BEAR ESSENTIALS | Brad Biggs
It’s time to shine for Leonard Floyd, who says he’s very close to being at 100 percent after fracturing his right hand.
The Khalil Mack trade looks like the best move of the NFL season, a deal that has made everyone look good with the exception of Raiders coach Jon Gruden and Bears outside linebacker Leonard Floyd.
It’s a fun game for kids to play — what superhero power would you want? Flight, elasticity or invisibility. You have to figure Floyd would choose the latter. The would-be super pass rusher has turned into the invisible man. It would be an understatement to say that Floyd has yet to make an impact this year.
The man thought to be the featured pass rusher for the defense before the brilliant acquisition of Mack barely has shown up. He is coming off what defensive coordinator Vic Fangio called his best game in last Sunday’s loss at Miami, but it was two penalties that raised Floyd’s profile most notably penalties. He body-slammed Dolphins wide receiver Danny Amendola and later was flagged for hitting quarterback Brock Osweiler in the helmet, a call Bears coach Matt Nagy did not dispute after reviewing film.
In fairness to Floyd, he fractured his right hand in the third preseason game against the Broncos and played the first three regularseason games with a cumbersome club to protect the surgical repairs, a legitimate setback that hindered his ability to defeat blocks en route to the backfield and quarterback. Floyd said he still is rehabilitating the hand but that he’s very close to being 100 percent.
“He was hampered with what he was playing with and really we probably played him too much,” Fangio said. “Probably should have played the other guys more.”
Floyd has been on the field for 224 defensive snaps (70.7 percent) and has 12 tackles, nine of them solo, one deflected pass and one quarterback hit with no sacks. According to ESPN, with one disrupted pass Floyd ranks 357th in the NFL in that category so there’s no way of exaggerating his lack of production.
Time has come for Floyd to step up with Mack listed as questionable after being held out of practice until Friday when he was limited with a sprained right ankle suffered against the Dolphins. The defense must rebound against the Patriots, who are averaging 40 points over their last three games, in an effort to slow quarterback Tom Brady.
Fangio said “not really” when asked if Floyd’s play concerned him, though he also said it’s not accurate to say Floyd hasn’t been as productive rushing because he has been in coverage more after the addition of Mack. The Bears have been in their nickel package more than 80 percent of the time and Floyd rushes the vast majority of the time in sub packages.
“I feel like every game I have been so close to getting a couple of sacks,” said Floyd, who has 11½ sacks in 27 career games. “I just have to keep going out and rushing with the same mindset. Just have to keep playing. Sacks come in bunches. I can go a couple more games without them. As long as I keep going hard and trying to win with the team, my sacks will come.”
Outside linebackers coach Brandon Staley praised Floyd early in training camp when he said the player’s “hands have come alive.” Staley said it had been the missing piece in his repertoire for rushing the passer and is something the Bears have worked on since Floyd arrived as the ninth pick in the 2016 draft. It’s difficult to beat even average offensive tackles with just a speed move and Floyd needs versatility and strength.
“I think The emphasis on that kind of slowed him down too at times,” Fangio said. “He never can forget he is an athletic, speed, quick rusher and that’s his game.”
The Bears are tied for seventh in the NFL with 18 sacks after being shut out in the overtime loss to the Dolphins. It’s notable every team ahead of them has played at least one more game, including the Ravens, who had 11 sacks last week at Tennessee to put them atop the list with 26.
So the defense has gotten plenty of pass rushing production from players other than Mack, who has a team-high five. One theory is that pass rushers opposite dominant defenders (like Mack) will benefit in building statistics on the occasions the offense is avoiding a superior player. For instance, Adewale Ogunleye led the Dolphins with 16 sacks in 2003, the year before the Bears traded to acquire him. That was one more sack than teammate Jason Taylor had. Ogunleye was a very good player but he wasn’t at the level of Taylor, a Hall of Famer.
“All of those situations are a little different,” Fangio said. “The other guy still has to be a good player. They’re not going to just fall into your lap. We can go back and find a lot of guys who have gotten the most sacks in the NFL and they don’t always have guys on the other side getting a bunch either. I know what you’re saying and there is some truth to that.”
It’s a critical season for Floyd as the Bears will have to make a decision on the fifth-year option in his contract for 2020 in the spring. He hasn’t been the player the club envisioned but that doesn’t mean he can’t prove his value for that option in the next 11 games.
His only quarterback hit came in Week 4 against the Buccaneers. Lined up next to Mack on the left side, he twisted outside and Bucs right tackle Demar Dotson went inside with Mack. Floyd had a free run at Ryan Fitzpatrick, knocking him to the turf after an incomplete pass was released.
The Bears need much more of that — Floyd being disruptive in the backfield. If he can get his game going, opponents will be flustered in how to protect against a talented front that also includes dangerous and powerful rusher Akiem Hicks.
“I don’t think I have to give Leonard a challenge,” Fangio said. “He has been frustrated by his limitations and he was fired up to play last week. I think he will be fired up this week.”