Chicago Bears: Projecting the 2015 Defensive Starters
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Last week, I put the Bear Goggles On and took my best crack at projecting the Chicago Bears offensive starters headed into the 2015 season. Fellow staff writer Andrew Poole then bravely stepped into my alternate universe and identified the 5 most important offensive backups based on the starters I selected. Despite some effort on my part to create a bit of drama by saying Kyle Long will be moved to right tackle, there just isn’t much suspense when it comes to the starters on offense. The defense, however, is a different story.
After playing two straight years of historically bad defense, for the first time in team history the Bears are making the shift to a 3-4 alignment under the tutelage of new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Choosing from a mix of players old and new, some experienced in the 3-4 and some not; Fangio and HC John Fox will soon start deciding which of them will reside at the top of the depth chart.
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While there are some players that seem like safe bets to start based on status, fit and/or past performance, it’s hard to know who truly is a lock with such sweeping change underway. With that in mind this exercise figures to be a bit more adventurous than what we went thru with the offense.
It wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see a well-known veteran or two be released between now and the start of the season, if they’re identified as a bad fit in Fangio’s scheme. Players who would’ve otherwise been penciled in as starters if the Bears were still in a 4-3 might find themselves in search of a new home at some point in August.
With the unique circumstances we have this year, there’s just no way to know how the depth chart will take shape until the coaches have the players in live action and can identify the best fits. And now that this task before us has been identified as nearly impossible, I’ll go ahead and take my crack at projecting the Chicago Bears 2015 defensive starters. We’ll start first with a position that has been one of need for the Bears for several years.
Next: Safety: Help Wanted