Adding Jeffery Simmons to the Chicago Bears defense feels like a dream come true. It felt like the unit was trending in the right direction this season, but it still lacked that extra something to become truly formidable. Adding arguably the best defensive tackle in the sport should have the desired effect. Simmons will make everything around him easier. Running up the middle becomes harder. Edge rushers should get far more one-on-one opportunities with him drawing double teams. The secondary could see more interception chances with him crowding the pocket.
However, it feels like not everybody has grasped the nuclear button defensive coordinator Dennis Allen has at his fingertips. Since the season began, the Bears’ most successful pass rush alignment involved Montez Sweat and Austin Booker on the edges with Dayo Odeyingbo on the inside. Most of Odeyingbo’s pressures and sacks have come from the defensive tackle spot. Now try to imagine what Allen will do once he returns from Injured Reserve. Suddenly, the Bears will have him and Simmons on the interior for pass-rush downs.
People already saw what this could do when Odeyingbo played in Indianapolis next to DeForest Buckner. It was devastating.
The Chicago Bears defense has created a pick-your-poison.
Having one good interior pass rusher makes things so much easier on defense. Now imagine having two. While a defensive end by designation, Odeyingbo’s greatest value to the team is on the inside. Having Simmons in the lineup means opponents are almost certain to double-team him constantly. They’ll have no choice. This means Odeyingbo will be one-on-one against an opposing guard. Don’t forget the man is 6’5″ with 35-inch arms. Most guards don’t exceed 33 inches and aren’t the best athletes. That is why they don’t play tackle. That is a mismatch.
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This alignment allows the Chicago Bears defense to dictate the matchups they want. If they identify one of the opposing guards as a liability in pass protection, they will use Simmons to occupy the other side and have Odeyingbo go after him all game long. There is a reason the Colts had 51 sacks in 2023. Nobody could figure out how to handle that Buckner-Odeyingbo combination. Now the Bears have their own version of it. This defense could be something completely different after the bye week.
Allen had something similar once before.
For a brief time as defensive coordinator in New Orleans, he had the duo of Sheldon Rankins and David Onyemata. In 2018, they combined for 12.5 sacks and helped feature the #2 run defense in the NFL. Persistent issues in the secondary held that unit back from being elite, but the New Orleans Saints still finished 13-3 and were a horrendous non-penalty call away from the Super Bowl. You can bet Allen has clear memories of how well that configuration worked eight years ago.
Simmons is better than either of those players were. Odeyingbo could see more time on the inside than ever before, especially if the Bears end up trading for edge rush help, as rumors keep insisting they might. That would give them a trio of Simmons, Odeyingbo, and Grady Jarrett in the middle with Montez Sweat, Austin Booker, and a third option (Khalil Mack?) on the outside. That is nasty stuff.
