Tremaine Edmunds is having the best season of his career so far. Through six games, he has a whopping 61 tackles, three interceptions, and a sack. He’s playing like the superstar draft experts always thought he could be. Much of it stems from the decision by new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen to shift him from his traditional position at middle linebacker to weakside linebacker. It wasn’t something he was comfortable with at the time, but the move paid off. Edmunds is playing faster and with more aggression than he ever has before.
It also serves as confirmation that the linebacker was right not to like Matt Eberflus. A new report from Mark Grote revealed that Edmunds had issues with the former Bears head coach stemming from how he was utilized in the defense over the previous two years. Too often it felt like he was being put in compromising positions, taking the blame for things going wrong, even though the calls left him few options. Eberflus should be grateful Edmunds isn’t known for being a confrontational person. Otherwise, the two would’ve had words long ago.
Tremaine Edmunds is finally showing people his capacity for greatness.
He was always a good player. One doesn’t become a two-time Pro Bowler by being average. However, this is the same player who drew pre-draft comparisons to Brian Urlacher. He had that level of ability. Yet he never quite lived up to the hype in Buffalo or those first two years in Chicago. As it turns out, the problem may have been that he was playing out of position. While he may have the skill set of your classic middle linebacker, his style of play seemed to lend itself better to the outside.
The fact that Eberflus, a former linebacker and linebackers coach, didn’t recognize this is a testament to his shortcomings as a head coach. Allen only needed a few weeks to realize Tremaine Edmunds might be better served outside. One can only imagine how relieved the defender must feel having competent people in charge now.
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