Thread: Bears' Melton wants to build on strong start

Defensive tackle's goal is consistency after two sacks in opener

By Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune reporter

September 11, 2012

Henry Melton has this opening weekend thing down.

The Bears defensive tackle sacked Colts quarterback Andrew Luck twice in Sunday's 41-21 victory at Soldier Field. In last year's opener, he sacked the Falcons' Matt Ryan twice and was credited with six quarterback pressures.

It is what Melton does moving forward that can make a difference for the defense and his future. Melton never matched his opening-day performance in another game last season. He led NFC defensive tackles with seven sacks and was third on the defense with 34 quarterback pressures but admits the production came in spurts in his first season as a starter.

The Bears are seeking a consistent presence from Melton and hope his play carries over into Thursday's game with the Packers at Lambeau Field. The 49ers hassled Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in a 30-22 upset and although the 49ers had only three sacks, Rodgers rarely operated in a clean pocket.

"He's real shifty, really good with his hands," Packers guard Josh Sitton said. "Obviously, doesn't have a lot of weight in his (rear), but he makes up for it with his speed. He actually does have some power when he gets his hands on you."

Melton, who went through a stretch in training camp where he didn't stand out, is entering the final year of his contract. He knows sacks get linemen paid, but he wants to be a complete player. The sacks were not the only plays he made in the backfield. He blew past left guard Seth Olsen to stuff Colts running back Donald Brown for a 4-yard loss in the first quarter.

"A lot of people just have me as a one-dimensional player," Melton said. "That all I can really do is pass rush. I want to be more than that. If you're really getting off the ball on the run, it's going to translate in your pass rush."

Melton made just 16 tackles last season, one fewer than he had the season before when he was a regular in the rotation but didn't start. The under tackle position isn't known for piling up big statistics, but Tommie Harris made 117 tackles in his first two seasons before injuries slowed him. Harris was more instinctive against the run. In fairness to Melton, defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli might put a greater premium on getting to the quarterback than Ron Rivera did early in Harris' career when the priority was to play the run.

"He did enough good things last year," coach Lovie Smith said. "We've been talking about Henry for a long time. I see him doing the same each week. We're going to keep taking it to the practice field and getting him better. He is a coachable guy. He does everything you ask him to do. There's a reason to think with maturity he'll make that step."

The NFC North has its share of talented interior linemen with Ndamukong Suh in Detroit, B.J. Raji in Green Bay and Kevin Williams in Minnesota. Melton could make a name for himself with a big season.

"I have the same goal as last year," he said. "I wanted to go for double digits in sacks. I know if I get double digits, then as a defense it's really thriving off of me."

He believes an effort to keep his legs fresh this season will help him "maintain the high level."

He said he's going to work this season on "going back-to-back instead of one amazing game and then kind of falling off. It is totally different (from game to game), but there are really no excuses. He is dropping back, you've got to get back there."




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