Pass-Rush-Needy Bears Require More Out of Pricey DEs Lamarr Houston, Jared Allen
Published by Zach Kruse on October 7, 2014
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears likely envisioned much more than 23 combined tackles and zero sacks through five weeks when general manager Phil Emery agreed to fork over $30.5 million combined in guaranteed money to free-agent defensive ends Lamarr Houston and Jared Allen this past March.
While rushing the passer isn’t the only task designated to a defensive end, teams simply don’t give away that kind of money—$15 million guaranteed to Houston and $15.5 million to Allen—without the future expectation of getting the quarterback on the ground. So far in 2014, Houston and Allen have come up empty in the sack department despite playing almost 500 combined snaps.
The Bears—with a defense that has allowed 69 points over the last two weeks in part because of a softening pass rush—now need Houston and Allen to impact the game more.
Neither has played poorly. And sack numbers can often lie: Houston has 17 total quarterback disruptions, via Pro Football Focus (subscription required), while Allen has 12 over four games. The two have been far from invisible.
In fact, only Michael Bennett of the Seattle Seahawks has more quarterback hits (seven) than Houston, and Allen was a one-man wrecking crew during the second half of Chicago’s road win over the New York Jets in Week 3. It’s also important to note Allen missed the Bears’ loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 4 because of a nasty bout with pneumonia.
The lack of sacks from both Houston and Allen is more jarring in part because Willie Young, who the Bears paid just $4 million in guaranteed money to back in March, already has five sacks, one off the NFL lead. He’s been the impact player among the three additions this season, as highlighted by his strip-sack of Panthers quarterback Cam Newton last Sunday that set up a Bears touchdown.
There’s also a little sting from the renaissance of Julius Peppers 200 miles to the north. Peppers has 1.5 sacks, 17 quarterback disruptions, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception return for a touchdown for the Packers in 2014.
The Chicago defense needs Houston and Allen to emerge as impact players, too.
Opposing quarterbacks have simply gotten too comfortable against the Bears in recent weeks.
The Packers dropped back to pass 30 times in Week 4 but faced just six pressured plays. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw all four of his touchdown passes on plays lacking pressure, while the Bears managed just one sack—on a play Rodgers ran out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage—and zero quarterback hits.
A week later, Newton and the Panthers were equally as comfortable.
Faced with the possibility of Newton standing tall all day in the pocket like Rodgers a week earlier, the Bears brought a season-high 13 blitzes—but still managed just 12 pressured plays on 39 dropbacks. Newton was deadly under pressure, completing 66.7 percent of his passes and averaging 11.2 yards per attempt. When blitzed, Newton had a passer rating of 109.4
Overall, the Bears have just 18 pressured dropbacks over 69 chances (26.0 percent) during the last two weeks.
Compare those numbers to Week 3, when Chicago pressured Geno Smith and the New York Jets 17 times over 47 dropbacks (36.2 percent). Against that mounting pressure, Smith completed three of 14 passes for just 17 yards. The Bears blitzed just six times.
Against the Jets, Houston and Allen combined for 11 disruptions, including five quarterback hits. Neither had a sack.
It’s possible the Bears are getting exactly what they expected out of Houston. Over four years with the Oakland Raiders, Houston averaged just over four sacks a season. He never had more than six in one year. He is a disruptor against the passing game but not a prolific quarterback-sacker.
Still, zero sacks—and, in reality, zero impact plays—is an inconspicuous start to his career in Chicago.
Allen is harder to figure out. He’s never started a season with four straight sack-less games. If he goes without a sack this week against the Atlanta Falcons, Allen will tie his career-long sack drought at five games (2010).
He is now 32 years old, and it was clear at times in 2013 that his game was in decline. That said, 128 career sacks and seven straight seasons with at least 10 sacks are nothing to sneeze at. The Bears paid handsomely to bring him to Chicago because they felt he still had the power to deliver sacks. There was no other reason to give him $15.5 million guaranteed, especially when his market stagnated.
The fact that Houston and Allen have zero sacks is not a primary reason for the Bears being 2-3 after five weeks. But a lack of consistent pressure from Chicago’s defensive line is at least part of the tailspin, and considering Young (37 snaps) was back to being mostly a rotational player in Week 5, it’s on Houston and Allen to do the heavy lifting in the weeks ahead.
Over just the next month or so, the Bears will face Matt Ryan, Tom Brady and Rodgers for a second time. Turning the season around will require playing well against those quarterbacks.
Want to get over the hump and back into the playoffs? Matthew Stafford, Tony Romo and Drew Brees loom later on the schedule.
Neither Houston nor Allen have been busts. The Bears are a better defense with them aboard.
However, Chicago won’t take the next step on defense unless both Houston and Allen provide more impact plays. The easiest way for a defensive end to make an impact play is with a sack.
Young, the cheapest of the three, has far exceeded his expectations. It’s time for Houston and Allen to live up to the expectations placed on them back in March, when checks were handed out and sacks and big plays were being envisioned.
Zach Kruse covers the NFC North for Bleacher Report.
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