Robert Quinn and Taylor Decker squared off in 2019. How did the Chicago Bears free-agent acquisition fare?
When the Chicago Bears take on the Detroit Lions, one of the key matchups will be Robert Quinn against Taylor Decker. Decker is one of the better tackles in the NFL, and just signed an extension that says so. However, Quinn just saw a big payday as well, and both will be on a mission to prove their worth.
Fortunately for the Bears, Quinn has experience against Decker and played well in that game. According to PFF, it was one of the lower graded games that Decker had in 2019 as he allowed three pressures, one being a sack, and had a penalty as well.
So, to get a preview into what may happen on Sunday, we looked back at how Quinn was able to get to Decker.
Backup Quarterback
It has to be noted that Jeff Driskel started in this game, which did not do Decker any favors. It limited the Lions playbook, and you can see on the play below, it often had the offense slow off of the ball. Quinn explodes off of the ball while Decker is a beat or two behind. Driskel throws the ball away to avoid the sack, but Decker almost had no chance on this play.
If you ask Driskel, he would probably take the blame for this play and not setting the protection and having his line ready for the snap. However, from that point, you did not see many one-on-one matchups between Quinn and Decker.
The Lions ran screens and short passes, likely because of their limited playbook. However, they also ran bootlegs and gave Decker help throughout the game. The five plays below are the large majority of the times these two saw legitimate one-on-one action in this game.
Rip move
In the two plays below, you can see Quinn get home to the quarterback with a pressure and a sack. First, is the play below, which resulted in a sack. Quinn starts with a stab move to give himself space, then rips through Decker as he tightens his angle to the quarterback.
He goes back to this move later in the game. This time the quarterback is able to just in time. However, Quinn was still able to rip through and get a step to the inside as he turned into his arch.
Stunt
In the examples below, you can see Quinn stunt to the inside and try to create pressure from there. Quinn had consistently beaten Decker to the edge, and the Lions have sent outside help. Now, Quinn wanted to get Decker to overstep and stunt inside.
You can see in both plays that while Quinn did not get home, Jeff Driskel was well aware of where Quinn was, and when he started to get close. In the first play, Quinn’s burst inside forces Driskel to throw the ball quickly.
Below, Driskel has to move outside of the pocket because of the inside force that Quinn is presenting.
As noted, this was one of Quinns better and Decker’s lesser performances. Was that because of the matchup? Potentially. However, if you watch the game, you will not see many pure one-on-one wins for Decker. Below, to show that this is not biased with Bear Goggles On, you can see Decker use his power to stonewall Quinn and give his quarterback adequate time. There are one or two other wins that could be shown, but of ten quality reps, Quinn won six or seven.
You can see that while Decker could handle the power of Quinn, it was the length and burst that Decker could not handle. Quinn could get his hands on Decker and could use his length to get a step around the corner as well. From there, Quinn could counter inside with speed as well.
The Lions will not be able to send Decker help this time, as Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks are in a much more significant matchup. This is going to leave Quinn and Decker alone much more often and could be a chance for Quinn to flash his speed and athleticism.