Eddie Goldman Becoming a Stabilizing Force in the Middle of Chicago’s Defense
Published by Matt Eurich on November 20, 2015
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
Every good 3-4 defense in the NFL needs a stabilizing force in the middle of its defensive line, and the Chicago Bears have found one this season in rookie nose tackle Eddie Goldman.
General manager Ryan Pace selected Goldman in the second round of this year’s draft out of Florida State, and the first-year GM was excited about his new nose tackle after the draft, per CBSChicago.com:
This is a young player, third-year junior, two-year starter. When I think about the standout traits with Eddie Goldman it’s strength, stout at the point of attack. He’s very instinctive, he gets off blocks. I really like the pad level he plays with. Steps up in big moments. In the Clemson game this year, there’s three game-changing plays he makes to basically win that game for Florida State. This is a stout, strong nose tackle that anchors the center of your defense. I think he’s an ascending player.
In Goldman’s two years as a starter for the Seminoles, he was productive against both the run and the pass.
Goldman began training camp as Chicago’s No. 2 nose tackle behind veteran Jeremiah Ratliff, and he made an impression on starting guard Matt Slauson.
“As a veteran offensive lineman, you get a rookie across from you and you can think, ‘This is going to be great,’” Slauson said, per CSNChicago.com’s John Mullin. “But not with him, and I learned that really fast. He’s got really good tools and I think he’s going to be really, really good.”
Ratliff missed the first three games of the season because of a suspension—as well as the fourth game because of an injury—and Goldman got the start at nose tackle in three of the team’s first four games.
Goldman went back to being a rotational player behind Ratliff in Week 5 and Week 6, but the team released Ratliff prior to Chicago’s Week 8 game against the Minnesota Vikings.
According to Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune, Goldman looked up to Ratliff growing up, and he was disappointed to find out his mentor was released.
“When I first got here, he kind of took me under his wing, taught me more about formations and tendencies and certain teams,” Goldman said, per Campbell. “Just teaching me the things I didn’t know about football on the pro level. Him being gone, it’s not good, but it happens.”
Since Ratliff’s release, Goldman has solidified himself as Chicago’s starting nose tackle, and his progress in recent weeks has proven he can be an anchor in the middle of the team’s defensive line for years to come because of his ability against both the run and the pass.
Defensive tackles rarely make headlines for their play in the trenches against the run, but Goldman has been improving against the run in recent weeks.
He was powerful at the point of attack against the run at Florida State, and he proved during his time in Tallahassee that he has the ability to not only take up space in the middle of a defensive line, but also attack and make plays against the run.
Goldman struggled in training camp and earlier this season with his footwork, but defensive line coach Jay Rodgers thinks the rookie nose tackle has shown improvement, per Mullin.
He’s really starting to increase his production. Little by little. And his footwork is so much cleaner than it was in training camp. So he’s continued to grow at this [upward] pattern. And having more experience in understanding what we want from him has really helped him.
And just getting used to the way we do things. Seeing blocks. Performing certain tasks. And so he’s just going to keep going up and up as long as he keeps to the grind.
Goldman showed off his improved footwork and understanding of the game—as well as his strength—in the second quarter against the St. Louis Rams in Week 10.
On 1st-and-20 from the 10-yard line, St. Louis opened up the second quarter with rookie Todd Gurley as the lone running back in the backfield behind quarterback Nick Foles. The Bears opened up in their base 3-4 defense with Goldman playing straight up over Rams center Tim Barnes:
Goldman got a good jump off the ball and immediately engaged with Barnes at the point of attack. Gurley ran to his right toward the A-gap between the right guard and the center, while left guard Garrett Reynolds slid to his right to double-team Goldman:
Despite being double-teamed, Goldman was able to maintain his balance before throwing Barnes down to the turf:
Gurley hit the hole with speed, but Goldman and defensive end Bruce Gaston brought the rookie running back down after a two-yard gain:
Goldman worked hard on that play to break free from a double-team to meet Gurley in the hole, but only Gaston was credited with a tackle on the play.
The play above is an example of how a nose tackle often goes unnoticed during a game, but that play would not have been a positive one for the Bears had Goldman been unable to beat both Barnes and Reynolds.
After recording negative grades against the run in his first three games this season, per Pro Football Focus, Goldman has posted positive grades in four of his last six games. He is currently listed as the team’s best defensive lineman against the run with a plus-1.9 grade.
The former Florida State star is far from perfect against the run, but he has improved his technique and appears to have a better understanding of the game now than he did when the season began. Even though he has shown a lot of improvement against the run, he is still at his best when asked to get after the quarterback.
Goldman has the size (6’3″, 332 lbs) to be used primarily as a run-stuffing nose tackle in a 3-4 defense, but his above-average athleticism makes him an effective pass-rusher up the middle.
The young lineman has just 1.5 sacks to his name this season, but he has done a nice job of applying pressure to opposing quarterbacks. According to Pro Football Focus’ Khaled Elsayed, Goldman is the fifth-best rookie pass-rusher this season with 13 total pressures in 154 pass-rushing snaps.
Rodgers thinks one of the reasons why Goldman has been effective this season as a pass-rusher is because of his athleticism.
“He’s worked hard to get to that point, dropped a little weight from where he was in training camp, and I think he’s at a good spot where he can play,” said Rodgers, per Mullin. “I like ‘athletes,’ athletic D-linemen is what I like, and he has athleticism.”
In Week 6 against the Detroit Lions, Goldman showed off his athleticism on a sack of quarterback Matthew Stafford. Goldman lined up opposite of center Travis Swanson in the first quarter, and he immediately beat the former Arkansas Razorback with a swim move at the line of scrimmage:
Stafford tried to step up in the pocket, but Goldman and defensive end Jarvis Jenkins brought him down for the sack:
Before the regular season began, Rodgers said Goldman had all the tools to be successful, but he just needed to master the mental part of the game.
“The guy is 330-plus pounds. Physically he has it,” Rodgers said, per the Chicago Sun-Times‘ Mark Potash. “He’s got knock-back. He’s got anchor—that’s why he’s a second-round draft pick. Now, can you put the mental part of it together to get the physical to match up and make plays.”
Goldman’s improvement against the run, as well as his strong play against the pass, in recent weeks shows the game is starting to click for him mentally.
The release of Ratliff earlier this season was a loss for both the Bears and Goldman, but the rookie nose tackle is quickly becoming a stabilizing force in the middle of the defense line because of his ability to make plays consistently against the run and the pass.
Statistical information courtesy of NFL.com and Pro Football Focus unless otherwise noted.
Matt Eurich is a Chicago Bears featured columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.
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