In the eight months since the Chicago Bears last played meaningful football, seemingly every storyline has been fleshed out and beaten to death, thanks in part to an uneventful preseason.
But as the team prepares for Week 1, one of the biggest changes of the offseason remains a question mark.
Thanks to the lack of starters in the preseason, new defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano hasn’t revealed how he plans to fit Ha Ha Clinton-Dix next to Eddie Jackson in the secondary.
Fans were quick to disown Adrian Amos after four strong but unspectacular seasons in Chicago, but replacing him with a second Alabama product will force the Bears safeties to take on different roles.
Both Jackson and Clinton-Dix are at their best in deep zone coverage. When they can see the full play develop in front of them, they fly around the back end and make plays on the ball in the air.
Neither is particularly suited for stepping up into the box and playing physical in run defense. Both are built lean and have a history of too many missed tackles.
Together in the same secondary, they both can’t be deep safeties on every play. The Bears were a primarily single-deep defense under Vic Fangio, and Pagano isn’t looking to stray from what was successful.
Perhaps the new play-caller will opt for more two-deep coverages, but he’ll still have plenty of packages calling for a safety to come down to the slot or line up over a tight end.
Jackson could be more apt for the role given his history as a converted cornerback in college, but his All-Pro status in 2018 suggests the Bears should leave him in deep coverage as much as possible.
That would come at the expense of Clinton-Dix in the box, an area where his effort was regularly questioned in Green Bay. The change of scenery to Soldier Field seems to be adequate motivation for the veteran on a one-year deal, but he needs to prove that his demise with the Packers was an aberration and not a new normal.
Otherwise, fans could be longing for the days of Amos’ reliability and fit next to Jackson.
