Tag: Khalil Mack

2 Bears land on PFF’s list of Top 101 players of 2019

Despite the Bears’ disappointing season, Khalil Mack and Allen Robinson made Pro Football Focus’ list of the top 101 players of 2019.

There wasn’t much to love about the Bears’ disappointing 2019 season,  aside from the play of Allen Robinson, Cordarrelle Patterson and Nick Kwiatkoski, among others.

Pro Football Focus released their list of the top 101 players from 2019, and two Bears made the cut.

Despite an underwhelming statistical season, outside linebacker Khalil Mack was the highest-ranked Bear on PFF’s list. The 48th overall player in 2019, Mack had 8.5 sacks and 5 forced fumbles in 2019.

It says something about the quality of Khalil Mack that a relative “down year” for him still sees him end the season with an overall PFF grade of 86.2 and 70 total pressures. This marks the first time since his rookie year that his overall grade slipped below 90.0, and his 70 pressures are also the fewest he has tallied since his first year in the league. Mack may not have been at his very best this season, but even 80% of that player is a dominant force most weeks in the league.

Surprisingly, a member of the Bears’ offense made the list. Not-so-surprisingly, that player was receiver Allen Robinson, who was the only good thing about Chicago’s abysmal offense in 2019.

Robinson, who landed at No. 85, caught 98 passes for 1,147 yards and seven touchdowns in 2019. Robinson became the first Bears receiver to eclipse 1,000 yards since 2014.

Allen Robinson’s ability to produce despite the never-ending list of dismal quarterback play over his career has been remarkable. Again, he was able to grade among the better receivers in the game despite Mitchell Trubisky’s game falling off a cliff and the fact that he had to suffer through the play of backup Chase Daniel at times, as well. Robinson ended the season with over 1,100 yards from 153 targets, catching 64% of the balls thrown his way over the year. His ability to excel despite far from ideal quarterback play is phenomenal.

While the Bears have plenty of work to do this offseason if they hope to rebound from a disappointing 2019 season, they have the talented roster to do just that.

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Chase Young pairing up with Jack Del Rio should be a scary thought for 31 NFL teams

Del Rio has a history of working with some of the best defenders in the NFL, and his opportunity to mold Chase Young should terrify the NFL.

For Washington Redskins defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, much of his time spent coaching in the NFL has involved an elite defense. More than that, much of his time has been spent working with an elite-level pass rusher.

In Carolina with the Panthers, Del Rio was part of the staff when they drafted Julius Peppers with the No. 2 overall pick in 2002. In 2012 with the Denver Broncos, Del Rio showed up a year after the team drafted Von Miller with the No. 2 overall pick in 2011. And just years later in Oakland, Del Rio came in a year after the Raiders drafted Khalil Mack No 5 overall in 2014.

It’s safe to say that Del Rio knows the importance that dominant pass-rushers play on defense.

“Having a guy like Von Miller or a guy like Khalil Mack, who are premier pass-rushers, they put a lot of pressure on the offense and help the defense,” Del Rio said, via ESPN.com. “It all starts for us with the penetrative, disruptive defensive linemen.”

This trend with Del Rio and dominant defensive lineman makes it all but a lock that the Redskins draft Chase Young out of Ohio State with the second overall pick in 2020. Young is thought to be an elite talent, and one of the best defenders to come out of the NCAA in several years. His upside is through the roof, and some are saying he’s a future Hall of Fame player, should he be placed into the right system, and under the right coach.

It’s hard to argue that there’s a more perfect fit than Del Rio. His history at coaching the position speaks for itself — three elite talents at the pass-rushing position, three likely future Hall-of-Famers.

Washington will have the chance to draft the fourth in April.

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Bears Twitter account was hacked, tried to trade away Khalil Mack

The Chicago Bears’ Twitter account was temporarily hacked Sunday morning, and they tried to trade away one of their All-Pro defenders.

The Chicago Bears’ Twitter account was temporarily hacked Sunday morning.

The hackers took over the account and claimed that Turki Al-Sheikh, a Saudi Arabian royal court advisor, was the new owner of the Bears. Which is all kinds of ridiculous, as Virginia McCaskey remains the owner and the family has owned the team for over 100 years.

Just minutes later, a Saudi-based group called “OurMine” took credit for the hack. They said they did so in order to “announce that we are back” and to “show people that everything is hackable.”

The Lions page “Pride of Detroit” engaged with the hackers, asking them to agree to trade star pass rusher Khalil Mack to Detroit for a sixth-round pick. To which OurMine said they’d do for $1. Luckily, Twitter is not a binding contract.

The Bears remained hacked as of 9:40 a.m., according to NBC Chicago.

Let this be a lesson to all: Don’t make obvious passwords.

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2020 Pro Bowl: Eddie Jackson would rather be playing in Super Bowl

Who has it better than Eddie Jackson? Jackson was voted to his second Pro Bowl, although, there’s one place he would rather be.

Who has it better than Eddie Jackson right now?

The Bears’ safety just signed a massive four-year extension worth $58.4 million, and he was voted to his second career Pro Bowl in just three seasons.

While making the Pro Bowl is an honor, there’s one place Jackson would rather be.

“I’d rather be playing in [the Super Bowl] than here any day,” he said following Wednesday’s practice in Orlando. “We’ve got next year coming and I’m excited about it. We’ve got a while to go before football starts back up. But we’re just ready to get back to it for real.”

The Bears are coming off a disappointing 2019 season, where they went 8-8 and missed the playoffs. When you factor in the high expectations for this season — where some considered the Bears Super Bowl contenders at one point before the season — it makes 8-8 feel more like 3-13.

Chicago is aiming to right the ship for 2020, which will focus primarily on getting the offense on track. Questions linger at quarterback, tight end, offensive line and especially the run game.

But the defense is in much better shape, with their only concern is the decline in takeaways from a season ago. Luckily for the Bears, they locked up a core player in their defensive backfield in Jackson for the long term.

Jackson is appearing in his second Pro Bowl, where he’s one of three players representing the Bears in Orlando this week. Kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson and cornerback Kyle Fuller are also in attendance, while Khalil Mack bowed out with an injury.

“It’s always a blessing when you get picked to come out here,” Jackson said. “It’s fun just to be around the guys and see different type of personalities off the field.”

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Bears OLB Khalil Mack not participating in Pro Bowl

The Bears will be down one Pro Bowler this week in Orlando as OLB Khalil Mack has bowed out of the Pro Bowl.

The Chicago Bears will be down one Pro Bowler this week as the 2020 NFL Pro Bowl festivities kick off in Orlando.

Outside linebacker Khalil Mack will not participate in the Pro Bowl this week. Mack will be replaced by Packers outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith.

Mack has been voted to the Pro Bowl five straight times, and this will be Smith’s first. Mack also made the Pro Bowl last season, in his Chicago debut, and chose not to participate, as well.

The Bears will have three other players representing them at the Pro Bowl. Safety Eddie Jackson, cornerback Kyle Fuller and kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson will be in Orlando for this week’s festivities.

The Pro Bowl will take place this Sunday, January 26 at 2:00 p.m. CT from Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. You can watch in on ABC, ESPN and Disney XD.

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Khalil Mack ranks 6th in NFLPA sales list, Mitchell Trubisky cracks Top 20

The NFLPA released their Top 50 players sales list, which includes two Bears in the Top 20 in Khalil Mack and Mitchell Trubisky.

When it comes to the NFL’s most popular players, Bears outside linebacker Khalil Mack is certainly near the top. And that’s evidenced by the NFLPA’s Top 50 players sales list.

Mack ranked sixth in the NFL in 2019 in player sales, ranking just behind Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, Ezekiel Elliot, Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham Jr. Believe it or not, Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky made the Top 20, where he ranked 16th.

 

These sales include only officially licenses, NFL player-identified merchandise sold online and traditional retail outlets. These include licensees such as Fanatics, Outerstuff, Nike, Fathead, FOCO, Funki and Wincraft among others.

These sales were tallied from Mar. 1, 2019 through Nov. 30, 2019.

Bleacher Report says Khalil Mack is Bears’ most overpaid star

Given Khalil Mack is the highest-paid defensive player in the league, his 2019 production didn’t match his paycheck.

You’ll be hard pressed to find someone that regrets the Bears trading for star pass rusher Khalil Mack two years ago.

It was a franchise-altering move that made a good Bears defense great and brought another high-character guy into the locker room. His impact on this franchise is a lasting one.

But there are definitely frustrations following Mack’s dip in production from last season. In 2018, Mack had 12.5 sacks and 6 forced fumbles compared to his 8.5 sacks and 5 forced fumbles in 2019.

After notching 4.5 sacks and 4 forced fumbles in the first four games this season, he only managed 4 sacks and 1 forced fumble in the final 12 games.

Given Mack is the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history, his 2019 output isn’t up to par with his six-year $141 million deal.

Which is why Bleacher Report believes Mack is the Bears’ most overpaid star.

He’s the highest-paid defensive player in the history of the league, and the Bears have won zero playoff games since they handed him that contract before the 2018 season.

That isn’t Mack’s fault, but for that money, you have to be transcendent. He has 21 sacks in 30 games as a Bear, which is good but not great. And the Chicago defense took a big step backward statistically in 2019.

What’s most concerning is the 2014 first-round pick wasn’t even expensive the last two years. But he’ll account for more than $26 million against the cap in each of the next three seasons, with Chicago only able to get out of the third year with a $12 million dead-cap charge. Not ideal considering Mack will be 29 next month.

Mack suffered from the loss of defensive tackle Akiem Hicks, who was placed on injured reserve for an elbow injury in Week 5. Teams were already game planning specifically for Mack, but they’d usually have to worry about Hicks in the middle. With him out, the focus became all on Mack.

Mack will account for more than $26 million against the salary cap in his next three seasons. And, simply put, the Bears need better from him.

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Bears CB Kyle Fuller is headed back to the Pro Bowl

Bears CB Kyle Fuller is headed to his second straight Pro Bowl, as he will replace the Rams’ Jalen Ramsey, who bowed out due to injury.

Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller is headed to his second straight Pro Bowl.

Fuller, who was selected as an alternate, will replace the Rams’ Jalen Ramsey, who bowed out due to injury.

Last season, Fuller was named to the first-team All-Pro team and his first Pro Bowl after his league-best seven interceptions and 21 pass breakups.

While Fuller’s numbers were down from a season ago, he led the Bears with three interceptions and 12 pass breakups while finishing second in tackles with 82. Fuller was a part of a Bears defense that, while they regressed, remained consistent. They allowed the fourth fewest points in the NFL (18.6 per game.)

Fuller will join three Bears players on the NFC team, including outside linebacker Khalil Mack, safety Eddie Jackson and kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson.

The Pro Bowl will take place Sunday, Jan. 26 at 2 p.m. CT at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

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Bears’ top positional needs this offseason

General manager Ryan Pace has a lot of work to do this offseason. But what are his top priorities this offseason?

The Chicago Bears were sent into early hibernation following a disappointing 8-8 season marred by offensive deficiencies and underwhelming execution.

General manager Ryan Pace has a lot of work to do this offseason when it comes to addressing needs on the offensive and defensive sides of the football.

Here are the Bears’ top five positional needs this offseason:

1. Tight end

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Arguably the most disappointing position group of the entire season were the tight ends, who were non-existent in the Bears offense this season. Chicago’s top three tight ends — Trey Burton, Adam Shaheen and Ben Braunecker — were all on injured reserve by season’s end. But even before that, they weren’t producing on the field.

The Bears can’t rely on injury-prone Burton and Shaheen to suddenly have breakout seasons in 2020. Pace needs to turn to free agency or the NFL Draft to bring in a production tight end that’s a necessity for Matt Nagy’s offense.

Possible options: Hunter Henry (UFA), Austin Hooper (UFA), Eric Ebron (UFA), Cole Kmet (Draft), Brycen Hopkins (Draft)

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What are Bears’ biggest offseason priorities in 2020?

There are plenty of areas the Bears need to address this offseason — including fixing the offense and extending players in-house.

One year after hosting a playoff game, the Chicago Bears will be watching the postseason from their couches following a disappointing 8-8 season that left the Bears with more questions than answers looking forward to 2020.

There are plenty of areas the Bears need to address this offseason — including fixing the offense and extending players in-house.

With no shortage of work to be done for general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy, here are seven things that should be the Bears’ biggest priorities this offseason:

1. Extend WR Allen Robinson

Adam Bettcher/Getty Images

While the Bears will turn to free agency with many needs in place, general manager Ryan Pace needs to take care of business in-house first. He did just that in extending safety Eddie Jackson for four years and $58.4 million. And there’s another player due for a big contract extension: Receiver Allen Robinson.

Robinson was the lone consistent bright spot for a Bears offense that was one of the worst in the league. Robinson had a career-best 98 receptions for 1,147 yards and seven touchdowns. He became the first Bears receiver to eclipse 1,000 yards since 2014.

Considering the circumstances under which Robinson had his success — questionable quarterback play, no run game, questionable play calling and defenses knowing the ball would be going his way — it’s even more impressive. Robinson has proven to be a clear-cut No. 1 receiver for the Bears, and Pace needs to lock him up long-term.

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