Chicago Bears: Khalil Mack, 5 takeaways from Chuck Pagano’s press conference

1. A motivated Mack is scary news for opponents

Mack had a Pro Bowl season in 2019 but he didn’t have the type of season he’s accustomed to having. As I mentioned before, an injured Hicks and ineffective Floyd allowed offenses to double or triple-team him.

Mack himself was disappointed in his performance. He had just 8.5 sacks, the lowest total since his rookie season. Again, he did have a good season. Even with the wall of players he had to get through on his way to the quarterback, he still finished second in the NFL in quarterback pressures. He’s hoping that a lot of those pressures turn into sacks in 2020.

Pagano understands what Mack had to go through in 2019, per CBS Sports:

"You can look and say, go back and say, ‘How many times was [Mack] doubled, was he tripled? You know, did they leave an extra protector in there? How many times did he get singled? How many of those times did he win?"

Pagano went on to say how motivated Mack is this offseason. He said every time he saw him during video meetings Mack was in the weight room in his home. Mack wants to do whatever he can to help the defense and help the team get to the playoffs and win.

Mack already displayed his quickness and power on the field. Now add the anger from last season and the additions of another elite player and Mack might cause opposing players to cry from his crunching hits.