Bears Blitz

Published by Bryan Dietzler on April 15, 2010
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

So far this offseason, there hasn’t been much happening in regards to the Bears defensive tackle position. It appears as if the same group of guys will be back again next year and it doesn’t look like the Bears are going to—or even need to—address this position in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Tommie Harris, very well known for his injury problems and one game ejection last year, will be the top guy on this unit heading into the 2010 NFL season.

In 2009, Harris played in and started in 15 games, recording a total of 24 tackles with 19 solo and five assisted. He recorded two and a half sacks, one pass defended and one interception for six yards.

Clearly, he was not as good as he has been in the past, but hopes are high that he will be much better this season especially with the addition of Julius Peppers. He has to get better or it could be his last season in Chicago.

Marcus Harrison started off on the wrong foot in training camp, coming in overweight and  falling behind in both the minds of the coaching staff and with the defensive scheme. Harrison didn’t contribute like he did in 2008 and ended up starting nine out of 16 games, registering a total of 24 tackles with eight assisted. He recorded one sack and had no other stats. 

It will be interesting to see what happens to Harrison this coming season. After coming in out of shape last year the coaching staff won’t be so light on him this season.

He has a lot of potential and the Bears need him to come in and play well to start. If for some reason he falters, there could either be someone else waiting in the wings to take over and relegate him to more backup duty or, quite possibly, get cut.

It seems as if every offseason, the Bears always try to find someone to replace defensive tackle Anthony Adams but he comes through and not only sticks with the team but plays very well. In 2009, Adams played in 16 games last season starting eight of those games and had 44 total tackles with 36 solo and eight assisted. He had two sacks with one pass defended. 

Adams, although not built in the mode of light and fast like head coach Lovie Smith likes his lineman, is still solid at gap control and can get up the field in a hurry. He should be able to easily maintain his spot on the roster and contribute well once again in 2010.

Israel Idonije is being listed as a defensive end for the 2010 season but there may be some times he will slide in and play tackle thanks to his experience.

Idonije has quietly become one of the better defensive linemen that the Bears have had in the past few seasons and will be called upon much more in 2010. In 2009, Idonije played in all 15 games for the Bears (with no starts) and had 18 tackles with 13 solo and five assisted. He registered two and a half sacks along with one forced fumble.

As mentioned, Idonije is going to be shuffled over to the defensive end position in 2010 but could easily slide back into the tackle position as needed. Look for him to also be a part of the interior line on special teams where he has excelled at blocking kicks. 

Jarron Gilbert, the first pick in the draft for the Bears in 2009, started off looking like he had a lot of promise but due to the coaching staff’s inability to get him on the field for any length of time he had a less than stellar start to his NFL career. 

All together, Gilbert played in four games for the Bears, making one solo tackle. The Bears may have chose to sit him for most of the season to let him adjust to the pro game but the Bears could have used a changeup on defense, especially when they were giving up a ton of yards in games against the Vikings, Bengals, and Cardinals.

Could he have helped the defense out at all last season? We will never know.

Finally, Matt Toeaina is a guy that the Bears have a lot of hope in and are looking for him to play a much more active role in 2010. In 2009, Toeaina played in just one game for the Bears and didn’t register any statistics but he should, provided he gets through training camp okay, plays a little bit of a role on defense next season. Keeping in mind that he has had a couple solid preseasons so the Bears may want to get him on the field much more often.

It’s difficult to see the Bears doing anything with the defensive tackle position in the 2010 NFL Draft, but they may choose to bring in some undrafted free agents to help provide some competition for guys like Harrison and Toeaina. 

The interior defensive line has to be more productive this season and should be, with Julius Pepper coming in at the end position and drawing more double teams. Harris needs to show that he’s worth the mega money that the Bears have been paying him to play, while guys like Harrison and Adams need to play their best to help make this defense work.

If Chicago can’t get much out of the tackles it’s going to be a long and difficult season on defense for the Bears. 

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