A Closer Look at Chicago Bears' Injury Replacements on Defense
The injury bug has bit the Chicago Bears for the second consecutive season. Unlike 2013, when the Bears were signing guys off the street, the roster appears to have the depth needed to withstand it.
The injuries started Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills: Left guard Matt Slauson and center Roberto Garza both were lost to high-ankle sprains, and receivers Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery suffered ankle injuries.
The losses continued Week 2 against the San Francisco 49ers when defensive tackle Jeremiah Ratliff suffered a concussion, cornerback Charles Tillman tore his triceps, special-teams ace Sherrick McManis was sidelined with a quadriceps injury and safety Chris Conte injured his shoulder.
In the Thursday practice leading into the team's Week 3 encounter with the New York Jets, linebacker Shea McClellin fractured his hand. Then on Monday night against the Jets, fullback Tony Fiammetta injured his hamstring, Marshall reinjured his ankle, Conte did the same to his shoulder and safeties Ryan Mundy and Danny McCray were also hurt.
So there’s the Bears injury update in a nutshell.
Now because Chicago played Monday night, the team doesn’t practice until Thursday. The Bears tweeted a list of the injured players and whether they would have participated Wednesday had a practice been held.
Jared Allen, Fiammetta, Garza, Marshall, McClellin, McManis, Ratliff and Slauson all would have missed this ficticious Wednesday practice. Conte and Mundy would have been limited.
We know Tillman won’t be playing Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. Head coach Marc Trestman announced Wednesday that McClellin won’t either. Garza and Slauson are unlikely to be back, meaning the suddenly familiar faces of Michael Ola and Brian de la Puente will start for the third straight week.
As for the rest, it’s unlikely we’ll know much of anything until the team rules them out or places them on the active list no later than Sunday morning.
So there’s a good chance we’ll once again see Brock Vereen roaming the secondary, Will Sutton and Ego Ferguson plugging up the defensive line, Jon Bostic at linebacker...and who knows who else.
Let’s take a few moments to get to know some of the new faces on defense.
DTs Will Sutton & Ego Ferguson
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The two rookies already have earned the trust of coach Trestman and defensive coordinator Mel Tucker. The idea was to work in Sutton and Ferguson over the course of the season, allowing them to learn from some of the veterans up front. That plan went out the window when Ratliff suffered a concussion that caused him to miss part of the San Francisco game and all the New York game. In a short period of time, both players have managed to make an impact.
Sutton excels in the area of rushing the passer, but he’s a more complete player than Ferguson, who is the better run stuffer.
Sutton played in 55 of 75 snaps (73.3 percent) against the Jets, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). The third-round pick recorded five tackles with two quarterback hurries. His snap count has increased in each game the Bears have played.
Ferguson has played in far fewer snaps. The second-round pick out of LSU played in 26.7 percent of the snaps against the Jets. Because more teams are passing the ball, Sutton likely will continue to see more snaps than Ferguson.
On Ferguson’s sack against the Jets, it was Sutton who pressured Geno Smith right into Ferguson’s arms. It was a total team effort.
"“You look at every great D-line the last couple of years, they all had a rotation,” Ferguson said, via the Chicago Sun-Times. “It wasn’t about who starts. It’s just about keeping the high effort and production up while you’re in there.It’s all about production. If you can go 15 plays strong, that’s a great thing instead of going 40 plays [tired].”
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General manager Phil Emery has to be thrilled with how his two rookies have stepped up when the team needed them. Jared Allen had some kind words for his linemates after Monday’s win.
""(They have a) willingness to learn, and that Sunday night game was a big test,” Allen said after Monday's game, via the Daily Herald. “The game didn't seem too big for them. Sometimes that can be a problem with young guys, where they sort of lose their minds out there and don't remember their technique and fundamentals. They've been doing a great job on that, and both of them are powerful."
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FS Brock Vereen and SS Danny McCray
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The Bears have a new Swiss Army Knife, and his name is Brock Vereen.
The 2014 fourth-round pick out of Minnesota has played both cornerback and safety this season. He became the emergency nickel corner Week 2 in San Francisco after Tillman and Conte were lost. He then filled in late in Week 3 after Conte and McCray went out.
Now Vereen played both positions in college, but he had not been a part of the Bears cornerback rotation in practice. So a lot has been asked from the kid who didn’t even play Week 1 against Buffalo. Vereen was thrown into the fire, and he’s responded well.
He’s had help, though. Vereen’s coaches and teammates try to coach him up before every play, especially when he was playing nickel against San Francisco. You could see Kyle Fuller, Tim Jennings and defensive backs coach John Hoke in his ear.
The rookie played nearly half the snaps Monday night against the Jets, according to PFF (subscription required). In two games, he’s been targeted three times, allowing two receptions for an insignificant seven yards.
Now let’s go from a guy who wasn’t really supposed to see much action this season, Vereen, to a guy who was supposed to see a lot of action, only at a different position, McCray.
McCray was a special teams stud in Dallas when Joe DeCamillis was the unit's coordinator with the Cowboys. The Bears signed McCray in the offseason to play special teams, not safety. During training camp and preseason, the Bears used a rotation of safeties, and McCray usually was out there with the first-team defense in practice.
McCray doesn’t have blazing speed, but he sees the field well and does a good job diagnosing plays. And he’s a better-than-average tackler—a skill likely transferred from his play on special teams.
McCray has been a steady stopgap during a time of need for the Bears. The former Cowboy made six tackles against the Jets and has played in over 60 percent of the defensive snaps in consecutive weeks.
As long as Conte is battling a shoulder injury, expect McCray and Vereen to see more snaps, especially if Mundy still is battling the stinger he suffered against New York.
CB Kyle Fuller
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If the name Kyle Fuller still is foreign to you, then you haven’t watched any of the three Bears games.
Fuller has been a beast in every sense of the word. He’s played in every game this season, but his role changed when veteran corner Charles Tillman went out in Week 2.
Fuller has excelled at right cornerback, the side Tillman vacated. Jennings occupies the left side. Fuller intercepted Colin Kaepernick on two occasions in the Bears comeback win. In three games, Fuller has 14 tackles, three interceptions and two forced fumbles.
Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker was asked Wednesday if he is surprised by Fuller's production, "He's fundamentally sound and he plays with great effort," the coach said, via the team's Twitter account.
The Bears’ first-round pick has made an impact that few thought he’d be in position to make. But as the saying goes, “next man up.” Fuller might be the best “next man” in team history.
“I make it simple," Fuller told ESPN, via Bleacher Report. "I just try to go out there and do my job. When it comes to technique and fundamentals, I just let it all come to me.”
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LB Jon Bostic
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Prior to Shea McClellin’s hand injury, Bostic was the odd man out when the Bears inserted another cornerback in nickel formations. Bostic is much better than McClellin against the run, which is why Bostic only was playing half the snaps in the first two weeks.
That all changed against the Jets, when Bostic played every snap in McClellin’s role. The second-year linebacker recorded 13 tackles and had two passes defensed. He was all over the field, which is both good and bad.
Every move Bostic makes is done at supersonic speed. Fast is his only gear. Speed is an asset only to those who know what to do with it. Bostic can find himself overpursuing or taking poor angles to the ball. Once Bostic learns how to play more disciplined football, he'll overtake McClellin for the full-time role next to Lance Briggs.
Bostic has shown improvement each week this season. Briggs probably deserves some credit for that, too, as he has done his part to help Bostic get acclimated to playing every snap. The veteran Briggs talked about Bostic's grasp of the game during Wednesday’s media session:
"Jon’s a smart man...He’s a student of the game. He’s a guy that studies his opponent very well. He goes into games with a lot of tips, formation alerts. Motion alerts and things they do on different downs. He’ll call things out. Sometimes he’ll call it out too soon. Sometimes he’ll make a close call, too soon, and I have to say, ‘Jon, let me make the call.’ But he’s an eager guy. He’s smart. He wants to be a playmaker, and he is.
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