Chicago Bears: Prince Amukamara impressive in camp so far

Armed with a new multi-year contract, Chicago Bears cornerback Prince Amukamara has performed very well so far in training camp.

The Chicago Bears had a productive offseason. General manager Ryan Pace signed a multitude of players (wide receivers Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel and tight end Trey Burton) to bring in a different culture. In addition, he retained certain players and coaches to maintain some of the good play the team had, including defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and experienced cornerbacks Kyle Fuller and Prince Amukamara).

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The re-signing of Fuller was something expected. He did a great job to turn the talk of him being a quitter from the season before. Even with the Green Bay Packers making a run at him, the Bears matched the offer sheet from the Pack quickly and kept him in the fold. However, it’s the re-signing of Amukamara that may prove to be the biggest move of all.

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Last season, teams decided to test Fuller… a lot. Teams targeted him 110 times (second in the league), compared to just 51 for Amukamara. Fuller showed he could take on the pressure. He ended up with 24 passes defended (third in the league).

What the above means is that we should expect teams to target Fuller less and Amukamara more. Now Amukamara is the man on the line.

So far this training camp, Amukamara is playing well. He’s getting to the ball quickly and isn’t shying away from contact. His tight coverage has been good as well.

After two one-year contracts, Amukamara signed a three-year contract with the Bears. It appears that having that settled gave him a newfound confidence. Perhaps this more confident Amukamara can start creating turnovers, something the defense badly needs to take a step up again.

How confident is the veteran defender? “I’m really looking for a 10-pick season,” said Amukamara to Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune. “I’m reaching for the stars, right. But at the same time, I know what I’m capable of. I know how hard I’ve worked. And every year I keep putting those goals out there.”

That’s a pretty lofty goal considering Amukamara has seven career interceptions in 83 games and none in his last 37, right? Well, you know what they say, “Reach for the moon and you’ll at least get the stars.” If he gets half of what he wants, it’s a good season.

If Amukamara’s play matches that of Fuller, the Chicago Bears have themselves a very tough secondary. If they can play a physical game, that will invariably lead to more takeaways -something that this club needs to be more efficient in doing.