3 notes on Chicago Bears DC Alan Williams defense through four games
1. Eddie Jackson deep and single-high for Chicago Bears
Just this week we highlighted that fans love Eddie Jackson despite the fact that his tackling has not improved. That is because his playmaking has. What was the secret? Putting him in a position to succeed.
In 2018 Jackson was the deep safety on 72% of his defensive snaps. The number went down to 51, 48, and 42 in the following years and his play fell off as well. Now, this season he is back to being a deep safety 72% of the time, and just like that he is playing the best ball of his career again.
It is funny how that works. One other interesting note is that Jaquan Brisker is playing deep less and less often. In week one he was deep on 32 snaps. That dropped to 29, to 11, and last week he was back deep for eight snaps. Early on they ran a two-high defense, but now they are trusting Jackson as the single-high and moving Brisker into the box much more often.
Next. How Bears should use Justin Fields. dark
Brisker is back deep on 30% of their defensive snaps. Last season, Jackson was deep 42% and Tashaun Gipson was deep 50%. This season, Jackson is deep 72% and Brisker is deep 30%, with that number dropping. It is a much different look with much more defined roles that play to their skill sets.