| 24 June 2010
In the second part of my pre-training camp expectations of Chicago Bears position groups I’m going to stay in the trenches, but shift things to the other side of the football. The defensive line, the unit that has to come through for this team to return to the playoffs in 2010. The pass rush has to be generated by the front four, but not only that this unit has to stuff the run to put the Bears in good position to utilize the pass rush it’s fullest effect.
My expectations are going to be a little different than maybe most Bears fans and prognosticators are thinking for the 2010 Chicago Bears. I admit that reading this may be pretty disappointing to a lot of the Bears fans who feel good about the impact Julius Peppers should have on the defensive line in 2010.
Anthony Adams or Marcus Harrison? Which of these two is going to wind up the starter at nose tackle for the 2010 Chicago Bears. Honestly it may not matter because neither one is ideally suited for the nose tackle spot, Adams isn’t big and strong enough and Harrison’s game is athleticism more than it is strength. Harrison honestly could benefit from dropping about 15 to 20 pounds and just focusing on being the backup or perhaps even a starter at the three technique slot. Harrison’s best games as a rookie were from the three technique spot. That’s a long time ago though in football terms and focusing on the immediate future means realizing that the Bears see Harrison as a nose tackle and he must compete with Anthony Adams to start.
I can’t begin to decipher who the coaching staff is going to have as the starter, my hunch is that Adams is named the starter because the staff seems to like him more than they do Harrison. Harrison has been in the dog house since showing up to camp last year over weight and out of shape. His being over weight led to the shift to nose tackle and it’s a safe bet to say Harrison never lost the weight he gained nor came close to his rookie playing weight. Harrison’s problem on top of that is that he’s not motivated to lose the weight he’s gained.
Further hampering Harrison’s development is that he doesn’t seem comfortable playing a more physical position that is the nose tackle spot. Harrison’s game has always been about winning battles with his ability and his ability is now limited by the added weight. Can Harrison shift his mentality to being more physical to help play better as a nose tackle? I can’t answer that only Harrison can, but suffice to say I’m not confident he will. My expectation is that Harrison should be the run away starter ahead of Adams. He should be playing at a higher level and be more physical with his play. If this line is going to be successful then it’s up to Harrison to be the cog in the middle even more so than Tommie Harris.
So my expectation for Harrison is pretty low, I don’t know if he’s willing to develop his game, if he’s willing to put in the effort and time to be a better player. I think he’s lazy and that his mind is elsewhere, in life. Where elsewhere is, I cannot say however it’s apparent that if the Bears had someone better geared for the nose tackle spot Harrison’s job would be in jeopardy.
Anthony Adams isn’t a nose tackle plain and simple, he’s neither big enough, strong enough, tough enough to play this spot. I covered this pretty thoroughly in a more recent article targeting Adams and his game or lack there of. Problem is Adams gives a ton of effort and plays hard and plays tougher than arguably any other defensive lineman on the team. However he’s unable to get a high level of production out of his effort and it brings attention to Tommie Harris. Teams focus their efforts and attention on stopping Tommie Harris and by proxy Harris’ production is hurt. 
Whether it’s Adams or Harrison one of these two non-nose tackle players needs to step up and be the focus of the defensive line to make things easier for the Bears’ two best players. My expectations are low, neither Harrison nor Adams is on the level of a Dusty Dvoracek when he played his best, nor an Ian Scott when he was at his best. This in turn makes effects the entire production of the defensive line. Everyone knows that to have success on defense it helps to have a big hole plugger, gap filling monster who commands a consistent double team. The Bears don’t need Ted Washington in the middle, but they do need someone to take the focus off of Tommie Harris.
The biggest problem the Bears’ defense has faced has been teams attacking Tommie Harris with consistent double teams and strategizing their game plans as if Harris was the nose tackle instead of Adams or Harrison. This completely changes the dynamic of the defense and leads to numerous problems. Problems I expect to continue well into the 20100 season.
After thoroughly covering the nose tackle spot we move to Tommie Harris and the enigma that Harris is. What is Harris? Is he an injury plagued great who is finally healthy and dedicated to earning his contract? Will he return to form after completing a whole off-season without a surgery on a knee? No one knows that answer, but the promise may be at least Harris is talking a bigger game than he has ever before. Harris seems to understand the seriousness of the situation not only for himself but for the Bears coaches as a whole.
Let’s assume that Tommie Harris is healthy and let’s assume he’s ready to go, I expect Tommie Harris to have a decent season as the Bears starting three-technique. Harris will play good and his production will be on the level of Top-15 best DT’s in the NFL. Problem is Harris’ production will be hampered by the lack of a true nose tackle within this defense. Harris will be the constant focus of double teams (as he was around 50% of the time in 2009) and teams will grind on him knowing full well there is no one else there to step up and make the plays that Harris should be making because he’s in a single man blocked situation.
Teams will attack Harris knowing that no other defensive tackle can slow down the run. This is going to throw off the entire chemistry of the 2010 defensive line. Harris being attacked and not being able to break the attack like he should be capable of, but more importantly shouldn’t be having to deal with. I don’t think Harris will be able to perform at the level he should because of the lack of a nose tackle again it throws off the entire balance of the line.
Defensive end Mark Anderson, a one down defensive end who has no business being out there obvious rushing situations. Anderson is a one trick pony, he uses his speed and sometimes it looks like he uses power because he’s able to use his speed to gain a tactical advantage. Problem is any semi-quick, and strong offensive tackle can destroy Anderson at the point of attack and slow down his speed rush. Anderson doesn’t have good size, or strength or technique.
My expectations for Anderson are as follow, he will be severely exposed in 2010 and the lack of a true nose tackle coupled with Anderson being only a pass rushing specialist will be part of the judgment that costs Lovie Smith his job. Nothing can be more clear to me in how misguided Lovie Smith is for his hope and excitement for Mark Anderson. Anderson has shown flashes but that’s primarily because he’s only in on about 1/3 of the plays of a regular starter and he’s quick and fresh. If Anderson starts then the defensive line falls further down the trench of weakness that it has become. 
What can we say about Julius Peppers that hasn’t already been said? Even if we could say more, $40-million in guaranteed money says enough, for just about anyone. Pardon me however to add in one more bit of ridiculousness, Lovie Smith found his Messiah, found his God, because Julius Peppers is about the ONLY thing that can save Smith’s head football coaching career.
Expectations for Julius Peppers, some how I have to be honest, but then again I have to keep in mind all the different factors that will contribute to Peppers’ success. Well in this case lack of success as teams are going to focus on Peppers and Harris so much that it’s going keep the Bears from returning to glory. Expectations are that Peppers should tee off on the weak LT’s in the NFC North further embarrassing Bryant McKinney in Minnesota, making the Lions wish they had drafted someone to protect the blind side of Matt Stafford and making Bryan Bulaga look like Robert Gallery II. I’d like to say Peppers is going to have in the neighborhood of eight sacks against NFC North competition, but there’s a good chance he won’t. Overall Peppers’ production is going to be hampered by the lack of talent around him. Essentially Peppers will probably have an above average season for what Bears fans have seen, but it won’t be up to the level he needs to achieve for the Bears to make it to the playoffs.
So to wrap this all up, all three pages of this rant, the Bears’ defensive line will not achieve a level of success necessary for the defense to return to glory. The overall lack of talent at the nose tackle and at the defensive end spot is going to completely throw off any chance of success this defense may otherwise have. There is not enough overall talent to make this line perform at the level necessary for the scheme to work and for the Bears to return to their monster defensive ways. Lovie Smith’s refusal to acknowledge just how bad the nose tackle spot is, and just how bad Mark Anderson is will destroy what would otherwise be a defense capable of helping the Bears make a deep run into the playoffs. I don’t expect the Bears will improve much in stopping the run which will in turn lead to an overall failure of the defense in achieving what it would otherwise be capable of.
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