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It’s crazy to still be reading that coaches think he can be special. Not good, special. A guy going into his 4th season and yet to “breakout”... special? The guy who coached Suggs in college and the pros thinks so. I’m guessing he hasn’t talked to anyone on CCS lol.
www.chicagotribune.com
Leonard Floyd is bigger than he was a year ago. He’s stronger. And, most importantly, he’s healthy. That all added up to him being the most head-turning player on the field during the Bears’ offseason program.
If things go right, it could prove to be a launching point for a breakout season for the 2016 first-round draft pick. Last year Floyd lined up opposite All-Pro Khalil Mack but collected only four sacks, in part because a hand injury hampered him the first half of the season.
The Bears didn’t hesitate in picking up the fifth-year option in Floyd’s contract — for $13.22 million in 2020 — and they will gladly pay him that if he emerges as a disruptive force on the outside. Right now, that option is guaranteed for injury only and he is going to have to earn it with his performance in 2019.
Floyd arrived as a 6-foot-4 athletic freak when he was drafted out of Georgia and played at around 235 pounds as a rookie. Now he’s listed at 251 and is every bit of that, explaining that buying into what sports science coordinator Jenn Gibson has been preaching has helped him bulk up. Stand next to him and size him up and it’s easy to tell he’s thicker in the upper body.
He was recovering from knee surgery last offseason and didn’t get on the field until training camp, when he was operating with a knee brace. A healthy offseason has been the key. The Bears believe Floyd is a star waiting to happen, especially with Mack certain to attract so much attention on the other side. They’re counting on new outside linebackers coach Ted Monachino, who tutored Terrell Suggs at Arizona State and with the Ravens, to help unlock that potential.
Floyd has been working to create a better “rush plan” for getting to the quarterback with effective counter measures to use off his natural gift of speed and explosiveness. Better counters can turn pressures into sacks, or better yet strip-sacks, and rushes that were once stymied can become pressures. It’s about the little things in Monachino’s estimation.
“As he gets better at one or two things, his numbers will go up,” Monachino said. “(What) may happen first are the effective rushes, right? He may affect the quarterback. He may affect the launch point. He may move a guy off the spot. But the more of those that come along, the more productive rushes he’s going to have. The more he’s going to get home and finish. Right now we’re focused on just a couple of things with Leonard. And it’s not because he can’t handle more. It’s because we want to build his toolbox in a way that, ‘This is my go-to, and this is the counter off of it.’”
So Floyd spent time on the practice field working on his hand placement. He can be a violent rusher if he attacks the right spot on the offensive lineman. Hit the wrong spot and a bigger, stronger offensive tackle is going to wall him off. Balance and footwork are equally important parts of the equation. He has always played with good pad level for being tall and rangy.
“Being violent and just going out with a mindset of getting to the quarterback,” said Floyd, who had a career-high seven sacks as a rookie. “I have to sharpen my tools. It’s been very different because I have been able to train and do all of the things with no limitations this spring.
“I believe I was playing my best football during the second half of last year after I really got over my hand injury. I felt like I was playing a lot better and I am looking forward to this year and just building off of that.”
The rest is in the Link, including Trevathan suggesting Floyd might demand a double team?
Leonard Floyd is bigger, stronger, healthy — and ready for a breakout season opposite Khalil Mack
Leonard Floyd wowed the Bears during the offseason program and could be in line for a much awaited breakout season. It depends if his rush plan works.
Leonard Floyd is bigger than he was a year ago. He’s stronger. And, most importantly, he’s healthy. That all added up to him being the most head-turning player on the field during the Bears’ offseason program.
If things go right, it could prove to be a launching point for a breakout season for the 2016 first-round draft pick. Last year Floyd lined up opposite All-Pro Khalil Mack but collected only four sacks, in part because a hand injury hampered him the first half of the season.
The Bears didn’t hesitate in picking up the fifth-year option in Floyd’s contract — for $13.22 million in 2020 — and they will gladly pay him that if he emerges as a disruptive force on the outside. Right now, that option is guaranteed for injury only and he is going to have to earn it with his performance in 2019.
Floyd arrived as a 6-foot-4 athletic freak when he was drafted out of Georgia and played at around 235 pounds as a rookie. Now he’s listed at 251 and is every bit of that, explaining that buying into what sports science coordinator Jenn Gibson has been preaching has helped him bulk up. Stand next to him and size him up and it’s easy to tell he’s thicker in the upper body.
He was recovering from knee surgery last offseason and didn’t get on the field until training camp, when he was operating with a knee brace. A healthy offseason has been the key. The Bears believe Floyd is a star waiting to happen, especially with Mack certain to attract so much attention on the other side. They’re counting on new outside linebackers coach Ted Monachino, who tutored Terrell Suggs at Arizona State and with the Ravens, to help unlock that potential.
Floyd has been working to create a better “rush plan” for getting to the quarterback with effective counter measures to use off his natural gift of speed and explosiveness. Better counters can turn pressures into sacks, or better yet strip-sacks, and rushes that were once stymied can become pressures. It’s about the little things in Monachino’s estimation.
“As he gets better at one or two things, his numbers will go up,” Monachino said. “(What) may happen first are the effective rushes, right? He may affect the quarterback. He may affect the launch point. He may move a guy off the spot. But the more of those that come along, the more productive rushes he’s going to have. The more he’s going to get home and finish. Right now we’re focused on just a couple of things with Leonard. And it’s not because he can’t handle more. It’s because we want to build his toolbox in a way that, ‘This is my go-to, and this is the counter off of it.’”
So Floyd spent time on the practice field working on his hand placement. He can be a violent rusher if he attacks the right spot on the offensive lineman. Hit the wrong spot and a bigger, stronger offensive tackle is going to wall him off. Balance and footwork are equally important parts of the equation. He has always played with good pad level for being tall and rangy.
“Being violent and just going out with a mindset of getting to the quarterback,” said Floyd, who had a career-high seven sacks as a rookie. “I have to sharpen my tools. It’s been very different because I have been able to train and do all of the things with no limitations this spring.
“I believe I was playing my best football during the second half of last year after I really got over my hand injury. I felt like I was playing a lot better and I am looking forward to this year and just building off of that.”
The rest is in the Link, including Trevathan suggesting Floyd might demand a double team?
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