No that is not a start of a Michael Scott “That’s what she said” joke.
I’m talking about new Bears Defensive Tackle Jeffery Simmons impact on the Chicago Bears defense.
When the Bears traded away two first round picks in order to secure the best defensive tackle in football, I was beyond excited. It was the exact right move for a team with a sensational young quarterback on his rookie deal leading an incredibly awesome offense… and a defense relying on the defensive coordinator to pull rabbits out of his hat to cover up for the fact the team generates no pass rush and has a horrible secondary.
Even though I was excited and hopeful, I wasn’t quite sure exactly how the defense would look with an All Pro playing on it. Well I'll tell you how it looked... sensational! I truly believed Simmons was the perfect payer for the Bears to get. Putting pressure on a quarter back from up the middle is one of the most devastating things a football team can do. And Simmons excels at doing just that.
It only took one possession to see the effect of this devastation on the Seahawks' offense. During their opening possession, for some reason, the Seahawks decided not to double team Simmons. So of course he swam past his one blocker to dramatically rip QB Sam Darnold to the turf. After that, there were very few times that Simmons was not double teamed. And when he wasn't, he pushed his blocker into Darnold's lap or tackled ball carriers behind the line of scrimmage. But that is not where his influence ended.
As a result of needing to constantly double team Simmons, that meant there were three offensive linemen to block three Bears defensive line. So Montez Sweat and Austin Booker enjoyed their best game of the season. Simmons doesn't just destroy his blockers, he wrecks an entire offense.
For most of the season, the bears have relied on the gimmick of putting 7 or 8 guys at the line of scrimmage and dropping 2 or 3 back into coverage. It caused some confusion which allowed their mediocre line to generate some pressure. But thanks to Simmons, that trickery was not needed. that means the Bears could support their horrible secondary instead of focusing on pulling rabbits out of their ass... I mean hat.
In other words, Simmons improved the entire defense. And that was a hard thing... that's what she said.
