Bears sign DT Landon Cohen; Melton to IR
The Bears signed DT Landon Cohen today and moved Henry Melton to the IR which effectively ends his season. It’s not a surprise move as the Bears brought in a few free agent DTs for tryouts this week. Cohen should be ready to contribute right away as he was on Cowboys roster until week 3 under Rod Marinelli running a very similar scheme to what the Bears run. DC Mel Tucker is familiar with Cohen as well as he coached him for 2 games with Jacksonville in 2010. Cohen was a 7th round pick in 2008 by the Lions and the Bears are his 5th team since (Lions, Jaguars, Patriots, Cowboys). Here are a couple of scouting reports on Cohen:
Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports
From ESPN:
Cohen is a one-gap defensive tackle who is at his best disrupting running plays, making plays in the backfield and rushing the passer. The biggest knock on him is that he’s vastly undersized for the interior defensive line, which could mean that teams will have success running at him.
NFL.com
Positives: Has good strength and leverage, showing adequate explosion coming off the ball…Quick to locate and react to the play…Shows good pop behind his hand swipes and the lateral movements and change of direction agility to make plays knifing down the line… Hits with power, staying low in his pads and wrapping well when working in-line…His superb balance and low center of gravity makes it very hard to take him off his feet…Has a short closing burst to collide into ballcarriers…Uses an array of rip, spin and swim moves to gain penetration, showing a relentless nature in his pass rush and quarterback pursuit…Compensates for his lack of size with power and leverage…Will shock blockers with his initial hand jolt…Very comfortable in one-on-one matchups and does a very nice job of defeating double teams, when he keeps his hands active…Has good timed speed, but it is his sudden burst that shocks offensive linemen…Has a strong rip move to slip past blockers and shows good urgency closing from the backside…Has good field instincts and is not the type who will bite on pump fakes or misdirection.
Negatives: Lacks ideal size and bulk…Struggles to shed at times due to his short arms… Can be overwhelmed at the point of attack when blockers get underneath to get a piece of his jersey…Better working in closed quarters, as he seems sluggish in his moves when working in space…Loses speed when asked to run distances…His short arms pose a problem when trying to shed and while he has good swim moves, they are less effective vs. the taller blockers (can not get cross faced)…May be better suited for an under-tackle position due to size limitations…Despite weighing 278, he has a soft, fleshy midsection that sometimes prevents him from dropping his pads…Has a good burst off the snap, but labors when having to pursue long distances.