An uncomplicated game in mid-November against the Detroit Lions ended up being an accurate snapshot of Khalil Mack’s 2019 season.
Mack, this afternoon at Soldier Field, did not have a looting or quarterback hit, something that happened in six games last year. Part of this was the Lions’ strategy of executing backup quarterback Jeff Driskel away from Mack in plenty of contraband. A large part of him was Mack, in 46 quick pass opportunities, he was only selected by a tackle nine times, by outside linebacker coach Ted Monachino.
While Akiem Hicks was on the injured reserve list, the opposing offenses were able to launch all available resources to stop Mack. If that meant leaving a one-on-one tackle with Leonard Floyd, then so be it; Floyd wasn’t going to beat that guy and make it to the quarterback anyway.
Click to download the MyTeams app for the latest Bears news and analysis
Two weeks later, Mack snapped his sackless streak with a sack by New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones. The reason why it was simple for his teammates.
“He got one on one,” said safety Eddie Jackson after that game. “They have tripled and doubled it. By getting it one by one, you can see what it is capable of. We are going to put our money in Mack always. ”
The point here is Mack, despite having just 8 1/2 sacks last year, his lowest total since his rookie season, he didn’t step back or become a worse player in 2019. He just didn’t have that many opportunities. to be Khalil Mack.
That changes in 2020.
The Bears rescinded Floyd’s fifth-year option shortly after agreeing to sign top running back Robert Quinn to a five-year, $ 70 million deal in March. Floyd has totaled seven sacks since Mack arrived in Chicago; Quinn had 7 1/2 sacks in his first seven games of the 2019 season with the Dallas Cowboys. He finished last year with 11 1/2 sacks, and during his nine seasons in the NFL he’s averaging 10 sacks every 16 games.
That’s the guy who will line up against Mack in 2020.
Sheesh
If the offenses need to double Hicks and commit additional resources to block Mack, a tight end, a runner, etc., how can they also explain Quinn on the opposite side of the formation?
No, seriously, how can they do it?
The Bears are betting on his fast pass in 2020, hence the investment in Quinn as they go cheap to fill holes in the corner and safety. This will be a different-looking defense than the Bears in 2018, when Mack and Hicks wreaked havoc up front, but Vic Fangio and Ed Donatell also planned incredible coverage in the high school. Much of 2018’s defensive success was based on well-planned and even more well-executed coverage schemes.
MORE: How badly do the Bears need a quick start to 2020?
That 2018 defense broke Richard Dent’s “rule of three”: that every great defense has to have three impressive passes. The 2020 defense should incorporate the Dent rule while still having ex-All-Pros in Kyle Fuller and Jackson patrolling the back end.
Do you want to join Mack for a play? He will use one of the tools in his repertoire of hasty passes to “fire football,” as he likes to say. Do you need to live Quinn one on one with a tackle? That showdown is much more likely to win than Floyd. All of this will happen as Hicks pushes the pocket from the inside, along with the important dirty work of Eddie Goldman / Roy Robertson-Harris / Bilal Nichols.
If everything goes according to plan, this will be an incredible defense to see. Mack and Quinn could end the year with double-digit sacks.
And if the Bears’ defense ends up being the best in the NFL for the second time in three years, the decision to trade Floyd for Quinn could be the biggest reason.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE CENTER PODCAST FOR FREE.
