Bears Building a Winner Around Cutler on Both Sides of the Ball
Published by Luke Easterling on May 12, 2016
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
When many NFL fans think of their team attempting to build a strong supporting cast around their quarterback, it’s understandable for them to think first of adding weapons in the passing game.
But the Chicago Bears are taking a different approach and doing everything they can to surround Jay Cutler with a reliable running game, a capable offensive line and a stout defense built for the long haul.
Up front, the Bears are anchored by a versatile, blue-collar blocker in guard Kyle Long, but they added a similar player early in this year’s draft to mirror him across the line. With its second-round pick, Chicago grabbed Kansas State’s Cody Whitehair, who played left tackle for the Wildcats but will slide inside to guard at the next level.
Both tackle spots get more press, but interior protection is equally vital to keeping a quarterback upright. The Bears have put together a young nucleus in front of Cutler that should allow him to take advantage of the promising pass-catchers he already has at his disposal.
A quarterback’s best friend is an effective ground game—something the Bears achieved last year with the tandem of veteran Matt Forte and rookie Jeremy Langford. Despite being a fan favorite, Forte was allowed to walk this offseason after spending eight years in Chicago.
Langford now moves into the starting role after totaling 816 total yards and seven touchdowns in his first NFL season, but he’ll have a new running mate following this year’s draft. The Bears added a physical runner in Indiana’s Jordan Howard in the fifth round and will attempt to keep the one-two punch mentality in the backfield.
Martellus Bennett may be gone, but Cutler will still have a big, physical target to pair with Alshon Jeffery in last year’s first-round pick, Kevin White. The West Virginia product missed his entire rookie season following a stress fracture in his leg, but he has a rare combination of size, speed and athleticism Cutler will certainly put to good use. With opposing defenses likely focusing more attention on the established veteran in Jeffery, White could end up being highly productive in his first true NFL season.
Cutler will have his options through the air and a young, two-headed monster ready to break out of the backfield, but equally vital are the building blocks the Bears have put in place on defense.
With the arrival of new head coach John Fox and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio prior to the 2015 season, the Bears began to transition from a 4-3 defense to a predominantly 3-4 scheme. This kind of transition usually takes a decent chunk of time to stick due to the personnel overhaul it requires, but in just two offseasons, the Bears have a promising foundation in place at all three levels of the defense.
The 2015 draft brought two key bricks in that foundation: nose tackle Eddie Goldman and safety Adrian Amos. This year’s haul brought them the versatile edge-rusher they needed in Leonard Floyd, another perfect fit along the defensive line in Jonathan Bullard, and depth pieces throughout the back seven like linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski and defensive backs Deiondre‘ Hall, Deon Bush and DeAndre Houston-Carson.
NFL Network’s Mike Mayock believes Floyd—whom the Bears traded up two spots to take in the top 10—is reminiscent of another talented pass-rusher Fangio worked with during his time in San Francisco:
Fangio was in San Francisco when it drafted Aldon Smith. Floyd is very similar. He is one of the most polarizing conversations in the entire draft. He has a ‘wow’ get-off and he bends like Gumby. I don’t know if he can convert speed to power in that pass rush. He has the best burst and get-off in this entire draft. He’s a sub-package, designated pass rusher on Day 1, just like Aldon Smith was in San Francisco.
Add those young talents to holdovers like defensive lineman Will Sutton and cornerback Kyle Fuller, as well as key free-agent pickups at linebacker—Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman—and the Bears now have the personnel in place to execute their scheme effectively.
The previous regime in Chicago hitched the team’s wagon to Cutler with a lucrative seven-year contract extension back in 2014, which has forced the team’s current decision-makers to simply do everything they can to allow him to be successful as their franchise quarterback. In just two offseasons, they’ve rebuilt with a ton of young talent on both sides of the ball in hopes of giving Cutler everything he needs to earn that hefty paycheck.
Cutler has proved he can be an effective quarterback, but consistency has always been his downfall. With a defense much better suited to their new scheme and plenty of fresh blood at every position group on offense, Cutler has every tool necessary to take the Monsters of the Midway back to the playoffs—something they’ve only done once in the past nine seasons.
Luke Easterling is a Featured Columnist covering the NFL draft for Bleacher Report. He also covers the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for Scout. Follow him on Twitter @LukeEasterling.
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