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http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-bears-roquan-smith-minicamp-20180609-story.html
Vic Fangio, straight shooter that he is, isn’t about to anoint a player who has yet to practice in pads at Halas Hall the next great Bears linebacker.
But in about a month with the Bears, Roquan Smith has demonstrated to his teammates and coaches some of the speed, smarts and instincts that turned him into the No. 8 overall NFL draft pick in April.
Fangio has seen those qualities too, but the Bears defensive coordinator held off on any grand pronouncements about Smith’s potential when he spoke to the media during organized team activities last month.
“Right now he’s just trying to learn everything and he’s doing well at that, working hard at it,” Fangio said. “We’ll see. Right now he has to earn his stripes. He had a good enough college career both on and off the field to get drafted where he was, and now he has to prove his worth. But he’s doing well.”
The Bears broke from offseason activities Thursday, so it will be another six weeks before Smith really has a shot to prove his worth when the Bears report to training camp in Bourbonnais.
On a defense touting its continuity from a top-10 performance in 2017, Smith could be the shiny new part that helps things run even smoother. It will be at camp that the Bears can truly start to measure whether Smith is ready to become a difference-maker alongside veteran inside linebacker Danny Trevathan.
By many accounts, Smith at least has laid a solid foundation to build on in his first season.
When Bears inside linebackers coach Glenn Pires watched Smith’s Georgia game film, he was struck that Smith consistently came up with big plays at big moments — from being named the MVP of the SEC championship game to recording 13 tackles and 2 ½ for a loss in the national championship game against Alabama.
Pires said he thinks those big moments, and the sophisticated program he came from, have helped him avoid being overwhelmed thus far in the transition.
“You hear the word instincts a lot, but what is that?” Pires said. “He reacts well to situations. He diagnoses things well. You see his body language before the play. There’s a lot of communication going on. And that all comes from his background. You can tell he has seen a lot and has experienced a lot.”
When he met with the media Tuesday, Smith spoke mostly of time management and setting priorities as the major challenges of his move to the NFL. He said he otherwise hasn’t found his new job very different from his old one as a student-athlete, and that includes learning Fangio’s defense.
“We ran a complex scheme at Georgia, so you learn a lot of different things,” Smith said. “But it’s just ballin’. It’s just how much work you put in and how hard, how you go about it, I feel like.”
The differences will kick up several notches when the Bears put on pads to prepare for their first exhibition Aug. 2 against the Ravens in Canton, Ohio.
But Bears coach Matt Nagy said practice film showed things already have started to slow down for Smith as he understands his responsibilities better. Newcomer but veteran outside linebacker Aaron Lynch thought Smith’s comfort was noteworthy.
“One thing that has stood out to me is he doesn't really attack the game like a rookie,” Lynch said. “He has kind of taken to the defense like he has been in it before. The way he practices, he goes hard. The kid's smart, fast, you can tell his strength without even being in pads, so he has impressed me by how he has been attacking the weight room, the training room, everything.”
One of the biggest hurdles Smith has to clear is communicating and being on the same page as the entire defense, Pires said.
If he has trouble along the way, he has willing mentors.
Outside linebacker Leonard Floyd, who played one season with Smith at Georgia, said he was begging coaches in the meeting rooms before the draft, “We gotta get Roquan. We gotta get Roquan.” He was convinced Smith’s speed, passion and leadership he would be right for the Bears. Floyd tried to eat lunch with Smith every day during team activities but said he also told Trevathan to take care of the rookie.
Trevathan believes he’s “the right guy” to help.
“He’s there for me, (says) ‘Ask any questions,’” Smith said of Trevathan. “He’s asking if I need anything to be able to help me out on the field, just telling me how to go about things and (do) things the right way. That’s definitely big. The guy has been in the league for a while.”
Eventually the Bears will want Smith to take on such a leadership role. But Fangio noted Smith’s intangibles won’t shine through until he has mastered his job.
That will take more time.
“The sooner he becomes proficient at doing his own job, then that will come,” Fangio said. “You can’t be a so-called ‘leader’ or intangible-breeding type of guy if you’re not doing your own job as good as expected. So the sooner he gets to that, the sooner the intangibles can happen.”
Chicago Tribune reporter Dan Wiederer contributed.
ckane@chicagotribune.com
Vic Fangio, straight shooter that he is, isn’t about to anoint a player who has yet to practice in pads at Halas Hall the next great Bears linebacker.
But in about a month with the Bears, Roquan Smith has demonstrated to his teammates and coaches some of the speed, smarts and instincts that turned him into the No. 8 overall NFL draft pick in April.
Fangio has seen those qualities too, but the Bears defensive coordinator held off on any grand pronouncements about Smith’s potential when he spoke to the media during organized team activities last month.
“Right now he’s just trying to learn everything and he’s doing well at that, working hard at it,” Fangio said. “We’ll see. Right now he has to earn his stripes. He had a good enough college career both on and off the field to get drafted where he was, and now he has to prove his worth. But he’s doing well.”
The Bears broke from offseason activities Thursday, so it will be another six weeks before Smith really has a shot to prove his worth when the Bears report to training camp in Bourbonnais.
On a defense touting its continuity from a top-10 performance in 2017, Smith could be the shiny new part that helps things run even smoother. It will be at camp that the Bears can truly start to measure whether Smith is ready to become a difference-maker alongside veteran inside linebacker Danny Trevathan.
By many accounts, Smith at least has laid a solid foundation to build on in his first season.
When Bears inside linebackers coach Glenn Pires watched Smith’s Georgia game film, he was struck that Smith consistently came up with big plays at big moments — from being named the MVP of the SEC championship game to recording 13 tackles and 2 ½ for a loss in the national championship game against Alabama.
Pires said he thinks those big moments, and the sophisticated program he came from, have helped him avoid being overwhelmed thus far in the transition.
“You hear the word instincts a lot, but what is that?” Pires said. “He reacts well to situations. He diagnoses things well. You see his body language before the play. There’s a lot of communication going on. And that all comes from his background. You can tell he has seen a lot and has experienced a lot.”
When he met with the media Tuesday, Smith spoke mostly of time management and setting priorities as the major challenges of his move to the NFL. He said he otherwise hasn’t found his new job very different from his old one as a student-athlete, and that includes learning Fangio’s defense.
“We ran a complex scheme at Georgia, so you learn a lot of different things,” Smith said. “But it’s just ballin’. It’s just how much work you put in and how hard, how you go about it, I feel like.”
The differences will kick up several notches when the Bears put on pads to prepare for their first exhibition Aug. 2 against the Ravens in Canton, Ohio.
But Bears coach Matt Nagy said practice film showed things already have started to slow down for Smith as he understands his responsibilities better. Newcomer but veteran outside linebacker Aaron Lynch thought Smith’s comfort was noteworthy.
“One thing that has stood out to me is he doesn't really attack the game like a rookie,” Lynch said. “He has kind of taken to the defense like he has been in it before. The way he practices, he goes hard. The kid's smart, fast, you can tell his strength without even being in pads, so he has impressed me by how he has been attacking the weight room, the training room, everything.”
One of the biggest hurdles Smith has to clear is communicating and being on the same page as the entire defense, Pires said.
If he has trouble along the way, he has willing mentors.
Outside linebacker Leonard Floyd, who played one season with Smith at Georgia, said he was begging coaches in the meeting rooms before the draft, “We gotta get Roquan. We gotta get Roquan.” He was convinced Smith’s speed, passion and leadership he would be right for the Bears. Floyd tried to eat lunch with Smith every day during team activities but said he also told Trevathan to take care of the rookie.
Trevathan believes he’s “the right guy” to help.
“He’s there for me, (says) ‘Ask any questions,’” Smith said of Trevathan. “He’s asking if I need anything to be able to help me out on the field, just telling me how to go about things and (do) things the right way. That’s definitely big. The guy has been in the league for a while.”
Eventually the Bears will want Smith to take on such a leadership role. But Fangio noted Smith’s intangibles won’t shine through until he has mastered his job.
That will take more time.
“The sooner he becomes proficient at doing his own job, then that will come,” Fangio said. “You can’t be a so-called ‘leader’ or intangible-breeding type of guy if you’re not doing your own job as good as expected. So the sooner he gets to that, the sooner the intangibles can happen.”
Chicago Tribune reporter Dan Wiederer contributed.
ckane@chicagotribune.com
