Have the Chicago Bears found a way to get production out of Robert Quinn?
The signing of Robert Quinn has been a pretty big disappointment. From him being a rotational player to Leonard Floyd out producing him, the entire thing has been a disaster. Fortunately for the Chicago Bears, they did get his best play of the season in Week 13.
It appeared as though Quinn finally was being used the perfect amount in the right ways, and he took advantage with a season-high six pressures. Fortunately for the Bears, Quinn followed his big week 13 up with another strong performance in week 14. The game was one of just three this year where he posted three or more pressures according to PFF. That means that two of the three came in a row as well.
Still, while Quinn was just getting pressure, and barely showed up on the stat sheet, his impact was felt. Below, you can see the value of Robert Quinn. He is stunting, and he and Mario Edwards twist.
Sure, Quinn does not record a sack on this play. However, he takes out the tackle he is rushing, and as he stunts inside, he takes out the guard as well.
By taking out both linemen, frees up Mario Edwards to race into the backfield.
Edwards gets himself an easy sack. So, while Edwards will see the stats, Quinn deserves a half-sack for this play.
This is not the first time we saw Quinn make this sort of impact, either. Against the Panthers, one of his other top three games of 2020, we saw his stunt in a similar fashion. As he rushes inside, the tackle follows him. By the end of the rush, he has taken up the tackle and guard.
This time it is Bilal Nichols who comes in clean. Again, Quinn is not getting sack stats but has assisted in two sacks.
Stunting has been a strength of Quinn for a while. Below, you can see him last year with the Cowboys. This time, he does get credit for the sack. Quinn starts outside, and while the tackle does not follow him inside, he beats the guard easily and collapses the pocket.
This is not a long effort to defend the Quinn signing. If you have read the site you know that we wanted Leonard Floyd to stay, and from Week 1 on, have had reservations about what Quinn could bring this season.
Still, the Chicago Bears are now in this spot and cannot go back. With that in mind, it is good to see that Quinn has been playing more often, and more efficiently in the past two weeks. While Quinn is not wrecking games and earning his salary, he has helped improve the pass rush. The hope is that the next three weeks and all of 2021 are more like the past two games and not the first 12.