THIS.........Is What We Were Looking For When We Drafted McClellin....

**soulman** · 09-20-2012, 12:42 PM

Inside the Playbook: The Shea McClellin Pass-Rush

by Steve Ronkowski on Sep 19, 2012 7:00 PM CDT

Brian Kersey - Getty ImagesMore photos »

Looks like that hard work in the off-season payed off, Shea...

For how bad the offense looked during last Thursday's game against the Packers, the defense played an impressive game. I was most impressed by the play of one guy who came into the season as a question mark: first-round pick Shea McClellin. There was a lot of grousing surrounding his selection by the Bears - He's too small! He's a 3-4 outside linebacker! - but he proved with his play against the Packers just how valuable he can be in this defense. He might not look like much on the sideline, but as Aaron Rodgers found out last Thursday, speed kills.

The number one reason you draft a guy like McClellin in the first round? He's fast, and he's able to leverage that speed to whip around blocks and get after the quarterback. We get a hint of his ability to do just that at 8:45 in the first quarter. The Bears had the Packers backed up to a 2nd and 16, and Rod Marinelli knew that it was time to dial up a good pass-rush. He put Shea in the best position to beat a block with pure speed: the "Wide 9" over the left tackle. (And whip around the block of Newhouse is exactly what he did. Many DEs would have overrun the edge but with a more compact stride like a LB McClellin is able to turn the corner and put the first hit on Rodgers before he can find his receiver. That's a play a taller, long striding end may not have been able to make)

The Wide 9 Look

This outside positioning gives McClellin a perfect opportunity to use his speed to beat Packers LT Marshall Newhouse. With a free release into the offensive backfield, Shea is able to blow past the arm block of Newhouse. Corey Wooten is also able to break through the Packers line, and he arrives at just the right to to help McClellin finish off Rodgers for a ten yard loss.

McClellin only gets credit for half a sack on this one, but his play here is exactly what the Bears were hoping for when they drafted him. In passing situations, McClellin has enough acceleration to blow past blocks and get to the quarterback before the QB can scramble or get rid of the football.

Strangely enough, despite everyone's complaints that Shea's talents would be better used in a 3-4 than a 4-3, Tampa 2 defensive ends are often expected to have as much range as 3-4 OLBs. In Marinelli's defense, it is the job of every defensive player to rally to the ball, and with the linebackers often dropped into coverage, a quick defensive end can be a major asset. McClellin didn't make any major plays like this in the game, but during one play in the second quarter (13:45 or so), he nearly beat known speedster D.J. Moore to a gang-tackle of John Kuhn after a wheel route catch-and-run. McClellin, who had been motioning between gaps on the line in a two-point stance (Gasp!) before the snap, rallied from about ten yards deep in the backfield to five yards down the field to split the tackle with a few other Bears. I suspect his speed will prove as valuable as Julius Peppers' when it comes to pursuing plays. Neither can chase down a WR or RB at full speed, but if the offensive player gets slowed up or tries to make a move on the defender in front of him, both have the ability to be there in time to clean it up.

On his first full sack of his career, Shea proved he could catch up to at least one player on the move: Aaron Rodgers. It came in the fourth quarter, with only 4:27 left in the game. While the game was pretty much over at this point, there was still a slight glimmer of hope that Jay could somehow get it done on offense if only the defense could get him the ball back. With Rodgers facing third and ten and looking to ice the game with another set of downs, it was do-or-die here for the D. McClellin lined up on the right side this time, slightly outside of Packers RT Brian Bulaga. Rodgers gets the ball, but the pocket quickly collapsed around him on both ends - both Julius Peppers on the left and McClellin on the right were about ready to push the tackles opposite them right into Rodgers' lap. Rodgers takes off, but this little GIF tells the rest of the story:

While Rodgers might have gotten away from Henry Melton with an almost-respectable stiff-arm, McClellin's quick release from his blocker and his acceleration get the Bears exactly what they needed here - a punt and one last chance to make a game out of it.

Is McClellin the second coming of Julius Peppers? Probably not. Luckily for the Bears, however, they already have a Julius Peppers. McClellin doesn't need to be a beastly, take-on-two-blockers-and-win kind of defensive end, at least not yet. His job is to beat the single-man blocks he see because offenses are worried about Peppers, and for at least one game, it looks like he was able to fill that role quite nicely.

**short faced bear** · 09-20-2012, 12:54 PM

Yeah it's nice talking about the D-line for awhile.

**motownbear** · 09-20-2012, 01:02 PM

and here I was thinking he was drafted to play lt lmfao

so basically they confirmed exactly what people said here he is a situational de not an every down player.

either way he is our guy hopefully he keeps bringing it and doesnt disapear like mark anderson did. And another hope I hope they dont get all too happy and make him that every down DE that he isnt just to prove "everyone" wrong. The way he is being used now is pretty much perfect no need to mess with it.

**soulman** · 09-20-2012, 01:03 PM

I don't think there are two better examples of just what was expected of Shea McClellin than these. At least not in my book anyway.

In the first instance it's nothing more than pure speed and an ability to turn the corner like a LB that gets him to Rodgers. Newhouse expects to push him beyond the pocket with his arm block but watch the play. McClellin makes a 90 degree turn right into Rodgers for the sack.

Most taller DEs would have been pushed past the point where Rodgers was settning up unable to make that turn quickly enough to get to him. They'd have gone past him and had to come back giving Rodger a precious second or two more to release the ball.

But McClellin is both fast enough to beat the block and agile enough to make his cut straight into Rodgers. We often see this type of rush from a guy like Matthews going against us so it's kinda nice to see that we have our own guy who can do this isn't it?

On the second sack he does exactly what I was hoping he would show he could do. Chase Aaron Rodgers down when he tries to escape the pocket. On this play the Bears did everything right. Pep got a great rush and the DTs collapsed the pocket and together they flushed Rodgers out to his right just as we've seen so many times before.

And just like we've also seen so many times before Rodgers would have barely eluded the sack from Melton by using his speed and agility to escape just beyond Melton's clutches. But wait! There a new kid in town and he had a similar burst and acceleration and within three strides he catches Rodger from behind and takes him down. Somebody want to tell me how many times we've ever seen that happen before?

Yeah the kid is the size of a LB and he's built like a LB and he plays like a LB but in this case that's exactly what allowed him to make these plays. The kid is a playmaker, a defensive weapon, and I'll be happy to trade off his not being able to hold the edge against the run at LDE every down if he can be used to get 1 1/2 sacks and constant pressure like this every game.

**Riczaj01** · 09-20-2012, 01:12 PM

If he can do this against even above average OT's we'll have someone that might develop into a starter someday. But I'll wait(like I did w/Melton) to see him do it against better talent. GB's OL is brutal, he needs to be able to do this agianst them. Sounds like StL's OL is also pretty bad so hopefully he has this kind of performance again and we can wait to see what happens in Dallas..that should be his first real test that we can really judge him on.

**soulman** · 09-20-2012, 01:21 PM

Originally Posted by short faced bear

Yeah it's nice talking about the D-line for awhile.

Dontcha think it was about time shorty? The media both locally and nationally creates all this hoopla over the Cutler/Webb thing and that's all everyone wants to talk about. Jeezus! What Cutler did is what a great QB and a great leader should do.

He caught Webb laughing that play off and he told that stupid f'ing oaf to get off his lazy ass and get his head in the game. Maybe that's not what some people expect out of Cutler but it's exactly what I expect out of him and if you all want to win games it's what all of you should be expecting from him too.

People cry out that he doesn't show enough leadership but when he does then the entire county want to criticize the way he shows it. Actually Webb is lucky it was only Cutler. If he'd have done that when McMahon was playing QB Mac would have ripped off Webb's helmet and beat him to death with it not just given him a shoulder bump.

So now let's talk about anything else but that incident.

These two gifs show exactly what McClellin is capable of doing when he's on the field. I didn't go back and look at all of the stats but he was also in on a few tackles as well. His is a speed and leverage game, not a power game, so expecting him to go one on one with a 320lb RT and hold that edge isn't what he was drafted for. Plays like these are what he was drafted for.

Whether he's on the field for 65 snaps of for 40 snaps makes little difference on this team because we rotate DLinemen constantly. What's important as tht he can get into the backfield, create some havoc, and get to the QB and in this last game he got 1 1/2 sacks against one of the toughest QBs in the league to take down. I'll take that out of a rookie for starters.

**soulman** · 09-20-2012, 01:35 PM

Originally Posted by Riczaj01

If he can do this against even above average OT's we'll have someone that might develop into a starter someday. But I'll wait(like I did w/Melton) to see him do it against better talent. GB's OL is brutal, he needs to be able to do this agianst them. Sounds like StL's OL is also pretty bad so hopefully he has this kind of performance again and we can wait to see what happens in Dallas..that should be his first real test that we can really judge him on.

Maybe so Ric and maybe not but give me one example of a QB in the NFL who is anymore difficult to sack than Aaron Rodgers especially when he takes off running. Tell me how many times over the past few years have you ever seen a Bears DE get him from behind once he takes off while he still in the backfield?

I've seen Pep and Izzy chase him and make him throw it away or run him out of bounds but I can't recall one time when anyone ever caught Rodgers from behind like that. But I can recall quite a few times when he escaped just beyond the grasp of someone like he did escaped from Melton on that play. I can remember a whole lot of those.

Not once can I remember anyone having nailed him once he escaped and truth be told I think Rodgers was as surprised as anyone on the field that it happened. That was always his patented escape route against us and for the very first time I can remember somebody took it away from him. There was more significance to that than there might seem at this moment.

**Riczaj01** · 09-20-2012, 01:48 PM

That GB OL isn't what it was the last two years for some reason, he's on pace for 64 sacks...about double the last 2 years.

He looked good, don't get me wrong, it was impressive. But we loved melton last year after 1 huge game and he disappeared until the end of the year. Thankfully unlike Manderson he has shown up this year also and better then last year he's done it multiple times. Gotta see if Mc can avoid getting washed out by legit T's before we can decide if this is what he can be more then just occassionally.

If He does live up to his potential it's going to be a good thing for us b/c it will force teams to mass protect like they do against NY; only we have the DB's to cover.

**short faced bear** · 09-20-2012, 02:02 PM

With Pep playing some inside and some of the more stunting I see, Shea might be playing more that 40 snaps esp. in shootouts. I'm interested to see some other D-line combinations with Shea, Melton at DE, Pep at DT on occasion, along with Collins and Okoye. Wootton seems healthy and finally coming on as well. Peaa needs to come on this week vs. Rams.

At least this side of the ball is pretty bright!

**MPBears68** · 09-20-2012, 02:06 PM

Originally Posted by soulman

I don't think there are two better examples of just what was expected of Shea McClellin than these. At least not in my book anyway.

In the first instance it's nothing more than pure speed and an ability to turn the corner like a LB that gets him to Rodgers. Newhouse expects to push him beyond the pocket with his arm block but watch the play. McClellin makes a 90 degree turn right into Rodgers for the sack.

Most taller DEs would have been pushed past the point where Rodgers was settning up unable to make that turn quickly enough to get to him. They'd have gone past him and had to come back giving Rodger a precious second or two more to release the ball.

But McClellin is both fast enough to beat the block and agile enough to make his cut straight into Rodgers. We often see this type of rush from a guy like Matthews going against us so it's kinda nice to see that we have our own guy who can do this isn't it?

On the second sack he does exactly what I was hoping he would show he could do. Chase Aaron Rodgers down when he tries to escape the pocket. On this play the Bears did everything right. Pep got a great rush and the DTs collapsed the pocket and together they flushed Rodgers out to his right just as we've seen so many times before.

And just like we've also seen so many times before Rodgers would have barely eluded the sack from Melton by using his speed and agility to escape just beyond Melton's clutches. But wait! There a new kid in town and he had a similar burst and acceleration and within three strides he catches Rodger from behind and takes him down. Somebody want to tell me how many times we've ever seen that happen before?

Yeah the kid is the size of a LB and he's built like a LB and he plays like a LB but in this case that's exactly what allowed him to make these plays. The kid is a playmaker, a defensive weapon, and I'll be happy to trade off his not being able to hold the edge against the run at LDE every down if he can be used to get 1 1/2 sacks and constant pressure like this every game.

Excellent post and article, Soul. Thanks for the thread. Loved the read.

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