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The Bears Link Film Study - Episode 4: The Rookies Part 2 Here is part 2 of the rookie quarterly report. As was the case with part 1 https://www.thebearsfanshop.com/Riley-Ridley-Jersey , I have posted a copy of the transcript as well. Enjoy!This is....The Bears Link Film Study with Andrew Link.In this episode, which is the 2nd of 2 parts, I am going to take a look at how the Bears rookies have performed through the first quarter of the season. The first player we are going to talk about is what will hopefully be the highest Bears draft pick for a while, inside linebacker Roquan SmithA lot of people have wondered how well Smith is actually playing, due to the fact that he isn’t making a ton of “splash” plays. While that is true, he isn’t making those types of plays...yet, he is making a tremendous impact on the game. Smith reminds me a lot of Eddie Jackson from last year. He’s been more physical than I thought at times, but also getting overpowered at others, which I expected. The speed and instincts are on full display but generally are a hair late. The type of thing that comes with experience and becoming a professional. I will touch on his struggles, really just physical limitations that we already knew about, and the reasons why I believe Smith has a chance to supplant Luke Kuechly as the new premier inside linebacker in the NFC.There aren’t a lot of examples of Smith playing poorly, and really, all but one are him just getting physically overpowered. Which was something that I was worried about when he was drafted. Rarely do you see Smith out of position, so his limitations right now are things that he can change by getting stronger and using techniques.The Bears are playing a cover-3 look on this play. But they show a cover-2 look at the snap of the ball, but watch the safeties rotate. Adrian Amos drops into a single-high look, while Eddie Jackson comes down into the intermediate zone. The 2 inside linebackers (Smith and Danny Trevathan), plus nickel corner Bryce Callahan and Jackson, play quarters at the sticks, meaning each player gets a quarter of the field. Let’s start with the positives on this play. The Bears force a check down to the running back David Johnson in the left flat. This play should have forced a 3rd & 5 as the Bears have 3 players in position to make the tackle. Roquan Smith comes from a LONG ways a way to get in position here. This shows off his sideline-to-sideline speed, but he needs to play more in-control of that speed. Instead of slowing down to contain Johnson from cutting back inside, and forcing him into the waiting arms of Jackson and Trevthan, he goes for the kill and ends up overrunning the play, which gets Johnson and extra 10-12 yards and a first down.This is one of the more egregious things that I see Smith do right now is overrun things. The game is still a little quick for him, but that will work itself out as the season goes along. Where Smith has really succeeded has been in coverage, which is one of the reasons why people don’t see the huge plays from him. Instead of making a ton of plays, he simply prevents the other team from making them, which is just as valuable. Against the run is where he struggles but it’s also where we see his instincts and athleticism shine the most. It is a joy to watch a linebacker read, diagnose, scrape, and make a play against the run. If Smith can continue to work in the film room and build a mental library, he will continue to grow and succeed. This is a modern version of the toss sweep. Arizona show misdirection (to freeze the linebackers) by putting Christian Kirk in a jet sweep motion to left. The left tackle pulls around the outside, a combination of tight end and wide receiver have to block Khalil Mack, and the center is supposed to get out on the MIKE linebacker David Montgomery Jersey , Roquan Smith in this case.But when you see an offensive lineman doing his best mummy impression, you know that the defender won with play recognition and speed. Smith eventually undercuts the pulling tackle and makes the play. Defense is all about the team though. Mack almost blows this play up in the backfield, but he gets hooked a bit and can’t get off the blocks in time. But watch Kyle Fuller. He takes out the pulling tackle, which causes a pileup that running back Chase Edmunds is forced to cut inside of. Funnel the ball carrier to your inside help, that’s good football. Sticking with the instincts and athleticism theme, this is a prime example of both, while also showing his coverage ability. Circling back to why Smith is playing well by taking plays away instead of making plays. Ask yourself this: How many tight ends or running backs have you seen kill the Bears this year? Yeah, it really hasn’t happened and 2 main reasons for that are Leonard Floyd and Roquan Smith. The Bears again show a cover-2 look but back out of that into a cover-1. Eddie Jackson rotates to the single-high safety look and Amos comes down to play man coverage on the tight end. The inside linebackers are playing the curl zones. Bradford’s only option was to dump the ball off the running back on this play. Smith breaks on this ball as soon as Bradford looks towards Johnson. The closing speed is incredible. Smith closes the 5-yard gap by the time the ball gets there and this play ends up going for a loss of 3 yards. This is the type of play that will eventually go as a pick-6 as Smith digests more film. One more play to illustrate just how good Smith is in coverage. These are the plays that you can’t see on the television broadcast, the angle simply isn’t there. There are dozens of these kinds of plays on Smith’s film, he is just so good in coverage. This isn’t a huge shock to me as he showed this ability at Georgia, but to see it immediately against NFL competition is pretty amazing. The Bears are actually playing cover-2 this time, so this should look somewhat familiar, except the Bears rotate Fuller to safety and Amos to the MIKE. How cool is this coverage that Fangio runs here? He disguises the cover-2 inside of the cover-2....mind. blown. What else might not look familiar, however, is how well Smith plays this coverage. Smith is playing the WILL on this play, meaning that he has the Lance Briggs spot playing the curl/seam. Crossing routes can often confuse players is a zone. But Smith passes off Larry Fitzgerald and picks up David Johnson on a quick out and through the scramble drill. This is an excellent play by a linebacker and another example of why Smith is an integral part of this defense, even if he doesn’t have big numbers or splash plays. He is doing the dirty work very well, but the big plays are coming, you can take that to the bank!As a bonus, I wanted to look at undrafted rookie cornerback Kevin Toliver. I thought he was playing well while watching live and the tape mostly backs that up. Sure, double moves have gotten him a few times, but they do to all young corners. But he’s physical against the run and does very well in off-man coverage, which he’s played exclusively so far. I gotta say, Toliver reminds me a ton of Kyle Fuller. From the physicality in the running game, to the penchant for playing off-man coverage, to they way that they get into position is almost identical. At some point, the Bears are going to need to shed some of the high-priced players on defense. If Toliver can grow into the role opposite of Fuller and allow the Bears to part ways with Prince Amukamara, that would be a huge help to the salary cap. Ryan Pace has done an excellent job with undrafted free agents, and Toliver looks like the next hit. Just watch how both Toliver and Fuller line up here. Don’t they look like twins? They even give up the same amount of cushion at the top of their routes. Through a game and a half, Toliver has gotten his feet wet, but it looks like Prince is ready to come back on the field. He is going to need a little more time to become the player that many thought he could be coming out of LSU, but for now, that seasoning will come in practice. I can’t wait to see what Toliver can turn into. He is exciting to watch and I would love to have another corner like Fuller on the field. Just watch him stick his nose in there and tell me he doesn’t play like Fuller!That’s going to wrap it up for part 2 of the Quarterly Rookie Report on the Bears Link Film Study. I have some fun topics planned for future episodes Tarik Cohen Color Rush Jersey , so stay tuned for those.Until next time....Bear down!As always, feel free to share your thought below! The draft is just over a week away, so we’ll tackle your draft questions along with feelings on the upcoming season. All in this week’s mailbag." Latest NewsFrom The Desk Of...Chicago Bears Draft 2019Bears mailbag: More draft questions, Trubisky predictions for 2019 and possible regression on the way? That and more in this week’s mailbagNew,136commentsThe draft is just over a week away, so we’ll tackle your draft questions along with feelings on the upcoming season. All in this week’s mailbag.CDTShare this storyShare this on FacebookShare this on TwitterShareAll sharing optionsShareAll sharing options for:Bears mailbag: More draft questions, Trubisky predictions for 2019 and possible regression on the way? That and more in this week’s mailbagTwitterFacebookRedditPocketFlipboardEmailPhoto by Jonathan Daniel/Getty ImagesPhoto by Joel Auerbach/Getty ImagesWe are exactly eight days away from opening night in the 2019 NFL draft. Despite the Chicago Bears not picking until No. 87, there’s plenty to be intrigued about as the draft process plays out. Not only are the Bears slated to have five picks next weekend, but they should be very active in the undrafted free agent market with a roster currently set with 66 players. That means between the draft, undrafted players, plus more tryouts expected in rookie mini-camp at the start of May, they’ll need to add at least 24 players over the next few weeks.The roster currently sits at 66 after tight end Zach Miller announced his retirement, due to his serious knee injury that he suffered in the middle of the 2017 season that required a total of 10 surgeries. It’s also worth mentioning that the 2019 schedule release is scheduled for 7pm central time tonight and will be televised on both ESPN and the NFL Network.With all of that in mind, there’s always plenty to talk about when it relates to the Bears, so let’s get to it.The Bears have met with 17 different running backs in some way, shape or form. Of those meetings, there’s only been a handful that I would count as players that won’t be around if they stay at 87.There’s also quiet a few that are projected to go in rounds four through six, so it’s quite possible that general manager Ryan Pace could wait an extra round to grab arguably his “biggest” need.Of the three you mentioned, I think it’s very likely that both David Montgomery and Miles Sanders are gone if the Bears stay at 87. Devin Singletary is going to be interesting because people either love him as a top 80-90 talent or they have him grouped in with about 10 players with fourth and fifth round grades. For me, Singletary has a late third or early fourth, so I expect him to be around. They’ve also met with him on four different occasions including a private visit and workout.My gut still tells me they go running back in the third, but if they hold off until the fourth or fifth round here’s a few guys I like:Trayveon Williams (Texas A&M)Justice Hill (Oklahoma State)Bruce Anderson (North Dakota State)Rodney Anderson (Oklahoma)James Williams (Washington State)I feel like too many people make a big deal about the Bears schedule this year. I’ve seen an argument made that the Bears are playing a “first place schedule” this season, but fail to realize that only means 2 different teams from the rest of the NFC North.I’m not going to get too deep into this because predicting strength of schedules based on the previous year’s record, rarely equates to much of anything. If you’re looking for a better reason why none of this actually matter, Jonathan Wood’s piece on this exact topic is a must read.As far as the Bears roster turnover, I think when you compare it to other teams across the league, you’ll see that there has been a ton of change. Yes, they lost Bryce Callahan and Adrian Amos among others, but that’s only two starters on a defense loaded with Pro Bowlers and very good talent.An argument can be made that they may have gotten worse in those positions, but I think when you look at their overall additions plus the age of their team, there’s plenty of reason to believe this is still an ascending team. Keep in mind good teams lose talent all of the time, but are able to get by with lesser players or develop draft picks into better replacements. Keep in mind, the Bears defense gave up an average of 10.5 points-per-game over their final four games. That included missing Callahan Dion Sims Jersey , Eddie Jackson and even Aaron Lynch for portions of that.Good teams develop talent and most importantly, good teams have quality depth. That was something the Bears had last year and I expect that to continue in 2019, so I would not expect regression from a team that is built to not only win, but continue to get better in their current window.Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is going into Year 3 in his NFL career, but this will only be his second year in head coach Matt Nagy’s offense. It will also only be his third year of starting since high school. I think that’s important to keep in mind when comparing his progress to that of Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson.Trubisky was well on his way to a 3,600 yard season before his shoulder injury that forced him to miss two games in the second half of the season. When you combine those numbers with the context of him being in first year of a very complex offense, I don’t think it’s overly difficult to see him not only breaking the single-season passing yards mark, but possibly breaking the 4,000 yard marker as well.As long as he stays healthy and builds off his progress from the second half of the season, I see no reason why he can’t land right around that marker. I’ve gone back and re-watched Trubisky in the first three weeks of last year, versus where he ended up and the progression he made was actually pretty remarkable. I’m not sure I’d label it a make or break year for Trubisky, but in order for this team to take the next step, he’s going to play a large part.When looking at the team’s current “needs”, I think that term should be used lightly, at least in the short-term. I’d rank them like this:Running BackKickerDefensive BackOffensive GuardTight EndEdge RusherReceiverObviously running back is a position they will attack and I expect it to be addressed early. I’d also assume they’ll add another kicker, whether that’s a late-round pick or a priority undrafted free agent, we’ll have to wait and see. Defensive back is somewhat broad because cornerback depth is question and the Bears currently have just one safety under contract past this season. When looking at guard, that’s a position that I could see them pushing back another year. They have Rashaad Coward that will be taking work at both tackle and guard, so he could be a future replacement for Kyle Long. But this is a position where I see them maybe kicking the can down the road another year, as well as edge rusher. You can never have enough pass rushers, but the frequency of hitting on edge talent after the third round becomes very scarce. With the amount of future needs they have, it may make more sense to wait on edge and roll with what they have.It seemed like an eternity between years in which the Bears had a Pro Bowler before this past year. Then it seemed like the flood gates opened and Oprah was handing out Pro Bowl invitations in the team’s locker room like candy.This year, I’d like to a few key players to take the next step:Roquan SmithJames DanielsAllen RobinsonThis is a team with a lot of talent and a lot of young talent. Smith was last year’s eighth overall pick and seemed to get better every week. You don’t normally take inside linebackers in the top 10 unless you believe they are game changers. That’s exactly what I expect Smith to form into.With Daniels, I think he finished the year strong, after starting the season on the bench. Harry Hiestand is one of the top offensive line coaches in the league and it appears that Daniels is moving back to his more natural position at center. The combination of the move and him going into his second year, makes him another player that could take a sizable step and become a top center in 2019.Finally, Robinson is someone that signed for big money last offseason, but didn’t really impress in the box score. With that in mind, it was Year 1 of his rehabilitation coming off an ACL tear and usually players are back to normal, if not better in Year 2. He’s also just 25-years-old and flashed a lot of dominant potential down the stretch. It would not shock me at all to see him become the team’s best receiver since Alshon Jeffery left for Philadelphia a few years ago.