Chicago Bears' Allen ready for reboot after miserable year

BOURBONNAIS - A lot of people thought defensive end Jared Allen had a lousy year in 2014, and so did he.

"Last year sucked," he said. "I'm not going to sugarcoat it. There's always circumstances around it, but it is what it is, and I'm ready to go out and bust someone's head open. That's the kind of year I want to have. I want to have fun. Last year wasn't fun. It was miserable."

Brought in by the Bears a year ago to jack up the pass rush, Allen was a major disappointment. He finished with just 5½ sacks, the lowest total of his 11-year career, and the first time in eight seasons he didn't reach double-digits.

"I didn't transition well coming over from Minnesota like I thought I was going to," said Allen, who averaged just over 14 sacks a year in the previous seven seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. "There were just all these different circumstances, and I let them get to me. I shouldn't have."

An early-season case of pneumonia was partly responsible for a slow start that resulted in just 1½ sacks in the first nine games. But Allen hadn't played well before the illness, and he wasn't his usual difference-making self even after he regained his health.

Now he faces another formidable obstacle, as the Bears have switched to a 3-4 base defense, a scheme Allen never has played before. Instead of right defensive end, where he has lined up since 2004, he'll be a stand-up outside linebacker in the base formation, although he'll shift back to D-end and put his hand on the ground in passing situations.

At 33, coming off a poor season and trying to find a fit in coordinator Vic Fangio's new defense, Allen was asked the obvious question: "Are you still a starter?"

"In my mind, yeah," he said. "In my mind I still think I'm the best at what I do."

But here was no evidence of that last year, and there was no vote of confidence from new coach John Fox as players reported to Olivet Nazarene University Wednesday.

"No matter what name you put on it, that's why we're here - it's competitive," Fox said when asked if Allen is a starter in the new defense. "We'll create competitive situations, and ultimately their performance will pick where they are on the depth chart and where they are on the roster."

At a lean 255 pounds - actually Allen said he was at 248 because he hadn't eaten lunch yet - the 6-foot-6 five-time Pro Bowl defensive end doesn't look out of place at linebacker. He says he's at a point in his career where he can better handle the position change.

"Three years ago, if you had tried to make me switch my position, I would've quit," he said. "Honestly, because I was a knucklehead. I would've been like 'No, I'm a right end, and I'm going to go up against the left tackle. This is where I'm going to be; that's where he's going to be. I'm the best, you're the best, let's see what happens and play ball.' "

Allen wants to regain that old swagger, but he needs to get after quarterbacks the way he did while becoming one of the NFL's all-time career sack leaders with 134. He got a taste last year of what the offensive tackles who have tried unsuccessfully to block him over the years experienced.

"This game will humble you," he said. "I got a nice little slice of humble pie last year. But you look at a new opportunity as just that. That's the way I'm approaching it. I don't feel anything is owed to me. "I'm coming out here to prove that I've still got what it takes to be the best at what I do."

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