The Chicago Bears had one of their best performances of the season in New England last Monday night, giving up only 14 points and snagging three interceptions. They followed that up with the worst game the unit has played since 2014, allowing 42 points to the Dallas Cowboys, who racked up 440 total yards. People are struggling to figure out what changed. The simplest answer is the departure of Robert Quinn. Chicago traded him to Philadelphia last week for a 4th round pick.
The move wasn’t unexpected. Quinn is 32 years old and likely wouldn’t be on the team after 2022. Getting compensation for him made sense. Not to mention it’s not like he was dominating to start the year, notching only one sack in the first seven games. It’s hard to believe his presence would be missed that much. Yet, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, that was the case. Trevis Gipson’s answer about it says everything.
“Emotionally different — yes, sir,” said defensive end Trevis Gipson, who moved into the starting lineup in Quinn’s place. “Job-wise different — no, sir. Still have to pay attention to details, do your job. Still got to play technique sound and play great H.I.T.S. principle football.”
We were speaking with Roquan Smith when the Robert Quinn trade broke. He was having a tough time and had to cut it short. pic.twitter.com/Ekd168m62S
— Sean Hammond (@sean_hammond) October 26, 2022
Robert Quinn leadership can’t be understated.
It’s not all about production. There is something to be said for leadership in a locker room. There is a reason teammates voted Quinn a captain to start the year. Seeing Roquan Smith break down in tears wasn’t some scene for the cameras. If he felt that way about losing Quinn, there is a strong likelihood that other teammates did as well. Don’t forget that almost every member of that defense is under the age of 27. It is a very young group. Losing a veteran presence like that can be challenging.
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It’s not an excuse, though. That defense still has enough talent to play better than allowing 42 points and 440 yards. They know this. Both Eddie Jackson and Smith called the performance “embarrassing.” It isn’t up to their standard and will get corrected in the coming weeks. The truth is Robert Quinn leaving wasn’t just about leadership. It exposed how thin the Bears are on the defensive line. He was their only Pro Bowl-caliber player left after losing Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks. The unit needs a complete retooling in the off-season.
Hmm… Eddie Jackson might be good for some draft capitol on this rebound year. Who else??
Best 2 players traded away. Last nights debacle shows what the Bears have. Now Roquan is gone. No one on the current roster can come close to filling their shoes, so what’s the plan other than tanking the season?
Bears just traded R Smith to the Ravens for a second and a fifth
Hey Lambert,
This article reveals the stupidity of your past observations regarding the “culture” of the Bears’ roster that was assembled by Ryan Pace.
It seems that Ryan Poles has added a bunch of guys that rather enjoy “life” on the IR list. And when they come off, they act like Dante Pettis — heading for the sidelines; or, Lucas Patrick: heading right back to IR, again.
The best thing you can say about the players that Poles has added so far, is: nobody will miss any of them.
There were several plays where I thought “Oh man, we really missed RQ on that one”. However, I understand that making the trade made total sense as RQ didn’t fit into the long term plans. But no doubt it is going to hurt us in the short term. Someone said in an earlier post about #1 becoming #2, #2 becoming #3 when acquiring improved players. That also holds true in reverse where #2 became #1, #3 became #2, etc. Hopefully, these young guys can continue to improve in their new roles. At a minimum we will be able to evaluate… Read more »