Bears pass rush could make defense special
In 2018, the Bears defense was the best in the NFL, finishing first in points allowed, third in total yards allowed and tied for second most in the league with 50 sacks, and the unit was the runaway leader in takeaways with 36.
By the end of that season they were being hailed as a "generational" group.
Then defensive coordinator Vic Fangio left to be the head coach of the Denver Broncos, Chuck Pagano arrived to take his place and the defense slipped just a bit.
Last season the Bears defense was still fourth in points and eighth in total yards allowed, but it fell all the way to 22nd in takeaways with just 19 and 24th in sacks with only 32 while the club slipped from 12-4 to 8-8.
The biggest game-changer was injuries with Akiem Hicks missing two-thirds of the season and Danny Trevathan, Roquan Smith and Prince Amukamara all missing substantial time. A period of adjustment from Fangio to Pagano probably contributed as well.
What hurt most was seeing takeaways cut almost in half, and certainly one of the biggest causes was the drop off in the pass rush.
Clearly Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy were focused on the rush as no position received more reinforcements than the edge rushers with the additions of Robert Quinn, Barkevious Mingo and rookie Trevis Gipson.
Some believe Khalil Mack took a step backward last season, but I don't buy that at all.
He was a first-team All Pro again who just didn't get nearly as much help as the season before, and by the end of the season, he did appear a bit worn down by having two, three and at times even four bodies leaning on him throughout the season.
Not only is Mack clearly one of the top five or six pass rushers and defensive impact players in the game today, Quinn is too.
Other than Aaron Donald, J.J. Watt, Chandler Jones and maybe Von Miller and Danielle Hunter, name me another rusher you'd take over Mack or Quinn, let alone trying to find a pair of teammates to match them.
I know, Packer fans will throw out the "Smith Brothers," and they had a great season last year, but really, folks, they'll need to stack a few more to measure up to Quinn and Mack.
Why did Quinn pick the Bears in free agency?
"Points of 0 versus 100," Quinn said, "so that's always exciting.
"Who can't get excited to join up with guys like Mack, (Kyle) Fuller, (Akiem) Hicks, (Eddie) Goldman, Trevathan.
"It's just some of the names and the whole presence of it all is just exciting."
As for lining up across from Mack, Quinn explained when he first got to town, "Well, I mean again from the outside looking in, he definitely has established one of the great early careers, so he's probably going to get the double teams or more attention, so hopefully that frees me up a little bit and I get to take advantage."
His position coach, Ted Monachino, thinks it'd be a mistake for anyone to sleep on Mingo, originally the 10th overall pick in the draft, too.
"For a guy that's picked that high in the draft, for him to carve out a role defensively has not been easy for him," Monachino said. "But he's a Pro Bowl caliber special teams player.
"We were in a situation in Indy when Erik Walden got hurt, that Barkevious had to play a ton of defense and he played winning defense for us - made plays; sound, solid defense for us."
Gipson was one of the top-rated pure edge rushers in the draft, and he can't wait for a chance to line up across from Mack.
"I'm just ready to learn a whole lot. He's one of my favorite players," Gipson said. "I feel like he's one of the guys I try to model my game after, so I'm going to come in and put in the hard work and hopefully we can star together."
Throw in Isaiah Irving and a healthy Hicks, Trevathan and Smith, and Mack and Quinn might just end up leading a new generation of pressure defense this season that redefines what dominance on that side of the ball is all about.