Why Bears Defense Will Leap in Year Two–Team Speed
By Gau Bodepudi
Year Two in the System
In addition to the personnel additions, expect the carryover players from year one to play faster and more instinctively. With a year of experience under their belt, knowledge of the playbook is becoming second nature.
Even during the start of this offseason’s OTAs, OLB Lamaar Houston observed “it’s really impressive to see progress like that from one year to the next, in the second year of the defense with guys finally understanding and have a natural feel for what they are doing and it’s second nature to make checks and calls.”
Last year’s rookies are also noticing it. NT Eddie Goldman noted that in his second year in the league and with the playbook, “things come quicker. In football, everything is right now. When you can cut [thinking] out and know things like second nature, it saves you a lot of time, saves you a lot of thinking, and it makes you more comfortable.”
To assess the team’s progress, John Fox went back and studied the Bears’ offseason tape from a year ago. This year he observed “it’s much more competitive, much more high speed. And this game is about playing fast and you need to practice it fast.”
The Bears made it a priority to increase defensive team speed this offseason. Their offseason moves and the players’ extra year in the system has led to noticeable improvements thus far in the offseason. Expect that to translate on Sundays during the regular season.