Bears Intend To Make Life Difficult For NFC North Quarterbacks
In the NFL, the key to winning is clearly defined by how position groups are valued. The way to find that value is following the money. When you follow the money, the path always leads to one place.- the quarterback. Teams either invest in one or invest in stopping one. The latter is the subject matter of this particular piece.
The easiest road to the playoffs is to win your division. In the last couple decades in the NFC North, that usually means going through Green Bay. The best way to beat Green Bay is to bring an aggressive physical defense and put pressure on Aaron Rodgers.
Despite what some seem to believe, especially those fans north of the Cheddar Curtain, no quarterback can be successful with relentless pressure on him- none. Pressure is the key to stopping good quarterbacks. It’s all about hurries, batted balls and hits. Of course the most successful way to disrupt a quarterback is a sack. It accomplishes everything. Especially if it causes a turnover. A sack is a pressure, hurry, and hit all in one. If the defensive player can add a strip fumble or even a hit arm and cause an interception, the defense has really accomplished their goal.
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There is an obvious and healthy dislike for Rodgers by the Bears players, and even maybe from the coaches themselves. Recently, Lamarr Houston wasn’t bashful about stating his dislike for the Packers’ signal caller. He also had some harsh things to say right after the Christmas eve game in Lambeau. As you can see from the article photo, Willie Young isn’t exactly giving Rodgers a pat on the back. Bears linebacker coach Clint Hurtt specifically said Leonard Floyd was drafted to go get Rodgers.
That’s not to say that Matt Stafford or Teddy Bridgewater get off the hook either. They will also be the prime focus of the Bears’ defensive wrath. However, the division still goes through Green Bay until it’s proven otherwise, despite what Minnesota accomplished in 2015.
Minnesota is building a good team and appears to have just drafted a very good class for a third consecutive year. There is some young talent in Minneapolis- especially on defense. This year, they added some offense to support their young QB, but their defense appears to be the real hurdle.
In Detroit, their offense probably still remains to be their top phase, but they lost a very key piece in the recently retired Calvin “Megatron” Johnson. That loss makes Stafford and their offense a lot less dangerous.
However in Green Bay, their offense is still top notch led by their equally top notch QB. The Bears’ defense is being built to make that offense a little less top notch by harassing and putting Aaron Rodgers on his back.
The fact that the Bears are in talks to resign Willie Young to line up the contract to expire the same time as Houston’s shows me they want to keep their pass rushers around for a little bit until they can add more depth and develop more pass rushers to continue their assault on the division and conference quarterbacks for years to come.
They also have a young and developing core of linemen on board to add to that front three. In Jonathan Bullard, they have one of the best young 3-4 end prospects in this draft class and maybe in the NFL, but that remains to be seen. Last years second round draft pick Eddie Goldman has a chance to be special, and the signing of 26-year old Akiem Hicks can contribute immediately but help build their future as an NFL veteran but one that is young enough to contribute for years to come.
The signing of both Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman gives you a front-seven that’s number one priority is to seek and destroy all things quarterback. Of course this is only in print, and we need to see the front-seven perform on the field. Apart from another rash of injuries decimating the team, this unit should be able to field a legitimate starting unit on both defense and special teams which compliment each other well and help out the offense.
After analyzing this team in great detail one thing remains a certainty- quarterbacks who play this team this season will be spending some extra time in the training room- the Monsters of the Midway are back.