Getty Akiem Hicks #96 of the Chicago Bears sacks Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings as Khalil Mack #52 leaps over them at Soldier Field. Does the acquisition of Robert Quinn make this defense the best Chicago has seen since 1985?
Last summer, months before the 2019 season began, Chicago Bears Hall of Famer Richard Dent said he felt that the current group of Bears had a very necessary x-factor on defense: The Rule of Three. As in, every great defense needs three forceful pass rushers.
In 1985, on the team’s lone Super Bowl-winning squad, it was Dent, Dan Hampton, and Steve McMichael. Last year, Dent was referring to Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, and Leonard Floyd. But things have changed for the Bears defense this season — for the better. In 2020, Mack and Hicks, both still in their primes, will still be in Chicago. But this year, Chicago went from Leonard Floyd to adding former Dallas Cowboys sack leader Robert Quinn to the mix, and their defense has arguably become one of the most dangerous in football yet again.
In a video in which he breaks down and analyzes the play of Robert Quinn, Windy City Gridiron’s Robert Schmitz provides an excellent preview of what the Bears could be in store for with the addition of Quinn.
“Throughout NFL history, ‘Rule of Three’ defenses have utterly dominated the competition around them,” Schmitz said, citing the ’85 Bears, the famed Pittsburgh Steelers Steel Curtain defense in the 1970’s featuring ‘Mean’ Joe Green, L.C. Greenwood, and Dwight White, and most recently, the 2015 Denver Broncos with Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware, and Derek Wolfe as three examples.
But is this current Bears defense the best we’ve seen since the famed 1985 unit? If not, they’re as close as it gets.
2006 Chicago Defense Was Good — But the Current Bears Defense is Better
The 2006 unit, the last Bears team to make it to the Super Bowl, featured solid pass rushers. Tommie Harris, Alex Brown, and Adewale Ogunleye were all above average. Harris made the Pro Bowl that year, but the defense was anchored by Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher and Pro Bowler Lance Briggs. Charles Tillman and Mike Brown also were standouts in the league at the time, although too many injuries derailed what was sure to be a promising career for Brown.
The 2006 Bears defense gave up 15.9 points a game, which ranked fourth in the league. They surrendered just over 294 yards a game and had two shutouts during the regular season while also holding opponents to under 10 points five times that year. They also had 24 interceptions and 40 sacks that year under head coach Lovie Smith. But their trio of pass rushers wasn’t as strong as Mack, Hicks, and now, Quinn.
In 1985, the Bears defense had 34 interceptions and 54 takeaways, both of which were tops in the league. The defense had a ridiculous 64 sacks that year (that’s an average of four a game), and they also scored four defensive touchdowns. Five members of the defense made the Pro Bowl that year, and they are widely regarded as one of the best — if not the best — defenses in NFL history. While this current unit is nowhere near legendary, they have a great deal of potential.
Last season, the Bears allowed 18.6 points a game, which was fourth in the league, but the year prior, in 2018 when they were healthy, Chicago led the league in points surrendered with 17.7. The 2018 Bears also had 27 interceptions and 50 sacks, and they led the league in takeaways with 36. Production dropped drastically in 2019, as the Bears had just 10 interceptions and 32 sacks, but bringing Quinn in to replace Floyd should get those defensive stats back up to 2018-like numbers again.
This current Bears defense also boasts three All-Pros: Khalil Mack, Eddie Jackson, and Kyle Fuller. Their linebacking crew with Danny Trevathan and Roquan Smith is strong, and Akiem Hicks, while not an All-Pro, should be, and remains one of the best big men in football. Adding Robert Quinn to the mix makes the unit even scarier.
Robert Quinn Stats vs Leonard Floyd Stats: Quinn is a Vast Improvement
Quinn began his career with the Los Angeles Rams, and he spent his most recent seasons with the Dolphins and Cowboys. He has 25 forced fumbles, 80.5 sacks, and 90 tackles for loss in his nine-year career. He played some of his best football in 2019, getting double-digit sacks for the first time since the 2014 season.
Floyd, who the Bears drafted in the first-round in 2016, spent four years with the Bears, and in that span, he had a total of 18.5 sacks, which was not the type of production GM Ryan Pace had in mind when he drafted him. Floyd averaged 4.6 sacks a season, while Quinn has averaged 8.9 a season in his nine years as a pro. Floyd has 26 tackles-for-loss in four seasons, and just one forced fumble. If Floyd were to continue to play another four seasons while producing at the same rate he has been, his numbers would be roughly half of what Quinn’s have been.
Quinn turns 30 this spring, but he still has a few years of solid ball left in him. If he stays healthy, look for this Bears defense to return to its 2018 league-leading form — or maybe even better.
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