Thread: Pepper's Needs Some Help With Pass Rush.........

There's no question that we need a lot more in the way of sacks from our front four. We don't blitz worth a damn. Pep and Izzy are getting in there but we've played some very mobile QB's who've done well at avoiding the closer and scurried out of trouble.

We're missing the inside rush that's collapses the pocket and leaves the QB with nowhere to go to avoid the rush. Ever since that first game Henry Melton has disappeared and he should be replaced by Okoye at the UT spot. Paea should be teamed up with him at NT since those two are the only ones inside who are getting to the QB consistently and collapsing the pocket. We should be grateful we picked those two up in the offseason or we'd no inside rush period.

The guy I've been a little disappointed in has been Nick Reed. It's not that he's been ineffective in general but I really thought he'd have some sacks by this time and he hasn't. Rod Marinelli has this rep for being one of the best DLine coaches in the NFL yet this is all we can get out of these guys????? If we fail to make the playoffs after almost making it to the Super Bowl last year this coaching staff needs a serious re-evaluation. We need consistenly above average performance not a swing for the fences every three or four years.

Looks like we're not the only ones noticing that Melton needs a swift kick in the ass to get him jump started again. The key to our inside pass rush come from that UT spot and he's not getting it done.

Lovie Smith expects to see more from Henry Melton
By Mark Potash mpotash@suntimes.com November 4, 2011 9:38P
Updated: November 5, 2011 2:10AM


When the Bears played the Philadelphia Eagles last season, Henry Melton didn’t make a big impact on the stat sheet — he had one tackle — but he still made an impact on the game, primarily as a third-down defensive tackle.

On the first series, Melton fought through a double team that allowed Israel Idonije to sack Michael Vick to force a punt. On the Eagles’ second possession, Melton pressured Vick into an incompletion that forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal. On the Eagles’ third possession, Melton had the initial pressure that forced Vick to scramble for a gain short of a first down.

That’s the Henry Melton that coach Lovie Smith wants to see on every play as a starter, not just as a situational player. And Melton said Thursday he has gotten the message. ‘‘I’ve been trying to work as hard as I did last year,’’ Melton said. ‘‘When I was coming in and getting limited snaps, I would just go out there and every time go as hard as I could. That’s what I’m trying to do now.’’

Melton, who has struggled to make an impact after getting two sacks and six quarterback pressures in the opener against the Atlanta Falcons, had no problem with Smith letting him know the team expects more out of him in the second half. (It's about time somebody let him know what his position means to the pass rush and if he can't do it there's a guy sitting behind him whose proven he can)

‘‘It’s great motivation,’’ he said. ‘‘It shows me he believes I can do it and that everyone wants me to do it. There were high expectations of me coming into the season, that they expect out of me, my teammates expect out of me and what I expect out of me. So I [had] a great start. . . . I’ve been close the last few weeks, but I just haven’t made the plays I made at the start. I’ve got to make those plays.’’ (Yeah, there were very high expectations of you and yeah it's well past the time when you need to start making plays)

This defense needs a great pass rush from the front four to work the way it's designed to. That rush can't be expected to come ONLY from two 30 year old plus DE's. The DT's have got to step it up in this second half of the season. We all talked about the need for that in the offseason and we went out and got two new DT's in Okoye and Paea. Unfortunately neither is starting and the guys who are aren't getting the jobs done.

One more week of sub par play out of Melton and AA and I think Okoye and Paea should be starting. I also think we'd have better play at NT is Toe wasn't out injured. AA is slipping this year. We've really become far too dependent on the 30 year olds in this defense to be the difference makers. We need the younger guys to step up their play and one guy who really needs to do it or sit is Melton.

Originally Posted by soulman

This defense needs a great pass rush from the front four to work the way it's designed to. That rush can't be expected to come ONLY from two 30 year old plus DE's. The DT's have got to step it up in this second half of the season. We all talked about the need for that in the offseason and we went out and got two new DT's in Okoye and Paea. Unfortunately neither is starting and the guys who are aren't getting the jobs done.

One more week of sub par play out of Melton and AA and I think Okoye and Paea should be starting. I also think we'd have better play at NT is Toe wasn't out injured. AA is slipping this year. We've really become far too dependent on the 30 year olds in this defense to be the difference makers. We need the younger guys to step up their play and one guy who really needs to do it or sit is Melton.

Well, one thing is for sure: the ghost of George Allen looms large in some NFL circles as some teams, namely the Bears, like to play most 30 year old veterans on their squads! lol

This needs to be Melton's make or break game. He needs to defend the run better as well I feel. Okoye and Paea rotating the 3 tech makes more sense. And for Pete's sake Wootton needs to become a viable option at DE. I don't wish to see another high pick spent on a DE.

Manning was super fast at safety. It took him a while to get that position down though. He missed a lot of big plays early in his career. Its too bad he was let go when he started to be reliable. I agree that Paea and Okoye should be the starting inside guys though. Both are showing their stuff. Hopefully Wootton returns soon and pans out like he is expected to.