Chicago Bears: 2016 is a Do-or-Die Year for Kyle Fuller

Aside from Jay Cutler, there might not be another player on the Chicago Bears who has mixed highlight reel plays with boneheaded mistakes as much as Kyle Fuller. After two seasons of up and down play, 2016 could very well decide whether Fuller will remain a future building block of the defense, or become another footnote in Bears’ first round draft busts.

His rookie year was one of the only bright spots throughout the Bears’ miserable 2014 campaign. Fuller’s brightest moment came in week 2 of his rookie year where the Bears were facing the heavily favored San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football. Fuller shined bright in his first prime time action and snagged two interceptions en route to an upset win. He would shine bright again the next week when the Bears were once again under the prime time lights in a Monday Night Football match-up against the New York Jets. Fuller snagged another pick while forcing two fumbles. Fuller would go on to struggle mightily for the rest of the year, though that could be widely attributed to the Bears falling apart as a team.

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With the steady hand of Vic Fangio guiding the defense into 2015, Fuller was poised to show he could fill the shoes of long-time Bears’ corner, Charles Tillman. However, the season would start miserably for Fuller. He was benched week 2 against the Cardinals, and was generally unremarkable until after the Bears’ week 7 bye. Fuller showed his talent as a ball hawk in week 8 against the Minnesota Vikings by snagging a crucial interception which put the Bears in position to tie the game at 10 heading into halftime. Fuller would use the Vikings game to create momentum where both he and the Bears defense went on a dominant run in which they only allowed 16 points per game from week 8 through week 14. Fuller logged 6 passes defended and 2 interceptions throughout that span. However, Fuller once again experienced a lull in play as he was unremarkable for the final 3 games, looking especially poor in the season finale against the Detroit Lions.

Nov 9, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; Chicago Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller (23) defends San Diego Chargers wide receiver Dontrelle Inman (15) during the second quarter at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /

While Fuller’s play has been inconsistent, he has been one of the few Bears who has proven to be a threat in the takeaway game. While leading the team with only 2 interceptions isn’t jaw dropping by any means, it does show that Fuller is one of the few players on the team who is capable of making a difference in the turnover game which the Bears have been uncharacteristically quiet in the past few years (Only 17 total takeaways last season which ranked 28th in the NFL). Aside from Fuller, there really isn’t another Bear that has given quarterbacks a reason to be scared of throwing passes in their direction. Adrian Amos played well at safety, but he only logged 2 with no picks pass defenses while starting 16 games. Tracey Porter played lights out on Thanksgiving, but aside from that, he was only serviceable. The rest of the Bears’ secondary consists of players who are fighting for playing time and roster spots like Bryce Callahan, Sherrick McManis, Harold Jones-Quartey, and Deon Bush among others. While the takeaways make Fuller stand out, there is a part of his game that is seriously lacking- consistency.

Yes, no one can be perfect for an entire 16 game season; even Darrelle Revis gets beat every once in a rare while. The problem with Fuller is when he has a bad performance, the bottom seems to fall out. Sure, Fuller’s slump in the second half of his rookie year can’t be entirely held against him, but last year he had some unacceptable lapses. Not only would Fuller allow receivers to get open and catch passes, but he would whiff on the tackles too. His rookie year could perhaps have been blamed on a crumbling defensive system, but last season, Fangio placed everyone in positions to succeed, making Fuller’s mistakes even harder to forgive. A second-year pro should not be getting benched, especially when guarding a team’s third best receiver like he was against the Arizona Cardinals.

Above Fuller’s ability to perform consistently, he has yet to develop into the leader the Bears expected when they essentially picked him in the 2014 draft to be Charles Tillman’s successor. While Fuller may never be the player that Tillman was, he can still make an impact in the secondary when it comes to consistency and leadership. Aside from Amos, there isn’t another player on the Bears who figures to be talented enough to lead the secondary. Sure, Danny Trevathan will likely become the voice of the defense, but great defenses have a voice at every level (The defensive line-linebackers-secondary). Take the ’85 Bears for example, Mike Singletary was the unquestioned voice of the defense, but Gary Fencik set the tone for the secondary while Richard Dent was the leader of the defensive line.

The Bears’s defense is quickly developing, but to truly become a league leading defense like in years passed, the Bears need Fuller to step up. Fuller still has a year left on his contract, but John Fox has shown no hesitation in getting rid of players he doesn’t believe will help in the long run. Not even former pro bowlers were safe from this treatment such as former cornerback Tim Jennings and defensive tackle, Jay Ratliff. Fuller has had his opportunities to learn, now it’s time for him to deliver, or forever hold his peace.

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