Khalil Mack Breaks New Ground as Leader, Tag Team Pass Rusher

Khalil Mack had always been a dominant pass rusher, but after being with the team two years and with Robert Quinn now on the verge of playing, he's also become a vocal leader

Khalil Mack is experiencing two aspects of the game he hasn't gone through his previous six NFL seasons.

One could be fun, the other he's going to need to keep working at to enjoy.

At Sunday's win, Mack was caught on television cameras being a vocal leader. Dating back to his Raiders years, he's never really had to do this and usually isn't comfortable as the speaker.

And starting this week, he'll be playing on a defense with another dominant pass rusher. This hasn't happened to date, either. Robert Quinn appears to be back and might play against the New York Giants. And this, Mack is going to very much enjoy.

"I'm looking forward to it, man," Mack said Friday. "I know he's a special player, special talent. Not only that, man, he's a great guy. I know it's gonna be fun. Whenever he gets out there, I'm gonna be waiting on him."

Quinn went through a full practice on Friday, normally a sign a player is ready to return to the field. The new Bears pass rusher had practiced two days on a limited basis after missing all of last week's practices and opener due to an ankle injury.

"We were really excited to be able to sign Robert Quinn and I think he's put together a good week," Bears coach Matt Nagy said. "And we'll just keep an eye on where he's at and how we want to do things with him.

"But any time you have Robert Quinn on one side and Khalil Mack on another side what that can do is make them know that offensively you've got to know where everybody is at now. You can't just pick a side (to block). It's exciting.'

The lineup change couldn't come at a better time for the Bears because they're facing running Saquon Barkley after last week's defensive effort was the worst of Chuck Pagano's 17 games as defensive coordinator yardage-wise.

"Everything has to be better," Mack said. "We know what we're capable of. It's gonna be another challenge this week going out against another great back.

"It's gonna be fun, though, man. We look forward to the challenge."

Coach Matt Nagy took note of how the defense got gashed last week by Adrian Peterson and how they're preparing to face Barkley, and saw a bit more sense of urgency from players.

"There was a little bit of aggression going on at practice, which I like," Nagy said.

Mack has always been the leader by example while he didn't say much, to players or media. Now it's both. The talk he gave the defense was an example.

"When he makes his statements, if we all agree on something's going right or going wrong, it's really just being a positive reinforcement because we need a leader," Quinn said. "He's been here, he's that guy, one of the guys.

"Sometimes it's just make sure guys stay focused all the way through, especially with this weird situation we're going through (without fans)."

Mack had just 8 1/2 sacks last year and has said he's looking to rebound but the sack numbers are taking a distant second to winning. And this is why he says he's now about being the vocal leader.

"I want to do a lot individually, but ultimately when you think about the individual effort that comes with winning," Mack said. "That's the only thing I really care about, is winning at this stage in my career and getting to the ultimate goal at the end of the season. So I can't really place too much focus on myself.

"That's another part that I'm learning, as I get old, to bring guys along. That's the biggest thing for me this year, just leading by example and bringing guys along and winning. That's pretty much it."

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