The Chicago Bears made the playoffs last year. Much of that was due to Dennis Allen and his defense. The defensive coordinator led the NFL in takeaways. Mostly with personnel he didn’t acquire, mind you. Still, the defense was far from perfect. It finished second-to-last in total quarterback pressures and 27th against the run. Inevitably, this has led to lots of questions about how the team can improve those areas, particularly the former. Head coach Ben Johnson said earlier this year that they needed to coach it better.
Many felt this was a not-so-subtle message to Allen and his staff that they needed to improve. Last season was not good enough. There has even been speculation that the defensive coordinator could be in trouble if those same issues persist this coming season. Perhaps that explains why Allen got a little intense during his first press conference of training camp. He was asked about the state of the pass rush and how he hopes to improve it in the absence of any notable talent additions.
Dennis Allen made sure his answer wasn’t misinterpreted.
“Well, we talked about focusing on the fundamentals and everything. Look, pass rush, you know, there’s a lot been made of the pass rush, right? There’s no example of team defense that is better exemplified than in pass defense, because I don’t care how good your pass rush is, if you don’t cause the quarterback to have to reset or get to a second or third read, you’re not getting to him. And I don’t care how good your coverage is. If you can’t get to the quarterback and disrupt him, they’re going to throw completions.
So, I think we got to get better at pass defense. All right? And I think that’s both elements working together. So I think that’s what our focus is. Our focus is not necessarily this area or this area. It’s completely as a team. How are we going to improve as a team? And I think we all take a part of that. Coaches, players, scheme, fundamentals, and technique, all those things play a part in that.”
Allen clearly expects more from the secondary.
He feels the coverage didn’t do enough to help the pass rush last season. That isn’t just him covering for the rush, either. Allen has a point. Opponents had an average team passer rating of 90.7 against the Bears last season, which ranked 17th in the league. No defensive back allowed one under 86.3% for the season. By contrast, the Denver Broncos, who had the most productive pass rush in the NFL last season, had four finish under 75.0%. Allen is correct. No pass rush can function without reliable coverage. Both sides must work in tandem to bring the quarterback down.
Part of the problem last year was health. Jaylon Johnson, their star cornerback, injured his core before training camp and missed the first half of the season. Kyler Gordon missed all but three games with various soft tissue problems. Tyrique Stevenson was benched for consistency issues. As for Nahshon Wright, his five interceptions helped mask how vulnerable he was in coverage at times.
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It certainly didn’t help that injuries also struck the defensive line. Dayo Odeyingbo tore his Achilles. Austin Booker missed half of the season with a knee injury. Shemar Turner tore his ACL. Grady Jarrett played through knee problems. Dennis Allen never really had a healthy group.
The goal ahead seems obvious.
Truth be told, the Bears don’t have an elite pass rusher. That means if the team wants to craft an effective pass defense, they need the defensive line and secondary to work in concert. That means strong fundamentals, discipline, and consistent effort. It falls on Allen and his coaches to get that from them. He certainly sounds motivated to do so, if only to get people to stop asking questions about it. This goes back to what Johnson said. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. He wasn’t just talking about players. Coaches are held to the same standard.
We’ll find out a lot this season. Allen now has more personnel in place of his own choosing, headlined by safeties Coby Bryant and Dillon Thieneman. It is a faster group. Presuming it plays with more discipline, there should be notable improvement. If not, certain jobs might be in jeopardy next offseason.
