Younger Bears Stepping Forth to Fuel Turnaround
A key argument in favor of the job Bears GM Ryan Pace has done is the performance by young Bears players, the latest being the effort of two defensive backs in Sunday's 33-27 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Duke Shelley and Kindle Vildor stepped in and played due to the injuries to Jaylon Johnson and Buster Skrine, and as the defensive coaches like to say, the job "wasn't too big for them."
It's typical of the early production the Bears have been getting out of younger players brought in by Pace, whether drafted or undrafted.
Neither excelled to the level of a starter by making plays on the ball or picking off passes but they played the position without getting burned. The game plan couldn't work with young defensive backs blowing coverages and being caught out of position regularly.
Vildor, their fifth-round draft pick this year, made five tackles and Shelley, the sixth-round pick in 2019, made seven tacles.
Shelley has played more snaps than Vildor so far since the secondary injuries began, but has a respectable 95.8 passer rating against according to Sportradar. Vildor's is higher at 118.7 but the important aspect of play by both at their early stage of development is neither has missed a tackle yet. Shelley is 12-for-12 and Vildor 9-for-9.
"You go back and you look and there's a couple times where, assignment-wise, they could've been a little bit better on the mental side, but that's natural, that's going to happen," Bears coach Matt Nagy said. "I think what you do see out of those two young guys is they battle every play and they're not scared to stick their nose in the briar patch and make some plays.
"I mean, Duke Shelley made two huge tackles that resulted in us getting the ball back because of the tackles he made. Vildor, he's sticky and he gets on you and he makes plays. And he's going to grow. Are there going to be times he gets beat? Yeah."
The two operated without their position coach available, as well. Defensive backs coach Deshea Towsend wasn't at the game due to personal reasons.
It's always a help on the sidelines having the friendly voice and assessment.
How long either will need to keep playing with the starters is anyone's guess.
The Bears haven't said anything about the severity of Johnson's shoulder injury. Skrine is going through the concussion protocol and considering it's the sixth reported concussion he's had in the NFL, it might mean a longer time away. There's never much certainty when recovering from concussions.
Inexperience comes with a price. The Bears have to play it safer in the secondary with both on the field.
Considering the starters have only six of the meager eight interceptions made by the Bears on defense this season, making the safe plays and solid tackles isn't far off from what the defense could expect from starting-calibre players.
Whether it's undrafted second-year offensive linemen like Sam Mustipher and Alex Bars, or rookie wide receiver Darnell Mooney and tight end Cole Kmet, younger players Pace brought in are producing.
It has to be mentioned that running back David Montgomery is also a second-year player and possibly the primary reason things have changed for the offense.
Third-year players already had established themselves, as Bilal Nichols has sacks in three straight games and Roquan Smith is second in the league in tackles for loss.
Of course, young players didn't develop soon enough to make for a comfortable playoff run. As Nagy pointed out, younger players tend to develop at different rates.
"Here's an example: So Cole Kmet, when we drafted Cole Kmet, we knew when we drafted him what type of player that this kid is going to be in his career," Nagy said. "He's going to be really, really good at the tight end position. But sometimes what's hard for people to understand is it's like Nintendo and you think you can just put these kids in for the first game they ever play or the first three games they ever play and they're going to have these numbers or they can play every snap. And it's hard to do that."
So Kmet came along slowly at first but Sunday played every snap and he now has 19 receptions on the year.
"Even a guy like Mooney, we weren't sure in Week 1 against the Detroit were the lights going to be too big for Mooney coming from where he came from," Nagy said. "He's obviously shown that they're not.
"So all these guys have really stepped up. Mustipher, Alex Bars and they've all played pivotal roles. And so now, would we have loved to have it happen sooner? Yeah. But it hasn’t. And so we just want to grow these next two games."
Ryan Pace's Last 3 Drafts
2020
- 2. TE Cole Kmet: 14 games/7 starts, 19 receptions, 184 yards 2 TDs
- 2. CB Jaylon Johnson: 13 games/13 starts, 15 pass defenses, 44 tackles
- 5. OLB Trevis Gipson: 5 games, 2 tackles
- 5. CB Kindle Vildor: 14 games, 9 tackles
- 5. WR Darnell Mooney: 14 games/8 starts, 46 receptions, 499 yards, 4 TDs
- 7. OL Arlington Hambright: 1 game/1 start
- 7. OL Lachavious Simmons: Has not played
2019
3. RB David Montgomery: 29 games/20 starts, 444 attempts, 1,795 yards, 12 TD; 43 receptions, 349 yards, 2 TDs
4. WR Riley Ridley: 10 games/1 start, 10 receptions, 108 yards
6. CB Duke Shelley: 18 games/1 start, 12 tackles, 1 pass defense
7. RB Kerrith Whyte Jr.: No longer with team
7. CB Stephen Denmark: No longer with team
2018
1. ILB Roquan Smith: 42 games/40 starts, 350 tackles, 30 TFL, 22 passes defensed, 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, 11 sacks
2. G James Daniels: 37 games/31 starts, currently on IR
2. WR Anthony Miller: 45 games/16 starts, 130 receptions, 1,541 yards, 11 TDs
4. LB Joel Iyiegbuniwe: 45 games 22 tackles, 1 TFL
5. DE Bilal Nichols: 41 games/32 starts, 1 INT, 8 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 21 QB hits
6. OLB Kylie Fitts: No longer with team
7. WR Javon Wims: 31 games/7 starts, 28 receptions, 266 yards, 2 TDs
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