NFL Analyst says Bears OLB Khalil Mack isn’t Elite...

[hebs]

kind of a bait article... but times are slow.

NFL analyst says Bears OLB Khalil Mack isn't elite, which is absurd

There’s no doubt that Khalil Mack saw a dip in production in 2019, but that doesn’t make him any less of an impact player for the Bears.

bearswire.usatoday.com

There’s no one more disappointed in Khalil Mack’s performance last season than Khalil Mack. But you have to figure with Mack’s determination, and the constant chattering of NFL analysts underrating his impact, that he is due for a big season.

While CBS Sports recently ranked Mack the ninth-best edge rusher in the game — which felt way too low — NFL.com analyst Adam Schein is the latest to pile it on Mack.

Schein compiled a list of the players under the most pressure in 2020, which included Mack at No. 2. And while there’s no doubt that Mack saw a dip in production in 2019, it was surprising to hear Schein allude to the fact that he doesn’t consider Mack an elite player anymore.


When Chicago traded for Mack just before the start of the 2018 season, I thought it was one of the biggest steals in memory. And Mack burst on the scene in his Bears debut, with a strip-sack and pick-six in his first half of play. Although he would miss two games that season due to an ankle injury, Mack still finished with 12.5 sacks, 18 quarterback hits and six forced fumbles, earning his third first-team All-Pro designation.

But at the risk of sounding hyperbolic, did Mack make an impactful play last year? OK, five forced fumbles is a nice figure, but 8.5 sacks just doesn’t cut it. Honestly, I’m not really sure how he made a fifth consecutive Pro Bowl. - Schein


Two seasons into Mack’s Chicago tenure, the Bears have yet to win a playoff game. Obviously, this franchise’s most glaring issue is the quarterback position. But Mack is supposed to be a top-five defensive player. That’s why the Bears traded away a pair of first-rounders — and consequently handed out a record-setting extension — for his services. Last year, he was most definitely not elite.

It’s more than fair to criticize Mack’s performance in 2019; he had a career-low 47 tackles and his 8.5 sacks and 14 quarterback hits were his lowest since his rookie season.

But Mack’s contributions have always been so much more than just the boxscore. He saw double and triple teams on the regular, and it didn’t help that Akiem Hicks was out for most of the season and Leonard Floyd struggled to sack the quarterback.

Mack appears poised for a bounce-back season in 2020, especially with the return of Hicks and the free-agent acquisition of edge rusher Robert Quinn, who is someone that can take advantage of those one-on-one opportunities that Floyd couldn’t. Not only will defenses have to account for Mack coming off the edge, now they’ll have to worry about Quinn, which should only benefit Mack.

 

[Bearly]

Does Mack has a bulletin board?

 

[hebs]

Harris feels primed to have best career season

Harris feels primed to have best career season

Reuniting with coach Matt Nagy and playing in a system he’s familiar with, new Bears tight end Demetrius Harris is confident that he’ll make an impact in his first season in Chicago.

www.chicagobears.com

The Bears addressed their tight end position this offseason by signing veteran free agent Jimmy Graham and spending their top draft pick on Cole Kmet.
But another new tight end is confident that he, too, can make an impact, even predicting that he will have the best receiving season of his NFL career.
"That's something I know I can do," said Demetrius Harris, who signed with the Bears in February after spending his first six NFL seasons with the Chiefs (2014-18) and Browns (2019). "I most definitely can do it and I'm going to do it."
Harris believes that he's primed to have a breakout season because he's reuniting with coach Matt Nagy and will play in an offense that's similar to the one he was part of with the Chiefs. Harris spent his first four years in Kansas City working with Nagy, who served as Chiefs quarterbacks coach from 2013-15 and offensive coordinator in 2016-17.
Harris, 28, has appeared in 86 NFL games with 39 starts, catching 72 passes for 754 yards and nine touchdowns. His most productive season came in Nagy's final year with the Chiefs in 2017 when the 6-7, 230-pounder had 18 receptions for 224 yards and one TD.
"I feel like I've got a lot in the tank," Harris said. "I haven't had real injuries. With this offense that I know, I love, I'm so happy to be back in this offense. I just learned from the best, learned from coach [Andy] Reid … Just knowing how much of an offensive guru coach Reid is and knowing 'Nags' really learned from him, coach Reid was like a scientist to the offense and you could see it in Nagy. I see the same thing that I saw in coach Reid."
The chance to reunite with Nagy played a major role in Harris signing with the Bears two days after he was released by the Browns.
"He's a lovable person," Harris said. "He welcomes you with open arms and he just tries to see the perspective of the players and the players' side. He's a very good spoken players coach, and I love Nagy for that. There are not a lot of coaches you can be around that you can be yourself without feeling kind of weird. But you feel the love with Nags and he has a good vibe."
Harris entered the NFL with the Chiefs in 2013 as an undrafted free agent without having played a down of college football. He played basketball at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which did not have a football team.

After spending his rookie year on Kansas City's practice squad in 2013, Harris played in eight games in 2014 before a broken foot ended his season. He has since appeared in at least 15 games each of the last five years.
In a familiar offense with the Bears and playing the same "Y" tight end position as Kmet, Harris is happy to help the rookie second-round pick learn the playbook.
"I know all the little tweaks and all the good stuff to be successful in this offense," Harris said. "So yeah, I most definitely always help. I'm always a helping person. So whatever information I've got, I give away. Because the more people you can help, man, the more people can be successful with you.
"I love to help. I'm all open arms and the mentor and will tell him what I know and what I've learned from other players to help him prepare faster than probably what I did or what somebody else did. So it's good to spread out the information that I know."
Harris' familiarity with the system is already paying dividends for Kmet and the Bears' other tight ends.
"He helps in many ways, tremendously," said first-year tight ends coach Clancy Barone. "In fact, he's helped already a lot. He's helped me. The fact that he knows this offense, he was brought up in this offense, and there's some times where I've actually asked him, 'Back when you were with the Chiefs, how'd you guys do this? How did you see this certain technique or this certain concept and so forth?'
"It's always good to hear it from the player's point of view. From that, he's been helpful to me. He's also been very helpful for the other tight ends because he can kind of blend that experience from how he's done it, some things that worked and probably some things that didn't work."

 

[hebs]

Lucas brings talent, versatility to special teams

Lucas brings talent, versatility to special teams

In his first season in Chicago, safety Jordan Lucas has a chance to become one of the Bears' top special-teams contributors. It’s a role he filled the past two years with the Kansas City Chiefs.

www.chicagobears.com

In his first season in Chicago, safety Jordan Lucas has a chance to become one of the Bears' top special-teams contributors.
It's a role he filled the past two years with the Kansas City Chiefs under special-teams coordinator Dave Toub, who held the same position with the Bears from 2004-12.
"He's a player that has speed," said Bears special-teams coordinator Chris Tabor, who served as Toub's assistant in Chicago from 2008-10. "He's played in a lot of different spots. I'm very aware of how Dave played him, and the systems overlap. He played in a lot of critical positions.
"He just adds depth and ability into our room. I'm excited having him because he has flexibility and he's a good football player and you can't have enough of those guys. And he takes a lot of pride in it, so that's going to be big for us."
The similarities between the systems operated by Toub and Tabor should help Lucas make a smooth transition with the Bears.
"I'm pretty much going to be doing the same things I've been doing my whole career special teams-wise," Lucas said. "Coach Tabor, he has a good scheme, and just from watching film and playing the Bears last year, I know the personnel fairly well. I'm excited to see how I fit in with the guys and where this season leads us."

Lucas, 26, was chosen by the Dolphins in the sixth round of the 2016 draft out of Penn State. He has appeared in 49 games with four starts over the past four seasons with the Dolphins (2016-17) and Chiefs (2018-19), registering 47 tackles, one interception and three pass breakups.
Since entering the NFL, Lucas has played predominantly on special teams. Last season he appeared in 14 games, all as a reserve, with the Super Bowl-champion Chiefs.
Lucas will also compete for playing time at safety with the Bears with Tashaun Gipson, Deon Bush, Sherrick McManis and DeAndre Houston-Carson opposite two-time Pro Bowler Eddie Jackson.
Matt Nagy had already left Kansas City to become Bears coach when Lucas was traded from the Dolphins to the Chiefs Aug. 31, 2018. But the 6-1, 190-pounder was impressed with how Nagy conducted the team's virtual offseason program.
"You could already tell the resiliency that he has, that this team has," Lucas said. "The way that he just attacks meetings, the way he's able to keep us all in the loop and keep us engaged and interested, that's a great sign, and I can't wait to get to training camp so we can all get together."

 

[Rob219_CBMB]

kind of a bait article... but times are slow.

NFL analyst says Bears OLB Khalil Mack isn't elite, which is absurd

There’s no doubt that Khalil Mack saw a dip in production in 2019, but that doesn’t make him any less of an impact player for the Bears.

bearswire.usatoday.com

There’s no one more disappointed in Khalil Mack’s performance last season than Khalil Mack. But you have to figure with Mack’s determination, and the constant chattering of NFL analysts underrating his impact, that he is due for a big season.

While CBS Sports recently ranked Mack the ninth-best edge rusher in the game — which felt way too low — NFL.com analyst Adam Schein is the latest to pile it on Mack.

Schein compiled a list of the players under the most pressure in 2020, which included Mack at No. 2. And while there’s no doubt that Mack saw a dip in production in 2019, it was surprising to hear Schein allude to the fact that he doesn’t consider Mack an elite player anymore.


When Chicago traded for Mack just before the start of the 2018 season, I thought it was one of the biggest steals in memory. And Mack burst on the scene in his Bears debut, with a strip-sack and pick-six in his first half of play. Although he would miss two games that season due to an ankle injury, Mack still finished with 12.5 sacks, 18 quarterback hits and six forced fumbles, earning his third first-team All-Pro designation.

But at the risk of sounding hyperbolic, did Mack make an impactful play last year? OK, five forced fumbles is a nice figure, but 8.5 sacks just doesn’t cut it. Honestly, I’m not really sure how he made a fifth consecutive Pro Bowl. - Schein


Two seasons into Mack’s Chicago tenure, the Bears have yet to win a playoff game. Obviously, this franchise’s most glaring issue is the quarterback position. But Mack is supposed to be a top-five defensive player. That’s why the Bears traded away a pair of first-rounders — and consequently handed out a record-setting extension — for his services. Last year, he was most definitely not elite.

It’s more than fair to criticize Mack’s performance in 2019; he had a career-low 47 tackles and his 8.5 sacks and 14 quarterback hits were his lowest since his rookie season.

But Mack’s contributions have always been so much more than just the boxscore. He saw double and triple teams on the regular, and it didn’t help that Akiem Hicks was out for most of the season and Leonard Floyd struggled to sack the quarterback.

Mack appears poised for a bounce-back season in 2020, especially with the return of Hicks and the free-agent acquisition of edge rusher Robert Quinn, who is someone that can take advantage of those one-on-one opportunities that Floyd couldn’t. Not only will defenses have to account for Mack coming off the edge, now they’ll have to worry about Quinn, which should only benefit Mack.

what a sorry ass article..the dude is double talking his ass off, read that shit again and tell me i'm wrong.

 

[Bearly]

Harris feels primed to have best career season

Harris feels primed to have best career season

Reuniting with coach Matt Nagy and playing in a system he’s familiar with, new Bears tight end Demetrius Harris is confident that he’ll make an impact in his first season in Chicago.

www.chicagobears.com

The Bears addressed their tight end position this offseason by signing veteran free agent Jimmy Graham and spending their top draft pick on Cole Kmet.
But another new tight end is confident that he, too, can make an impact, even predicting that he will have the best receiving season of his NFL career.
"That's something I know I can do," said Demetrius Harris, who signed with the Bears in February after spending his first six NFL seasons with the Chiefs (2014-18) and Browns (2019). "I most definitely can do it and I'm going to do it."
Harris believes that he's primed to have a breakout season because he's reuniting with coach Matt Nagy and will play in an offense that's similar to the one he was part of with the Chiefs. Harris spent his first four years in Kansas City working with Nagy, who served as Chiefs quarterbacks coach from 2013-15 and offensive coordinator in 2016-17.
Harris, 28, has appeared in 86 NFL games with 39 starts, catching 72 passes for 754 yards and nine touchdowns. His most productive season came in Nagy's final year with the Chiefs in 2017 when the 6-7, 230-pounder had 18 receptions for 224 yards and one TD.
"I feel like I've got a lot in the tank," Harris said. "I haven't had real injuries. With this offense that I know, I love, I'm so happy to be back in this offense. I just learned from the best, learned from coach [Andy] Reid … Just knowing how much of an offensive guru coach Reid is and knowing 'Nags' really learned from him, coach Reid was like a scientist to the offense and you could see it in Nagy. I see the same thing that I saw in coach Reid."
The chance to reunite with Nagy played a major role in Harris signing with the Bears two days after he was released by the Browns.
"He's a lovable person," Harris said. "He welcomes you with open arms and he just tries to see the perspective of the players and the players' side. He's a very good spoken players coach, and I love Nagy for that. There are not a lot of coaches you can be around that you can be yourself without feeling kind of weird. But you feel the love with Nags and he has a good vibe."
Harris entered the NFL with the Chiefs in 2013 as an undrafted free agent without having played a down of college football. He played basketball at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which did not have a football team.

After spending his rookie year on Kansas City's practice squad in 2013, Harris played in eight games in 2014 before a broken foot ended his season. He has since appeared in at least 15 games each of the last five years.
In a familiar offense with the Bears and playing the same "Y" tight end position as Kmet, Harris is happy to help the rookie second-round pick learn the playbook.
"I know all the little tweaks and all the good stuff to be successful in this offense," Harris said. "So yeah, I most definitely always help. I'm always a helping person. So whatever information I've got, I give away. Because the more people you can help, man, the more people can be successful with you.
"I love to help. I'm all open arms and the mentor and will tell him what I know and what I've learned from other players to help him prepare faster than probably what I did or what somebody else did. So it's good to spread out the information that I know."
Harris' familiarity with the system is already paying dividends for Kmet and the Bears' other tight ends.
"He helps in many ways, tremendously," said first-year tight ends coach Clancy Barone. "In fact, he's helped already a lot. He's helped me. The fact that he knows this offense, he was brought up in this offense, and there's some times where I've actually asked him, 'Back when you were with the Chiefs, how'd you guys do this? How did you see this certain technique or this certain concept and so forth?'
"It's always good to hear it from the player's point of view. From that, he's been helpful to me. He's also been very helpful for the other tight ends because he can kind of blend that experience from how he's done it, some things that worked and probably some things that didn't work."

This was a good signing. Not a great player but a guy you can use in the rotation, under the radar to fans.

 

[Leomaz]

CCS Poster says NFL Analysts is a nut job.....NEXT

 

[Noonthirtyjoe]

what a sorry ass article..the dude is double talking his ass off, read that shit again and tell me i'm wrong.

How about I just say you are right and not have to read that again. Mack will kill it this year if we play.

 

[Black Rainbow]

Defense needs to get off the field once in awhile. Remember, only the Jets punted more last year.

 

[mecha]

Defense needs to get off the field once in awhile. Remember, only the Jets punted more last year.

yeah, who knew humans could tire out over time from running all over the field for 3/4 of the game? the defensive struggles of the 2019 Bears were the byproducts of injuries and a terrible offense. Mack's own struggles were the byproduct of injuries on defense. it's really simple.

I'm intrigued the punter didn't fall apart by week 9.

 

[Starion]

And there's also a bunch of people who don't believe in science and think the earth is flat, so....

 

[legendxofxlink]

If the offense could just get up in points every now and then Macks stats would sky rocket.

 

[Chicago Staleys]

He’s a great player on a average to below average team. He will struggle.

 

[Noonthirtyjoe]

He was not elite last year. I think he played with injury. He was not himself.

 

[Mdbearz]

I simply do not think that teams schemed against anyone on our defense like they did Mack.
Hicks being out or hurt and Floyd, just not a threat, If I am a HC, I would be stupid to let Mack beat me, and most teams don't even if that mean putting others on an island.

I would be surprised if Mack was not in the double digits again this year, closer to 15 than 10, is my prediction.

 

[BaBaBlacksheep]

I didn't read the article but I don't think it's crazy to say he wasn't elite last year. He certainly has been before and can be again but last year wasn't his best.

 

[Icculus]

yeah, who knew humans could tire out over time from running all over the field for 3/4 of the game? the defensive struggles of the 2019 Bears were the byproducts of injuries and a terrible offense. Mack's own struggles were the byproduct of injuries on defense. it's really simple.

I'm intrigued the punter didn't fall apart by week 9.

Well he is nicknamed Mega Punt