Chicago Bears: Eddie Jackson happy defensive coaches are back
While the Chicago Bears made a ton of changes this offseason, keeping the same defensive coaches is something Eddie Jackson is happy about. He hopes those coaches help him build on a strong rookie season.
This goal of the Chicago Bears this offseason was all about change. They changed players and they changed philosophy. Also, they changed coaches.
One thing they didn’t change that might be the biggest move they did was the defensive coaching staff. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and his staff are back. They developed a top-ten defense without great stars (or depth). Now that staff has new players, and they get a chance to make the returning players better.
One such player is Eddie Jackson. The second-year safety from Alabama wants to build on a strong rookie season. In 2017, he posted 73 tackles, six passes defended, and two interceptions (one for a pick-six). Additionally, he had three fumble recoveries (one for a touchdown) and one forced fumble.
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Jackson isn’t satisfied with that, though. He wants to continue to get better. The best way he feels he can do so is by having continuity with the coaches. Having them come back is huge for him (per The Chicago Tribune):
"That was one of the things you were stressing about last season, being a rookie and coming in here your second year and the coaches are going to change. When everybody came back, it was a relief. We can really get back to work."
This offseason is certainly different for Jackson than last year. In 2017, he was coming off a broken leg. That injury is what kept teams away from him and allowed the Bears to steal him in the fourth round. This offseason, he is completely healthy and he just concentrates on learning the playbook more.
The way Jackson works caught head coach Matt Nagy’s attention. During his press conference after the Bears’ first day of OTAs, Nagy gushed on Jackson (video per ChicagoBears.com):
"He reminds me a bit of a player who can do it all. He can hit, he has great ball skills, he has good speed, he’s smart. So as a rookie last year, for him going into it now to this year, being a second-year guy, to play where he is at this year we want him to get just a little bit better from last year. I was impressed with him."
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While many look at how the new pieces of the team fit in and hopefully play well, I’ll be watching at how big a step Jackson takes in his second season. Yes, the Chicago Bears have a great history of linebackers but they also had some very good safeties. They had Doug Plank, Dave Duerson and Gary Fencik. Hopefully, we add Eddie Jackson to that list.