Chicago Bears: 3 Things to watch in Preseason Week 2
Who takes the lead for the defensive end job?
With the departure of Mitch Unrein, the Bears have an opening for the defensive end spot opposite of Akiem Hicks. While Hicks has been great, there hasn’t been much help on the other side.
Jonathan Bullard and Roy Robertson-Harris are battling for that spot. So far, they are pretty evenly split during games. Each has four tackles and, while Bullard has a single sack, Robertson-Harris has two.
One of these two players needs to step up in this game. Whoever emerges ahead in this game gets the majority of snaps with the starters next week and an excellent chance of winning the job. The pressure is on both to come through in this game.
At any case, whoever plays in that spot needs to relieve some of the pressure off Hicks. Hicks sees a ton of double-teams. Some teams also run plays away from him because of the higher likelihood of success on the other side. That cuts the number of big plays Hicks makes. Not only that, opponents also go away from Leonard Floyd, the Chicago Bears’ best pass rusher. If the opposition is forced to go to the Bears’ best side, that makes for more pressure, thus causing more sacks, tackles for loss, and interceptions.
Next. NFL Preseason 2018: Bold predictions for Week 2. dark
It will be interesting also to see how Matt Nagy’s offense performs. It’s supposed to be a high-octane offense, but so far it’s sputtered in the preseason. Of course, it’s only the preseason so the coaching staff doesn’t want to show too much. Let’s see if there is a bit more put in this week before having the dress rehearsal next week.