Pass rush concerns now that Allen has signed with Bears

4yrs/32m/15.5 gteed, can void to 3yr/24. Pretty good deal for both sides. Upgrade of Allen over Peppers. Good for Allen, we just didn't have the cash to give him.

Now that the soap opera is over, I'm getting concerned about our pass rush. Pete said today that Avril will replace Clemons on the weak side and Bennett will play the strong side. Scruggs/McDaniel at the 5T. Mayowa is still a question mark with zero meaningful snaps.

Sounds like the rotational piece may go away a bit. Bennett only played 57% of snaps last year but I think that will have to increase substantially this year due to losing quality pass rushers.

I worry because it's our pass rush that put us over the top this past year. They were amazing in the SB and regularly put pressure on the QB and gave opportunities to our secondary to make plays as everything is closely intertwined.

At this point there's no one else out there of quality unless you consider Will Smith a possibility but he was hurt last year and is a big question mark. PC/JS love pass rushers in FA and now that we've struck out, I wonder how it's going to look next year. Might take a step back imo.

To be fair though, we got steals on Avril and Bennett last year due to the dry FA pass rusher market but this year it is not so. It would be hard to duplicate that so we had to expect some drop off. At least we signed Bennett or else it would be a complete mess.

We won a Super Bowl. I'm not worried about anything.

Not concerned at all. I think our pass rush will improve this year with Greg Scruggs on the line.

Just glad the Jared soap opera is over. Would have been nice to sign him, but he chose money over championships. Chicago is a mediocre team. THat's "m-e-d-i-o-c-r-e" And when you join a "m-e-d-i-o-c-r-e" team, that's the result you will get, (mediocre).

Yeah I'm hoping Mayowa or Scruggs shows up. Although Scruggs looks more like a run stuffing 5T than a speed pass rusher. Would be nice to draft one, perhaps that's the answer!

Draft a DE @ 32!

Our D line depth is still deep, especially if guys like Scruggs, Hill and Williams come into camp healthy and hungry to take the next step.

Allen would have been great, but this position group was CRAZY deep last year, so this signing in my mind was icing on the cake. I still think we're OK, just means as of now Avril and Bennett get more snaps and we're going to have to maybe find another DE in the draft...........or let Irvin get more snaps at DE.

Not worried about pass rush. We still have Cliff Avril, Michael Bennett, Bruce irvin, Brandon Mebane, Bobby Wagner, and even Benson Mayowa and Greg Scruggs. That's still alot of people that have proven they can get to the QB. The only straight pass rusher we lost was Clemons but he wasn't all that effective last year. We'll be fine, we even still have the draft to add someone if we want.

That's a good point. There's been talk about moving Irvin back to DE to get Smith on the field as well. DE's usually take a little while to develop and get stronger, maybe Irvin is ready. He's still pretty small though and a liability in the run game but maybe on pass downs.

Looking forward to seeing which young dude steps up his game.

Great opportunity to kick some ass playing next to Bennett.

Avril will more than adequately fill in for Clem.

They are probably going to add a veteran such as Will Smith, Anthony Spencer or Shaun Phillips for the league minimum or maybe a little more. They are also going to add a draft pick.......and don't be surprised if it is a 1st round pick either. How much production they get from a veteran + Mayowa + draft pick is anybody's guess but the competitive philosophy of this staff will ensure that they get the most out of them, and my guess is that an effective 3rd pass rushing DE will emerge.

You also have Bruce Irvin as a guy you can always plug in on passing downs as well to give someone a spell.

Personally, I thought Clemons was invisible at least half the year, and when Bryant & Clemons were in the game together, you had almost no pass rush. Where this team was so effective was on 3rd downs when you let Avril and Bennett wreak havoc. I think they'll be ok.

Scruggs will get more sacks that Bryant ever did.

Thought he wanted to win a super bowl doesn't he know all chicago does is choke away the division in the last few weeks to the Packers see the last 3 years.

I think I will echo the opinions so far and say "not worried". Honestly, I always considered Allen a luxury. Having Bennett, Avril and Clemons last season was a luxury, but it was a more affordable luxury at the time. Besides the fact that we still have Bennett and Avril as our primary rushers, we also have Irvin who can get after the qb when asked to do so, and our DB's give such good coverage that pressure will come as the qb has to try to find an open receiver.

My current team concerns are really in the depth department. We need more depth at WR, OLine, DB and Linebacker. I think we can pull most of that from the draft, and hopefully we can keep our guys healthy this year.

Now, let's get this offseason moving and get Earl and Sherm their extensions. I know it's likely to still be awhile, but I think once we get those two guys locked up, people will be MUCH happier with the lack of signings thus far.

What we lost: Red Bryant, Chris Clemons and Clint McDonald

What we will have next year but is already on the roster: Jordan Hill, Greg Scruggs, Jesse Williams and Benson Mayowa.

Plus the off season isn't over. Still players out on the market, trades to be made plus the draft. I think it's very important to remember what Clemons gave us last year, as an over 30 DE coming off an ACL injury. His on field production will not be difficult to replace.

I'm not even remotely worried about the DL. If a couple of those young guys stay healthy, we could be even deeper on the DL next year than we were with the one that we won a SB.

Without even going into the backups on the roster, one option could be Avril at Clemons' spot on early downs with Bennett on the other side, then on the passing downs, Bennett moves inside, Avril shifts to Bennett's spot while Irvin slides up from SAM to LEO with Smith stepping in at LB for Irvin (assuming Irvin is still the SAM starter over Smith). That's a pretty decent pass rush.

randomation":2mpz5dk2 said:

Thought he wanted to win a super bowl doesn't he know all chicago does is choke away the division in the last few weeks to the Packers see the last 3 years.

Click to expand...

I don't hold a grudge against Allen. Chicago gave him almost double the cash we would have, and they're a good team if Cutler can stay healthy.........which is a big if cause they dude's brittle.

Keeping on topic and not wallowing in the Allen decision, the team has yet to hit on a young drafted DL. Irvin was their highest selection and they are still adjusting to how he best fits. The team needs to hit in the draft on DL, WR and TE. Avril most likely is hitting the market next season. Clemons would have been gone after this season anyway, so some of the young guys need to step up.

Not concerned for this year, but would like to see the success the team has with DBs and LBs translate to the DL. I am leery about Mebane after this season. He has $5.5M against the cap next year with no dead money (or a small amount), leaving him susceptible to being cut. So Hill, Williams and others need to show something, as well as the DEs on the team, Scruggs, Mayowa and Irvin.

I'm not worried AT ALL that we didn't land Allen. Actually... I'm kinda glad he went elsewhere. I like the message it sends; no outsider is worth more than our guys and if you work hard you will be rewarded. I kinda think Allen would have been a bit of a square peg in a round hole here anyway. He's hella talented and I know we would have found a place for him, but he doesn't really fit the scheme; he's not a 2 gap 5 tech and he's not a Leo. He's a classic old school 4-3 DE. We don't really use those.

Nope, If we don't add a single significant piece between now and the start of the season I'm good with it. I predict that Scruggs and Mayowa make big leaps this year and that we'll see some more pass rushing opportunities for Irvin than last year. We're going to be SO fine. I don't think there are ANY concerns over pass rush. Really, all we lost was Clemons, and he was far from 100% for most of last year and we still had the best Defense in a decade.

What about Schofield?.....He flunked his physical. Would the Hawks bring him back?

Roll with what we've got and draft a DE for depth or else sign Shaun Phillips to a cheap deal to be a rotational DE.

A lot of Allen's sacks last year were coverage sacks. We can find cheaper alternatives to do that here with our secondary.

randomation":2p7glvul said:

Thought he wanted to win a super bowl doesn't he know all chicago does is choke away the division in the last few weeks to the Packers see the last 3 years.

Click to expand...

Sounds like the difference was:

4yrs/32m/8apy/15.5 gteed

vs.

2yrs/12m/6apy/6 gteed


Pretty big difference in contracts there. Honestly I can't blame the guy. More money and longer contract.