Bears safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, who needs preseason playing time to get to know his new teammates, started Thursday. So did second-year starters Roquan Smith and Bilal Nichols. Steady nose tackle Eddie Goldman, too.
They lasted five plays before sitting out the rest of the game.
Still, there was plenty to glean from the Bears’ defensive performance in Thursday’s preseason opener. Here are three things we learned:
Where’s the edge rush?
It took the Bears four plays to manufacture a pass rush — inside linebacker Smith recorded a sack on a blitz. Defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano figures to do a lot of that, even if his vanilla game plan Thursday looked a lot like everyone else’s. Former Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio blitzed on 31.8 percent of plays in last year’s preseason opener, per Pro Football Focus. Pagano blitzed on 33.3 percent Thursday.
Of the Bears’ three sacks against the Panthers, two came from inside linebackers: Smith and backup Nick Kwiatkowski. Defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris’ sack was the most impressive — on a bull-rush, he shoved Panthers center Tyler Larsen into the backfield, and then out of the way.
Not pictured: any Bears outside linebacker. With Khalil Mack, Leonard Floyd and Aaron Lynch out, backups had a chance to gain the inside track on a roster spot. Kylie Fitts and Isaiah Irving started and played more than half the Bears’ snaps; the former assisted on one tackle, while the latter didn’t appear in the box score. James Vaughters, a 26-year-old former CFL player, had a fumble recovery.
“That clump of guys, with Kylie, Isaiah and James Vaughters, those guys are all right there in the mix for a roster spot,” outside linebackers coach Ted Monachino said earlier this week. “They’ve got four great opportunities coming up in the preseason. If they come out, they make a difference in games and change plays in our favor, they’ll have a chance to be in that discussion.”
Bringin’ the Woods
Josh Woods had himself a game. The inside linebacker forced an Elijah Holyfield fumble in the second quarter and finished the game with five tackles, second-most on the Bears.
His 44 snaps were third-most on the defense; only two Bears played more than his 14 special teams snaps.
It was the biggest step yet for Woods, a safety at the University of Maryland whom the Bears converted to inside linebacker last year. He made the 90-man roster out of a tryout camp but broke a finger last preseason. The Bears cut him but carried him on the practice squad.
“Every single day he gets a little bit better,” inside linebackers coach Mark DeLeone said this week. “He sees a play he hasn’t seen before and he adjusts to it. And that’s part of being a pro.”
He has an uphill climb to make the team. The Bears will keep starters Danny Trevathan and Smith, but also value the special teams prowess of backups Joel Iyiegbuniwe and Kwiatkoski. Iyiegbuniwe led the team with 317 special teams snaps last year. Kwiatkoski was second with 304.
Cover the punt
Javon Wims led the NFL with 228 receiving yards last preseason. He’s been one of the best Bears receivers in training camp this year. But his most important stat Thursday was simple: 12 special teams snaps.
Wims, who just missed a solo tackle on punt coverage, never played special teams in college. The learning curve is steep.
“Just understanding the rules,” special teams coordinator Chris Tabor said earlier this month. “And understanding why I’m dropping the way I am, to influence this person, yadda-yadda-yadda. Now he has a grasp of that. So that helps him.”
Wims wouldn’t say that he needs to play special teams to make the Bears, but he came close.
“I think special teams is important,” he said.
