11-20-2018, 06:14 AM
Try as you might Mitchell Trubisky Jersey , s defense was able to accomplish in the first month of the Khalil Mack era. Leading the NFL in sacks with 18? Check. Leading the NFL in quarterback pressures? Check.Having the NFL’s second-best rushing defense? Check. Possess the second-most takeaways with 11? Check. Sit atop Football Outsiders’ DVOA defensive rankings for two straight weeks to close September? Check and check. Naturally, when you have such stellar performance from one unit across the board, that means more than a few individual defenders are standing out. Mack is obviously one of them given the tremendous rippling impact he’s had on every other Bears player. But you could reasonably make the argument that other Bears are also some of the best players at their respective positions right now. Pro Football Focus agrees as they released their first-quarter 2018 All-Pro team this afternoon. Mack is the headliner as he’s by far the highest-graded edge defender in the NFL. To help support him on the back-end, PFF also selected safety Eddie Jackson and nickel cornerback Bryce Callahan as starters at their respective positions. Jackson and Callahan have been enjoying career years early on. Not to be outdone, Akiem Hicks was also an honorable mention as an interior defensive linemen behind the Rams’ Aaron Donald. Any time you’re just behind a generational talent like Donald, you’re doing something right. Hicks has become one of football’s most vaunted defenders in his time in Chicago, and it seems he’s been able to play on another high level altogether thanks to the addition of Mack. Prince Amukamara was also an honorable mention at cornerback only behind the Cardinals’ Patrick Peterson. The veteran cornerback picked off his first pass in over three years in the Bears’ win over the Seahawks in Week 2 and when healthy, has been dynamite in press coverage. Provided the Bears defense can continue it’s torrid pace of play, there’s no reason not to believe that this unit doesn’t have tangible individual hardware roll in by the end of the 2018 season. Robert is the Editor-in-chief of The Blitz Network (subscribe here!), the managing editor of Windy City Gridiron Authentic Leonard Floyd Jersey , and writes for a host of other fine publications. You can follow him on Twitter @RobertZeglinski. We’re a now little almost two weeks out since the Bears’ Khalil Mack rolled his ankle against the Dolphins. In that two week span, with the constant duress an NFL season presents, Mack’s ankle and health hasn’t improved in any noticeable fashion even as he featured against the Patriots last Sunday. With the Bears set for a date against the Jets this weekend, don’t expect Mack’s practice schedule or status to differ in any way from last week, said Matt Nagy on Wednesday. That means Mack won’t practice again until this coming Friday, and even that will be in a limited capacity for a walkthrough. This time of year, especially with Chicago’s bye week behind them, doesn’t allow for any appropriate rest period beyond participating minimally in practice. If Mack is going to feature through the rest of the Bears’ 2018 season, he’ll have to hope the damage he takes in games is small enough to continue relevant progress towards health. He’ll also have to hope the time he doesn’t spend on the practice field in full pads lets him recover enough to help the Bears defense as much as he can. Given the way the Bears defense has performed without a healthy Mack of late, it might behoove Chicago to sit the superstar or play him on a relative pitch count if they can against the Jets. That’s obviously a game-time decision we won’t see come to fruition until Sunday. Elsewhere on the notable Bears’ injury front Wednesday Youth Pat O'Donnell Jersey , Allen Robinson continues to be bothered by a strained groin he suffered late last week as the veteran was a non-participant in practice. Robinson didn’t play much near the end of the Bears’ defeat to the Patriots and is someone to monitor moving forward given Chicago’s lack of proven playmakers on the outside. Meanwhile, Eric Kush also didn’t practice with a neck injury that’s bothered him since Week 4. If he’s healthy for action, the veteran guard will curiously continue to be in a rotation with James Daniels, though. If you were worried in any way about Bryce Callahan, he was a full participant despite an ankle injury that had Sherrick McManis take his place for a few plays against New England. A welcome development for a Bears defense that desperately needs it’s top nickel cornerback to stay healthy for the long run. Robert is the Editor-in-chief of The Blitz Network (subscribe here!), the managing editor of Windy City Gridiron, and writes for a host of other fine publications. You can follow him on Twitter @RobertZeglinski.