It wouldn’t be surprising if 2018 ended up being the best offseason Ryan Pace has had as Chicago Bears GM. The work he did overhauling the coaching staff and the roster, especially on offense, has earned almost universal praise from peers and the national media alike. They feel he’s gotten his team a massive step closer to contention.
Yet, as the saying goes you can’t please everybody. One person who had a minor criticism, intentional or not, was defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. That may sound odd to think about. After all, Pace successfully retained all three starting corners including Kyle Fuller on new deals. He also delivered a first round pick to the defense with Roquan Smith.
So what exactly could Fangio be upset about? It has to do with the same criticism that fans and some media have continued to level against Pace since before free agency and the draft began. His inability to properly fortify the pass rush.
Fangio gives lukewarm response to Ryan Pace work on Bears pass rush
There is no such thing as short-selling the importance of rushing the quarterback in the NFL. Want an idea of how much? Of the teams that finished in the top 10 in sacks for 2017, seven of them made the playoffs. Chicago was among those 10 but was undone by their often anemic offense. Since the end of last season, thing haven’t improved. At least not on paper.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
The Bears chose to cut veterans Pernell McPhee and Willie Young. Lamarr Houston was allowed to leave as well in free agency. Those three accounted for 10 sacks last year despite missing a number of games. In their place, the Bears have added Aaron Lynch (1.5 sacks in 2017) and sixth round rookie Kylie Fitts. Not the most inspiring overhaul.
Though Fangio remains confident, he also didn’t seem too impressed with Pace’s work.
“There is a little bit of question there of depth and depth quality. But we are confident that the guys we have there, somebody will surface to be the two starters and couple of backups we need.”
Outside of Leonard Floyd, the team has nothing.
Or at least nothing proving. Even Floyd himself comes with question marks after a knee injury ended his 2017 season early. Can he stay healthy for a full season? After that, it’s all question marks. Lynch has consistency issues. Acho is a career reserve who’s in his 30s. Isaiah Irving was a preseason standout as an undrafted rookie but did nothing with his few chances in the regular season. Fitts has loads of injury concerns from his time at Utah.
Fangio just isn’t sure if they have enough.
“Time will tell. We think that Leonard, when he’s healthy, has proven to be proficient enough. Lynch has had a checkered career, to say the least, but there has been some display of talent throughout his career at times. Hopefully we can get that to be more consistent. Sam Acho made some improvements last year in that area. We’ll see how Isaiah and these young guys come along.”
In truth, the past rush will hinge around two men this year. That being Floyd and defensive end Akiem Hicks. When they work in tandem the results have been solid. It’s a matter of whether they can stay on the field together. If either of them goes down with injury, the Bears could be caught in the worst possible position given the QB-rich schedule they’re set to face in 2018.
