton. On the one hand, he's been the pass-rushing threat I had hoped he'd be, since he's got 3 sacks in 7 games (consider that that's nearly as many as his predecessor Tommie Harris had in 09 and 10 combined). On the other hand, he hasn't made a huge impact against the run and he tends to run very hot and cold. Consistency would be nice, although the team may be less dependent on him now that Amobi Okoye has emerged
-Amobi Okoye, DT: I never understood why people thought this was a bad signing, besides the "LOL, THE BEARZ ER SIGNIN EVERYUNS BUSTS CUZ JERRY ANGELO IS A DERP LOL" crowd. Okoye had been moderately successful rushing the passer as a Texan and he had an incredibly low price tag. He's been a force on passing downs (3 sacks), and he's got 12 tackles as well. Henry's starting job may be in trouble, and Henry hasn't even played poorly. This is a good thing. Consider this: between Okoye (3), Melton (3), and Paea (1), the Bears have almost as many sacks from the DT position already this year (7) as they had all of last year (8). The consistency isn't quite there yet, but it's already better than last year.
-Matt Toeiana, DT: Matt had a nice year last year, but he's been hurt and outplayed so far by Melton and Okoye. That's not a bad thing. As a starter, Toeiana was alright, but as the third guy in the rotation? Those are nice, fresh legs to have. It'll be interesting to see if he gets activated after the bye, since Paea's come on strong.
-Stephen Paea, DT: My mancrush on this kid isn't quite commensurate with his actual production so far, but it's close. His numbers in college and his work at the combine speak for themselves. In his first game he blew up the Vikings interior in order to get to McNabb for a safety, and he's been a big part of the improvement against the run the last two games, even if it doesn't show up on the stat sheet. I think he's going to take more and more of Anthony Adams' playing time, which is good thing, since Anthony's never been anything more than "solid."
-Anthony Adams, DT: I mean no disrespect to Adams. He's been a solid run stuffer for most of his time in Chicago, but he doesn't add much in terms of pass-rushing ability (never had more than 2 sacks in a season) and at this point you know he's never going to be an extraordinary player. Again, I think it's likely that you'll see Paea start to phase him out as the year goes on.
-Israel Idonije, DE: Izzy got off to a slow start, but he's played well of late and is now at 3 sacks on the year, and it seems likely he'll match last year's numbers, at least. He's not a star, but he knows how to take advantage of being the bookend to Julius Peppers.
-Julius Peppers, DE: He's still the man. What else do you need to know? The bye should help him rest his banged-up knee, and I'm sure he'll tee off on a shaky Philly offensive line.
Linebackers:
-Brian Urlacher: He's still playing like the guy from last year who suddenly found the fountain of youth. He's already racked up 41 tackles, 3 run stuffs, a fumble recovery for a TD, 3 awesome interceptions, and 4 pass deflections. I have no idea how long he can keep playing like this, but for now it's sure as hell nice to have.
-Lance Briggs: He pissed us all off with his offseason shenanigans, but he's made up for it on the field lately. He leads the team in tackles, with 55, and got his first interception during a monster game against the Bucs. As usual, he's near the top of the league with 5 run stuffs. It'd be easy to question the linebackers given the success opposing teams had earlier this season in the game, but these two haven't been the problem.
-Nick Roach: He plays the most thankless position in the entire Cover 2 scheme, and hasn't registered much on the stat sheet. He also hasn't been caught of position much, either. In short, he's Nick Roach, and he's...alright. He's not Hunter Hillenmeyer, so, that's one in the win column for him.
Cornerbacks:
-Charles Tillman: He still gets a ton of shit for stuff that isn't his fault. Calvin Johnson's TD? Not Charles' assignment. Devery Henderson? Not Charles' guy. He got victimized again by Greg Jennings, but he wasn't the guy matched up on Steve Smith. As far as the things he's been responsible for? Charles has been pretty good. He played a surprising amount of man against Roddy White and was very successful at it. He's made far more tackles (35) than a corner should have to make, thanks to the shoddy safety play, and, of course, he's forced one fumble. Like Briggs and Urlacher, he hasn't been the problem.
-Tim Jennings and Zack Bowman: These two have been part of it, that's for sure. I lump them together because they're equally useless. The Bears smartly recognized that Tillman isn't fast enough to cover speedy guys like Jennings and Steve Smith anymore. The result? A combined 17 catches for 300 yards (17.6 YPC). Guh.
-DJ Moore: Who doesn't love DJ and his seven interceptions (and two TDs) in two years? Communists, that's who.
Safeties:
-Chris Harris: He sucked. I know he was injured, and I was as shocked as anybody by his incredible drop off from last year, but he absolutely sucked. I'd still rather they have kept him over Black Todd Johnson, but there's no way to hide how bad Chris was in limited action. He struggled in run support, he was completely out of position on both Jahvid Best and Calvin Johnson's TDs in Detroit, and he got punished on Freeman's second TD pass against Tampa. He also dropped an interception opportunity right before that TD. I'll always like Chris, but he didn't belong in the lineup anymore.
-Brandon Meriweather: I have no lingering fondness for Meriweather (Black Todd Johnson). He's as clueless as a young Danieal Manning and as undisciplined as LaVar Arrington. He has no sense of where the ball is, or where it's going, and he's a dirty player. I don't care what he says about the NFL trying to "change his game." Nobody teaches you to tackle with your head, because, as Brandon has shown us, it often fails to result in a fucking tackle at all. Jesus, I can't believe I was excited about him. Him and Harris were undoubtedly the biggest problem on this defense.
-Chris Conte: Well, he's played two games and has either had his name called for good plays (incredible interception to prevent a Tampa TD) or hasn't had it called at all. I'll take it.
-Major Wright: He scares the shit out of me. He's played very well against Atlanta and Minnesota. He broke the cardinal rule and let Devery Henderson get behind him in New Orleans. He gets hurt All of the damn time. At this point he's a bigger question mark than Conte, even, but he's also far better than Brandon Meriweather.
Special Teams:
-Robbie Gould: He still hasn't missed a field goal in America. He's awesome. That hasn't changed.
-Adam Podlesh: He's certainly gotten enough work, hasn't he? He's done a good job. Nice leg. He can boot balls that Brad Maynard just couldn't do anymore.
That's it for now. I'll get to the coaching staff/rants about Mike Martz on Monday. I think the defense will be much better in the second half. Hard to see them giving up the big play so consistently from here on out. Will it be enough? I don't know.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
In Review- The Defensive Line
The journey continues. My offseason review of each unit on the 2010 Bears now arrives at Rod Marinelli's beloved "Rush Men." Without further ado, we start with:
#71 Israel Idonije, Defensive End/Tackle
There are always players who excel in bit roles that become fan favorites, resulting in fans calling for them to receive more playing time. Most of the time the players tend to disappear when they earn more playing time, since (loathe as we are to admit it) coaches tend to know the players on their own roster best and they knew better than to make the guy a starter. Izzy's one of those guys, however, that was finally given a chance to start (after he solidly whipped Mark Anderson's ass in the offseason) and played extremely well, with 8 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 1 pass defensed, and a ton of pressures, mostly from the left defensive end spot.
Now, I'm aware that Izzy also benefitted greatly from the attention given to Julius Peppers, but that's not an excuse to entirely dismiss his production. Not everybody that plays on the opposite end of a star can take advantage like Izzy did. If you want proof, look at Mark Anderson himself, both in his brief appearances as a Bear this year and his longer stint as the bookend to Mario Williams in Houston. Anderson had just 4 sacks in 15 games. Idonije's also valuable in that his size still gives him the versatility to move inside in pure passing situations, allowing the team to bring in another pure pass rusher like Corey Wootton in those spots. I'd expect nothing but the same next year from Israel, although he may have to split more time with Wootton, but not through any fault of his own.
#98 Corey Wootton, Defensive End
When Corey was drafted in the fourth round last year, we were told he was a first round talent that had fallen to the fourth due to injury. That smelled like bullshit when he didn't dress for the first ten games of the season, but he was activated late once he was 100% and he made an impact throughout the last part of the season. He has only 5 tackles and 1 sack to show for the limited work he got in the last 6 games, but he was coming on strong and even had a tackle for a loss in the playoff game against Seattle. No one's asking much of Corey other than to give a breather to Peppers and Idonije, so the upside he has is a major plus for the job he's asked to do. I'd expect him to earn more playing time next year and maybe even be the pass-rush specialist that Mark Anderson was in 2006, with Idonije doing most of the grunt work like Alex Brown.
Oh yeah, that one sack of Corey's ended Brett Favre's career. He's a f*&king God.
Is it bad that 'erotic' is the word I use to describe that video? It's bad, isn't it?
#69 Henry Melton, Defensive End/Tackle
I was pretty skeptical when the Bears spent a fourth round pick on a fat runningback from Texas to be a defensive lineman, especially when the need seemed too pressing to waste a draft pick on a project, but this year Henry really proved his worth. Henry played in all 16 games and produced 16 tackles, 3 sacks, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup. Not bad for a guy who was new to the position and spent most of the year in a six man rotation with Idonije, Tommie Harris, Matt Toeaina, Marcus Harrison, and Anthony Adams. Henry, like Izzy, can play both end and tackle and my guess next year is that Melton and Toeaina will begin the year as the starters, but I would assume that Paea will work his way in soon and the three will end the year with a similar number of snaps.
#75 Matt Toeaina, Defensive Tackle
Matt was another great practice squad find by Lovie and Jerry (I actually mean that. If there's one position where they've found some value on the waiver wire, it's defensive tackle) similar to Anthony Adams, which is interesting, since he'll probably be the reason why Anthony won't be back this year. Toeaina's not a star, but he's a badass Polynesian (soon NFL rules will require that all offensive and defensive lines shall be at least 40% Polynesian)and he's a workhorse that will give quality reps as part of the rotation Lovie likes to use at that position. For the year he made it into all 16 games, with 24 tackles, 2 sacks, and 2 pass breakups. Again, I look forward to seeing Matt, Melton, and Paea next year as their youth and energy should keep teams from neutralizing Julius Peppers. The Bears appear to have regained the depth in the middle that they had back in the 05-06 heyday, when Tommie Harris, Ian Scott, Tank Johnson, and Idonije would just overwhelm opponents and stifle the run game. This is good news, since...
#91 Tommie Harris, Defensive Tackle
Is gone, and he ain't comin' back. I mean that both in the literal sense, since he's a free agent and won't be re-signed, and figuratively, since the Tommie Harris that we'd all been hoping to see return is gone forever and has been since the end of 2007. I appreciate Tommie for the beast that he once was, and, while I hope Paea can replace some of that production, I'm well aware we're not likely to see a tackle of the caliber that Tommie used to be any time soon. That's the past, though, and I applaud Lovie and Jerry for actually managing to let go of sentiment when they benched and deactivated Tommie this year not out of any disciplinary reason, but simply because it made the Bears a better football team. I wish Tommie well, but I'm quite confident the Bears won't regret letting him go.
#95 Anthony Adams, Defensive Tackle
I said above that I don't think Anthony will be re-signed, even though Urlacher stated recently that they need him. I think the Bears will probably let him test the market and will only bring him back at their price, not his. Anthony's 31, but he is a workhorse and, while his numbers won't wow you for a veteran starter (4 sacks and 2forced fumbles in the last two years) he'd be an upgrade for someone. I'd be happy if the Bears did manage to bring him back (especially since the alternative is giving Marcus Harrison another shot at trying to avoid eating his way out of the NFL), but I think it's unlikely.
#99 Marcus Harrison, Defensive Tackle
The thing most people know about Marcus (if they know anything about him at all) is that he was practically handed a starting job before training camp in 2009 and he showed up completely overweight. Hell, I'd be shocked if he's even at the 312 lbs he's listed at right now (and that's already the heaviest listed weight of any Bears d-lineman). He's a waste of talent and an even bigger waste of space, but I'm not sure if Lovie's entirely soured on him yet, even though he was active for just five games last year and completely flopped when given increased reps in Tommie's place. Hopefully, if the Bears Do let Adams walk, Harrison will finally motivated to put down the fork. I doubt it, though.
#90 Julius Peppers, Defensive End
It's hard to overstate just how awesome Julius Peppers is. I have a tendency to roll my eyes whenever I hear someone say something like "____ just does so many things for a team that don't show up on a stat sheet..." but Julius gives me pause. Every offense the Bears faced this year had to account for Julius Peppers on every single play. I can't remember the last time the Bears had a pass rusher that you could say that about. Ogunleye was alright when he had Tommie making it easy for him, but he disappeared about the same time Tommie did without any injury as an excuse. Peppers is just an absolute wrecking machine.
I'm not going to give him complete credit for turning around the Bears defense, as about half of that credit goes to a healthy trio of Urlacher/Briggs/Tinoisamoa giving the Bears their best linebacking corps since Urlacher/Holdman/Colvin in 2001 and improved safety play from Manning and Chris Harris, but the other half is Peppers by himself. You can't run around him, you have to devote at least two blockers to him on every play, you can't even throw it Over him most of the time, and you sure as hell can't escape him once he breaks free. He deserved his place on the All Pro team, even with just 8 sacks to his name (along with 43 tackles, 2 interceptions, 9 pass breakups, and 3 forced fumbles, of course). He gets my vote for Team MVP. I'd expect an even better season out of him next year, even at age 31, thanks to the relief I hope he'll get from the presence of Stephen Paea. I'd settle for more of the same, though.
Julius Peppers is the balls.
#71 Israel Idonije, Defensive End/Tackle
There are always players who excel in bit roles that become fan favorites, resulting in fans calling for them to receive more playing time. Most of the time the players tend to disappear when they earn more playing time, since (loathe as we are to admit it) coaches tend to know the players on their own roster best and they knew better than to make the guy a starter. Izzy's one of those guys, however, that was finally given a chance to start (after he solidly whipped Mark Anderson's ass in the offseason) and played extremely well, with 8 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 1 pass defensed, and a ton of pressures, mostly from the left defensive end spot.
Now, I'm aware that Izzy also benefitted greatly from the attention given to Julius Peppers, but that's not an excuse to entirely dismiss his production. Not everybody that plays on the opposite end of a star can take advantage like Izzy did. If you want proof, look at Mark Anderson himself, both in his brief appearances as a Bear this year and his longer stint as the bookend to Mario Williams in Houston. Anderson had just 4 sacks in 15 games. Idonije's also valuable in that his size still gives him the versatility to move inside in pure passing situations, allowing the team to bring in another pure pass rusher like Corey Wootton in those spots. I'd expect nothing but the same next year from Israel, although he may have to split more time with Wootton, but not through any fault of his own.
#98 Corey Wootton, Defensive End
When Corey was drafted in the fourth round last year, we were told he was a first round talent that had fallen to the fourth due to injury. That smelled like bullshit when he didn't dress for the first ten games of the season, but he was activated late once he was 100% and he made an impact throughout the last part of the season. He has only 5 tackles and 1 sack to show for the limited work he got in the last 6 games, but he was coming on strong and even had a tackle for a loss in the playoff game against Seattle. No one's asking much of Corey other than to give a breather to Peppers and Idonije, so the upside he has is a major plus for the job he's asked to do. I'd expect him to earn more playing time next year and maybe even be the pass-rush specialist that Mark Anderson was in 2006, with Idonije doing most of the grunt work like Alex Brown.
Oh yeah, that one sack of Corey's ended Brett Favre's career. He's a f*&king God.
Is it bad that 'erotic' is the word I use to describe that video? It's bad, isn't it?
#69 Henry Melton, Defensive End/Tackle
I was pretty skeptical when the Bears spent a fourth round pick on a fat runningback from Texas to be a defensive lineman, especially when the need seemed too pressing to waste a draft pick on a project, but this year Henry really proved his worth. Henry played in all 16 games and produced 16 tackles, 3 sacks, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup. Not bad for a guy who was new to the position and spent most of the year in a six man rotation with Idonije, Tommie Harris, Matt Toeaina, Marcus Harrison, and Anthony Adams. Henry, like Izzy, can play both end and tackle and my guess next year is that Melton and Toeaina will begin the year as the starters, but I would assume that Paea will work his way in soon and the three will end the year with a similar number of snaps.
#75 Matt Toeaina, Defensive Tackle
Matt was another great practice squad find by Lovie and Jerry (I actually mean that. If there's one position where they've found some value on the waiver wire, it's defensive tackle) similar to Anthony Adams, which is interesting, since he'll probably be the reason why Anthony won't be back this year. Toeaina's not a star, but he's a badass Polynesian (soon NFL rules will require that all offensive and defensive lines shall be at least 40% Polynesian)and he's a workhorse that will give quality reps as part of the rotation Lovie likes to use at that position. For the year he made it into all 16 games, with 24 tackles, 2 sacks, and 2 pass breakups. Again, I look forward to seeing Matt, Melton, and Paea next year as their youth and energy should keep teams from neutralizing Julius Peppers. The Bears appear to have regained the depth in the middle that they had back in the 05-06 heyday, when Tommie Harris, Ian Scott, Tank Johnson, and Idonije would just overwhelm opponents and stifle the run game. This is good news, since...
#91 Tommie Harris, Defensive Tackle
Is gone, and he ain't comin' back. I mean that both in the literal sense, since he's a free agent and won't be re-signed, and figuratively, since the Tommie Harris that we'd all been hoping to see return is gone forever and has been since the end of 2007. I appreciate Tommie for the beast that he once was, and, while I hope Paea can replace some of that production, I'm well aware we're not likely to see a tackle of the caliber that Tommie used to be any time soon. That's the past, though, and I applaud Lovie and Jerry for actually managing to let go of sentiment when they benched and deactivated Tommie this year not out of any disciplinary reason, but simply because it made the Bears a better football team. I wish Tommie well, but I'm quite confident the Bears won't regret letting him go.
#95 Anthony Adams, Defensive Tackle
I said above that I don't think Anthony will be re-signed, even though Urlacher stated recently that they need him. I think the Bears will probably let him test the market and will only bring him back at their price, not his. Anthony's 31, but he is a workhorse and, while his numbers won't wow you for a veteran starter (4 sacks and 2forced fumbles in the last two years) he'd be an upgrade for someone. I'd be happy if the Bears did manage to bring him back (especially since the alternative is giving Marcus Harrison another shot at trying to avoid eating his way out of the NFL), but I think it's unlikely.
#99 Marcus Harrison, Defensive Tackle
The thing most people know about Marcus (if they know anything about him at all) is that he was practically handed a starting job before training camp in 2009 and he showed up completely overweight. Hell, I'd be shocked if he's even at the 312 lbs he's listed at right now (and that's already the heaviest listed weight of any Bears d-lineman). He's a waste of talent and an even bigger waste of space, but I'm not sure if Lovie's entirely soured on him yet, even though he was active for just five games last year and completely flopped when given increased reps in Tommie's place. Hopefully, if the Bears Do let Adams walk, Harrison will finally motivated to put down the fork. I doubt it, though.
#90 Julius Peppers, Defensive End
It's hard to overstate just how awesome Julius Peppers is. I have a tendency to roll my eyes whenever I hear someone say something like "____ just does so many things for a team that don't show up on a stat sheet..." but Julius gives me pause. Every offense the Bears faced this year had to account for Julius Peppers on every single play. I can't remember the last time the Bears had a pass rusher that you could say that about. Ogunleye was alright when he had Tommie making it easy for him, but he disappeared about the same time Tommie did without any injury as an excuse. Peppers is just an absolute wrecking machine.
I'm not going to give him complete credit for turning around the Bears defense, as about half of that credit goes to a healthy trio of Urlacher/Briggs/Tinoisamoa giving the Bears their best linebacking corps since Urlacher/Holdman/Colvin in 2001 and improved safety play from Manning and Chris Harris, but the other half is Peppers by himself. You can't run around him, you have to devote at least two blockers to him on every play, you can't even throw it Over him most of the time, and you sure as hell can't escape him once he breaks free. He deserved his place on the All Pro team, even with just 8 sacks to his name (along with 43 tackles, 2 interceptions, 9 pass breakups, and 3 forced fumbles, of course). He gets my vote for Team MVP. I'd expect an even better season out of him next year, even at age 31, thanks to the relief I hope he'll get from the presence of Stephen Paea. I'd settle for more of the same, though.
Julius Peppers is the balls.
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