Bears defense growling again
Chicago has NFL-best 10 sacks with Mack in fold
CHICAGO – Jon Gruden’s decision to let Khalil Mack go looks worse and worse with every game.
As the Raiders struggle to get pressure — imagine that — Mack continues to wreak havoc for a defense that is shaping up to be a quarterback’s worst nightmare. The Bears sacked Russell Wilson six times in Monday night’s 2417 victory over the Seahawks, giving them an NFL-best 10 after the first two weeks of the season.
Mack had one of those sacks, giving him two for the season. That’s as many as the entire Raiders defense has, for those who might want to track things like that.
“That’s neither here nor there. I can’t really speak on that,” Mack said, refusing to gloat. “Being where I’m at right now — you said we’re leading the league (in sacks)? That’s a great feeling, and this win took it over the top.”
Gruden insisted Monday that he doesn’t regret the swindle, err, trade that sent Mack to the Bears on the eve of the season. He might be the only one associated with the silver and black who doesn’t.
Mack is a once-in-a-generation talent, a player so disruptive he forces opponents to change their game plans. His stats are jaw-dropping — his 381⁄ sacks 2 in the last three-plus seasons are tied for second most in the NFL — but even they don’t adequately reflect the linebacker’s impact.
Time and again Monday, Mack went either through or around the line, and the sight of him coming forced Wilson to move into the path of another Bear. Mack might not have gotten credit on the stat sheet for the sack or the hit, but they don’t happen without him.
“He’s so special that he doesn’t even have to have the entire defense!” tackle Akiem Hicks said.
That’s right. Mack hasn’t been in Chicago two full weeks, and he acknowledged Monday that he’s still adjusting.
And he wasn’t just talking about getting himself moved and learning his new teammates’ names.
Although Mack joked that he didn’t want to give his secrets away, he said he feels as if he has all of the Bears’ plays down. But he’s still working on learning their adjustments and what they do based off of specific formations.
If Mack can do what he’s done so far — two sacks, two forced fumbles and a pick six — imagine what he can do when the Bears defense is second nature and he no longer has to think his way through games.
“I’m excited about it,” Hicks said, his eyes widening at the idea. “It really makes you look and say, ‘ Man, is there another spot I can reach?’ to do what he does. It’s something to take notice of.”
Added fellow linebacker Danny Trevathan, “He’s just getting started.”
That’s what has Chicago so excited about these Bears. Well, that and the fact that the team is .500 for the first time since Week 6 of the 2014 season. No, that’s not a misprint. It’s been a rough stretch for one of the NFL’s most illustrious franchises.
While the rest of the league reveres quarterbacks, it’s gritty, hard-nosed defense that makes you an icon in Chicago. This is, after all, the home of the Monsters of the Midway, Dick Butkus, Mike Singletary and new Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher.
Urlacher was honored at halftime Monday, and his presence was not lost on his heir apparent.
“The O.G.!” Mack said. “You’re talk- ing about a defensive guy putting a stamp on it. You want to go out and make him proud, finish the night off with a win for him.”
And stacking wins for the Bears, Mack insisted, is his only focus.
Gruden’s decision to jettison Mack was incomprehensible even before he lamented Oakland’s lack of a pass rush after Sunday’s loss that dropped the Raiders to 0-2, and his insistence that he wanted to keep the productive and popular linebacker doesn’t ring true. That the Raiders claimed they didn’t have the money to pay Mack when they gave Gruden a 10-year, $100 million contract isn’t likely to age well, either. Those are no longer Mack’s concerns. “Man, I don’t care about that. Don’t care about that,” he said. “I only care about what’s going on here.”
While Mack takes the high road, everyone else will be keeping score. And so far, Gruden is losing. Badly.