THEY CAN COVER AT CORNERBACK
Fuller’s position not as pressing as others on Bears’ defense
Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio saw Kyle Fuller at his best, just not with the Bears.
Fuller looked like the playmaker the team needed in just his second NFL game as a rookie in 2014 against the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium. His two dazzling interceptions sparked the Bears to a 28- 20 victory, with Jay Cutler strafing Fangio’s defense for four touchdowns, three in the fourth quarter, to pull off the upset.
Unfortunately, Fuller has yet to live up to that performance. The third- year cornerback from Virginia Tech is emblematic of a transition — from Phil Emery/ Marc Trestman to Ryan Pace/ John Fox — that has proved more difficult than expected.
Fuller’s a former first- round pick ( 14th overall in 2014) who was drafted into a cover- 2 zone defense and struggled in the transition to Fangio’s man- toman scheme. And once he got hurt, it only got worse.
Six weeks after undergoing arthroscopic “clean- up” knee surgery, Fuller is out at least eight weeks after he was put on injured reserve. It leaves Fangio and the Bears in a familiar position — getting younger at a position where they already were young.
“There was hope [ that he would return quickly from the surgery],” Fangio said Wednesday at Halas Hall, “but as always with those procedures, you never know quite how they’re going to turn out.”
Fangio said he hoped Fuller would be a good fit for his defense. “I didn’t have a preconceived notion [ about Fuller] one way or the other,” Fangio said. “Obviously we had hoped he would be our starting right corner, which he was last year for the entire season.”
But it turned out to be a struggle, with Fuller getting benched late in a 48- 23 loss to the Cardinals in Week 2 last season. He had his moments, but they were far too infrequent to consider Fuller a part of the foundation in the new regime. The Bears had already lowered expectations this season, hoping Fuller could be more consistent than spectacular. But he never was healthy enough to get the chance to prove himself.
“He had the injury this year and we hadn’t been able to have him much,” Fangio said. “Early in camp he wasn’t moving well enough to even evaluate, so they did the procedure and he hadn’t fully recovered yet. So hopeful this eight weeks minimum will get him healthy and fully able to play.”
Fangio doesn’t know if Fuller will be the starter when he returns. “Oh, I don’t know,” he said. “We’re game- to- game here right now.”
That’s the least of Fangio’s concerns right now. The Bears are 0- 3 and his defense is without better starters than Fuller — linebacker Danny Trevathan, nose tackle Eddie Goldman and outside linebacker Pernell McPhee among them.
Second- year cornerback Jacoby Glenn and rookie Deiondre Hall have shown progress in place of Fuller, though Glenn struggled against the Cowboys on Sunday night and Hall did not play. But it’s far from the biggest hole to fill on this defense.
“[ Glenn has] made some good plays on deep balls and down the field,” Fangio said. “We’ve got to get him to play tighter and more aggressive on shorter throws and improve his overall play.”
Fuller’s absence will be an interesting barometer for Fangio, Fox and the defense. If we’re pining for Fuller in eight weeks, it will not be good news. If Fangio and Fox are doing this right, Glenn, Hall and the Bears’ defense will be established enough that the return of Fuller will be a bonus and not a necessity.
Follow me on Twitter @ MarkPotash.