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So much for having the fewest sacks

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    December 19, 2019 8:15 AM EET

     

     season of 2006. Since Chase Daniel was inserted into the starting lineup for the Chicago Bears these last two games Bobby Massie Jersey , he has been sacked nine times. It’s not all on him, although the athletic Mitchell Trubisky does give the pass protection a boost when he’s in the game. Daniel's sack percentage is almost double Trubisky’s (10.6% to 5.6%), but when looking at Daniel I think it’s fair to point out that even though he’s a nine year veteran, he’s technically inexperienced with his pocket presence at just four career starts. All things considered though, Daniel is a good number two quarterback. Let’s see where 2018 stacks up historically...Sackwatch after 12 games2010 - 45 Martz2011 - 34 Martz2012 - 36 Tice2013 - 21 Trestman2014 - 30 Trestman2015 - 20 Gase2016 - 23 - Loggains2017 - 29 - Loggains2018 - 28 NagySack 24 - Second Quarter 1:39 - B.J. HillWe’re the Bears trying to set up a middle screen? The player that gets the sack, defensive tackle B.J. Hill (#95), receives a token block from left guard James Daniels and then he’s in hot pursuit of the QB. Hill splits the B-Gap with ease, and Daniels heads up field so quickly, that I’m assuming the intended receiver was running back Tarik Cohen who snuck through the line. Center Cody Whitehair also blocked for a split second before peeling off to block for a screen. It looked to me like a fake bubble screen to the left, with a middle screen back to Cohen, but it didn’t fool the Giants. I can’t fault Daniels, as he was doing his job. I can’t fault Daniel either, because Hill was on him so quickly and there wasn’t a clean throwing lane. This good play by the Giants leads me to give this to Sacks Happen. Sack 25 - Third Quarter 1:22 - B.J. HillHill gets his second sack in a row, and this time he split right guard Bryan Witzmann and center Whitehair. Hill got Witzmann with the stutter-step juke to the outside before shooting back through the A-Gap. Witzmann failed to move his feet after falling for the fake and Whitehair was more concerned with his other A-Gap. Whitehair tried to stay strong and protect both gaps http://www.thebearslockerroom.com/authentic-jordan-howard-jersey ;, but by doing so he wasn’t strong enough to help to his right.I’m splitting the sack allowed between Whitehair and Witzmann.Sack 26 - Fourth Quarter 15:00 - Olivier VernonThis was a third and 11, so that could have gone into Daniel’s reasoning for not throwing it away once he escaped the pocket. I’d still rather he chuck it away than eat the sack and lose yardage in a close game though. The Giants overloaded the blitz on Chicago’s left side and the Bears did a good job picking it up initially. Check out Jordan Howard’s blitz pickup coming from the right side back to the left.Even right tackle Bobby Massie stayed home after pinching to his left and he cleaned up a Giant scraping towards him. But Daniel breaking out of the pocket led to the defenders getting better angles to pursue, which is why Massie had a hard time staying with his block. Daniel didn’t have anywhere to go with the ball, and he was forced to scramble. It did look like he was about to uncork a pass to Allen Robinson II after stepping up in the pocket, but Robinson stumbled a bit out of his break and Daniel pulled it back. Hindsight tells us he probably could have thrown it as Robinson maintained his route. But as for the sack, Giant linebacker Olivier Vernon (#54) started out over Leno (LT), but ended up working all the way down the line until he ended up being blocked by Witzmann (RG). Vernon hustled his way into the sack, but Witzmann was leaning on him a bit too much which caused him to get off balance. With that being said, the pass pro held for 3 seconds and Daniel had no where to throw. I hate to give another to Sacks Happpen, but that’s what I’m doing. Sack 27 - Fourth Quarter 1:07 - B.J. HillAnother of the dreaded 0 yard sacks. I loathe them. The Giants had some good coverage on this play, so Daniel tried to escape up the middle. But if you ask me, he tried to escape too early. The pass pro held up. Massie and Witzmann switched on the stunt happening in front of them, as did Leno and Daniels on the left side. The Giants ran a double EX stunt, which means that the defensive end goes inside first with the defensive tackle going around him to the outside. I’ve also seem this called an E-T stunt. Daniel seemed to get spooked at the Giant falling in front of him Womens Eddie Jackson Jersey , and he took his eyes off his receivers. Had Daniel maintained his composure he could have stayed in the pocket and scanned downfield a tick longer before escaping to his left. I’m pinning this one on Daniel. Sack 28 - Overtime 3:18 - Olivier VernonThis one is the easiest of all to diagnose. Vernon simply beats Leno around the edge and swipes the ball out of Daniel’s hand. Leno’s angle on his kick step was a little too flat and he couldn’t catch up with Vernon. Leno tried to push him past his QB, but Vernon got his hand on the ball when Daniel cocked to throw. Individual Sackwatch through 12 games:Sacks Happen - 11Mitchell Trubisky - 5Charles Leno Jr. - 3Kyle Long - 2Bobby Massie - 2Chase Daniel - 2Bryan Witzmann - 1.5Dion Sims - .5Eric Kush - .5Cody Whitehair - .5 LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears rolled into their bye with their most lopsided victory in six seasons and sole possession of the NFC North lead for the first time in five years.For a team long buried at the bottom of the division, it’s a different look. Just don’t tell coach Matt Nagy the Bears are the surprise of the NFL.“No, I’m not surprised,” he said.The Bears expected better things after a busy offseason that included a coaching change, an influx of playmaking targets for quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and the blockbuster trade with Oakland for Khalil Mack just before the start of the season.But sole possession of the division lead?That’s a spot the Bears (3-1) hadn’t occupied since late in the 2013 season, Marc Trestman’s first year coaching the team. Yet, they’re looking down at the rest of the division after four straight last-place finishes.“You go back to April 3 when we got together as a team,” said Nagy, a rookie head coach after working as an assistant under Andy Reid in Philadelphia and Kansas City. “We talked about who we wanted to be and what our goal was. And so what happens is when you start believing in that thing and then you start doing it in real games, you get tighter as friends. You get tighter as teammates. You get tighter as coaches. What we can do now is kind of reflect at 3-1 where we’re at. We understand it’s a super-long season.”The Bears have won three in a row since blowing a 20-point lead against an injured Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in a season-opening loss at Lambeau Field. It’s their longest win streak since a 3-0 start in 2013.Their defense has dominated all season with Mack leading the way. And with the offense breaking out in a 48-10 romp over Tampa Bay last week, just about everything seems to be falling in place for the Bears.The bye comes a time when they have a few injury issues. Chicago lost backup linebacker Sam Acho for the rest of the season to a torn pectoral muscle. Cornerbacks Prince Amukamara and Marcus Cooper are recuperating from hamstring injuries. Defensive end Akiem Hicks opened himself up to a potential suspension when he got ejected for bumping an official last week.Those issues aside, the Bears are looking good at the moment.Trubisky had the sort of breakthrough game against Tampa Bay that Chicago had been waiting for since he was drafted with the No. 2 overall pick in 2017. The prized quarterback threw for a career-high six touchdowns — one shy of an NFL record shared by Bears Hall of Famer Sid Luckman and seven others — facing a short-handed secondary. Chicago also matched its most lopsided win since beating Jacksonville 41-3 on Oct. 7 Ha Ha Clinton-Dix Jersey , 2012, and put up its highest point total since a 51-20 victory over Tennessee later that season.“That was the kind of a breakthrough that we were kind of hoping for and what we expect to do on offense,” Trubisky said.The question now for the Bears is this: Can they keep it going?Their three wins are against teams that missed the playoffs last season. The Bears also beat Seattle and Arizona.Chicago’s next game is at Miami — 3-1 heading into a matchup with Cincinnati despite being outscored 90-82 — before Tom Brady and the New England Patriots visit on Oct. 21.“We’re getting better every week and that’s what you want to see,” Mack said. “To see the guys in the back end making plays, that’s what you want to see. And being in a position to affect the quarterback to make them make those throws. It’s a good feeling, especially going into the bye.”The Bears rank fourth overall on defense, lead the NFL with 18 sacks and rank second with eight interceptions. Chicago and Tennessee are the only teams not to allow a rushing touchdown.Mack has been the havoc-wreaking force the Bears anticipated, helping turn a top-10 defense into one of the league’s best so far. He’s tied for second in the NFL with five sacks and is the first NFL player with a sack and forced fumble in four straight games since Robert Mathis for Indianapolis in 2005.He hasn’t been the only big contributor on defense. Hicks has three sacks and two forced fumbles. Danny Trevathan and Aaron Lynch each have a pair of sacks.But the Bears’ hopes still largely hinge on Trubisky.He’s 19th in the league with 945 yards passing, yet coming off a huge game that the Bears hope will be a turning point for him. Time will tell on that.For now, the Bears are rolling along in sole possession of the NFC North lead. And, that’s quite a change for a team used to looking up at everyone else.