Bear Digest

What a Full Season of Montez Sweat Can Mean for Bears

Several factors indicate Montez Sweat can be even more effective in his first full Bears season than last year, when his arrival transformed their defense.

Gene Chamberlain

Montez Sweat on Being Around from the Start.mp4
Montez Sweat on Being Around from the Start.mp4 /
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Amid the excitement and energy generated by defensive end Montez Sweat's arrival in Chicago at midseason via trade last year is a fact often totally forgotten.

He did what he did with almost no time to learn the defensive scheme or how to play off of his teammates on the front line. Now, it's different.

"Oh, it's completely different," Sweat said Saturday after the first Bears practice of training camp. "We're starting from the ground, from Install 1. So instead of coming in with a playbook, where everybody around me already knows what they're doing, I'm actually learning it with them, going through the process, and actually bringing some knowledge that I have from last year into this year."

In other words, the so-called "Sweat effect" can be even greater than last year, when he arrived and made six sacks and 21 pressures over nine games following his trade from Washington.

Another reason Sweat can be even better is his conditioning. This was a concern because Sweat only participated partially in the offseason workouts, preferring instead to condition on his own.

"He came back in great condition," coach Matt Eberflus said. "That's the No. 1 thing. He looks like he's in great shape."

Sweat came through the condition test in a great place. He doesn't mess around with this type of thing and perhaps it all stems from a failed drug test early in his career. He told Dan Pompei of The Athletic that the drug test he failed at Michigan State early in his career, resulting in his departure for Copiah-Lincoln Community College, was a lesson learned about cutting corners.

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Now the excellent condition he's in can lead to an explosive charge like he showed on his first Bears sack, when he charged at Jared Goff and threw him to the turf like a rag doll. When he can get off the line of scrimmage this way, he's difficult to handle as a 265-pound edge who can run a sub 4.5 seconds in the 40.

"Because, really for him, it's about getting that consistent get-off," Eberflus said. "Because once he does that it's over. I think when he does that he's going to be elite and dominant."

The problem, of course, is there is only one Sweat. There aren't two. Teams can double-team him. They no longer have Yannick Ngakoue, at least for now. Ngakoue remains an unsigned free agent after breaking his ankle last year while he was starting at the end opposite Sweat.

The buzz is all about whether the Bears can bring him back but the salary cap can be a concern here.

"I was a fan of Yannick before I even got here, so to share a (D-line) room with him was pretty cool and just to practice with him and see some of his techniques, the way he approached the game, was also a learning tool for me," Sweat said. "It was great playing with Yannick. My production and his production went up. Good luck to him."

The Bears can compensate by moving Sweat to avoid all the double-teaming, and he does like moving up and down the line.

"I love moving across the line, doing stunts with my inside linemen, and it just gives me a chance to get the terminology right," Sweat said.

Sweat has already tried to iron out any difficulties in communication that can result in problems as he moves up and down the line.

"I was just talking to D-Walk (Walker) today about just what's his signals and stuff like that that he might use on the field and that type of stuff, instead of coming in when the ball's already rolling and we can get some of these things done in the preseason and hit the ground running when Week 1 comes," Sweat said.

There's also someone else teaching him the defense along with line coach Travis Smith. New coordinator Eric Washington has a reputation for elevating defensive linemen from Carolina and Buffalo as both a line coach and coordinator.

"He's very hands on," Washington said. "You could definitely tell that he likes to be around the D-line, he likes to be around the big guys. He's very hands-on, he's giving pointers every now and again.

"He's a D-coordinator but at heart I really feel like he's a D-line coach."

All of these factors could add up to an even bigger year than Sweat's 12 1/2-sack career high 2023 year, when he became the only player to lead two teams in sacks.

Definitely there is expectation for a big year from their Pro Bowl end.

"Yeah, that’s natural," he said. "It comes with the territory. I take it all wholeheartedly. It's definitely a bigger role."

At the largest cap hit the team has, of $25.08 million, he needs to be capable of that role.

So he'll need every opportunity to do it. The Bears need to use these next few weeks to determine whether it should be with Ngakoue or some other defensive lineman taking pressure off of Sweat.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.