Bears in a rush to improve defensive line
Despite all the positive talk about the Bears’ defense last season — most of it coming from players and coaches at Halas Hall — Lovie Smith’s team wasn’t very impressive on that side of the ball.
The Bears were a respectable 14th in points and 17th in yards allowed, and they were stout against the run, finishing fifth in yards and 10th in average gain allowed.
But only four teams permitted more passing yards than the Bears, and only three had fewer sacks per pass play. Those numbers may be OK for teams like the Packers and Patriots, who have state-of-the-art offenses to compensate, but they’re not OK for Smith or for Bears defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli.
The Packers’ Aaron Rodgers threw for 4,643 yards and 45 touchdowns last year, and the Lions’ Matthew Stafford threw for 5,038 yards and 41 TDs, so the Bears face two of the NFL’s five most prolific quarterbacks twice every season.
“To say that we got enough (pass-rush pressure) the entire time, I can’t say that,” Smith said at the end of the season. “That’s an area that we’re going to look at. We always look to improve our defensive line.
“You look at our league. We have three quarterbacks (Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Stafford) that threw for over 5,000 yards. You need to be able to rush them better. That is an area where we need to improve.”
Julius Peppers can’t do it all himself, and even his 11 sacks were nowhere near the league leaders. Eight players had 12 or more sacks last season. The Bears got some inside pressure from Henry Melton, who had a career-best 7 sacks (only two NFL tackles had more) — but no other Bear had more than left end Israel Idonije’s 5 sacks.
The Bears’ defense relies heavily on getting pressure from the four linemen without much help from blitzing linebackers, so a quick fix in free agency isn’t out of the question.
It’s not that the Bears can’t get pass-rush help in the draft, but it’s unlikely they’ll luck into someone like 49ers rookie Aldon Smith (14 sacks in 2011) with the 19th overall pick.
If the Bears decide they want immediate help, their best bets would be the Lions’ Cliff Avril or the Cardinals’ Calais Campbell, both four-year veterans with a lot of tread still on the tires. The 6-foot-3, 260-pound Avril is undersized for the Bears’ scheme, but that’s not a concern with the 6-8, 300-pound Campbell, who is an ideal fit in Arizona’s 3-4 defense.
Avril had 11 sacks last season, the most among all free-agent defensive ends, while Campbell had 8. Some other interesting players scheduled to hit the market on March 13 are the Falcons’ John Abraham and the Colts’ undersized Robert Mathis, who both had 9½ sacks.
Abraham will be entering his 13th season and Mathis his 10th. But last season was the eighth time Abraham has had at least 9½ sacks in a season, including 13 in 2010. The 6-foot-2, 245-pound Mathis would have to be a situational rusher in the Bears’ scheme, but he has had 9½ or more sacks in seven seasons, including each of the past four.
The AFC champion Patriots have four defensive ends scheduled to become free agents, including two — 11-year veteran Andre Carter and former Bear Mark Anderson — who had 10 sacks last season.
After being cut in 2010 by the Bears, four years after his 12-sack rookie season, Anderson resurrected his languishing NFL career with the Patriots. Was that a fluke or a sign of a player who has recaptured the magic?
At linebacker the Bears figure only to be looking to add depth behind Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and Nick Roach. But they will be looking to upgrade at cornerback to complement Pro Bowler Charles Tillman and possibly at safety.
Since three of their own corners from 2011 are unrestricted free agents — Tim Jennings, Pro Bowl special teams standout Corey Graham and Zack Bowman — the Bears may be looking for more than one replacement. Safeties Brandon Meriweather and Craig Steltz are also unrestricted, so the secondary could have a radically different look in training camp.
At corner, the Titans’ Cortland Finnegan and the 49ers’ Carlos Rogers are the headliners, but the Chiefs’ Brandon Carr and the Falcons’ Brent Grimes should also attract a lot of attention.
Other than the Redskins’ LaRon Landry, the safety crop isn’t that impressive, but the Bears are expected to give their own youngsters, Chris Conte and Major Wright, first crack at the starting jobs.
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