More Expected Out Of Henry Melton................

Lovie Smith expects to see more from Henry Melton
By Mark Potash mpotash@suntimes.com November 4, 2011 9:38PM

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 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.’’

November 4, 2011 View today's Daily Blog
Melton vows to meet expectations

Posted: 11/4/2011 4:47:00 PM

One day after being strongly encouraged by coach Lovie Smith to produce like he did early in the season, defensive tackle Henry Melton conceded that he hasn’t performed up to his potential of late.

“There’s high expectations of me coming into the season that they expect out of me and my teammates expect out of me and I expect out of myself,” Melton said. “I started off great. I’ve been close the last few weeks. [But] I haven’t made the plays I made at the start and I’ve just got to make the plays.” After recording five tackles and three sacks in the first three games of the season, Melton has registered just two tackles and no sacks in the last four contests.

Asked how it felt to have his head coach tell him he needs to step up his game, Melton said: “It’s great motivation. It shows that he believes that I can do it and everyone wants me to do it.”Melton agrees that he must increase his production. But the third-year pro knows that the difference between an impact play and a near miss is miniscule. “You can have all of the great rushes and come free and the ball just comes out, and then sometimes the quarterback holds it a little bit longer and it shows up as a sack,” Melton said. “I’ve just got to work on coming as close as I’ve been coming and just make that extra effort and get that play.”

I've mentioned before that this should be Melton's "make or break" game. If he can't collapse the pocket better to flush the qb to the DE's or play the run better he should be demoted to third on the depth chart behind Okoye and Paea. He might be a better project at DE imo.

This is the one guy on that DLine who really needs to step up his play or sit. A pass rushing, penetrating UT is a key in this defense and right now he's not getting either done. We all know the difference between a pressure and a sack isn't all that much but the sack is a drive ender, a demoralizer, and Melton just has to crank up his efforts to close the deal.

I think Lovies given him notice that either he plays up to expetations or there's gonna be a new starter. Okoye and Paea play like they're hungry for snaps but Melton just looks like he's there. We need a better inside rush and Lovie needs to start playing the guys who can provide that.