Bear Digest

Bears hoping third-round defensive pick cleans up act — to an extent

Texas A&M defensive lineman Shemar Turner made a big impact on the line at tackle and on the edge but also had a habit of drawing unsportsmanlike penalties.
Gene Chamberlain|
Shemar Turner is an emotional, fireball on the field and sometimes has a habit of letting his attitude get the best of him.
Shemar Turner is an emotional, fireball on the field and sometimes has a habit of letting his attitude get the best of him. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The Bears got a former edge who still plays with an edge when they drafted Shemar Turner with the 62nd pick overall in Round 2.

The Texas A&M 3-technique moved inside to tackle from the edge to accommodate a large group of top defensive linemen for the Aggies but had little problem adjusting to attacking the gap between guard and tackle.

All along, he kept attacking, maybe too much.

“Violent. Violent. High energy. Aggressive. He's powerful and he's relentless,” Bears director of player personnel Trey Koziol said in describing Turner’s play.

Turner has a history of committing unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and roughing penalties. He had seven the last two seasons.

At least he knows what the goal is for correcting the problem, even if it hasn’t really been curtailed to date.

“Man, you know playing with an edge, being an edgy guy, playing with fire like that is always good but you can’t let it control you," Turner said.

“So I feel like keeping it at a certain level, like right on the line, I can stay right on the line but just don’t cross it and I’ll have a great career.”

Turner’s on-field mentality drives him and from the way he described it there's no wonder he got out of control at times.

"Honestly, just to, like, kill. Literally just go, go, bro,” he said. “That's all I'm thinking about, as soon as I touch the field, all I do is go. I've been having that mentality since a kid."

Koziol said the Bears don’t necessarily want to tell him to dial it back too much.

“I tell you what, for a defensive lineman I would much rather be 'Whoa!' than 'Go!' ” Koziol said. “But that's something the coaches will discuss with him if the time is appropriate but I love the way he plays and I would never want to tell anybody to reel it back.

"Go out there and be you. Keep playing the way you're playing.”

Not only is Turner physical and violent, he’s also tough. He played through a stress fracture in his shin and tried had to pull out of the Senior Bowl as a result of it.

"Playing on a stress fracture, it was tough. I’m not gonna lie," Turner said. "Especially as far as playing combos and stuff like that and wanting to trust in it and protect it. Playing with it, I had to.

"If I can go, I’m that type of dude that’s going to go regardless of the situation. So if they tell me I can go, I’m going to go and I’m going to go 110 percent. It was bad. It wasn’t the best but hey, I got through it."

Turner isn't sure if he'll be designated for inside with the Bears or lose a few pounds and play end, or switch between both spots. He does know switching inside to tackle now at least has given him the chance to do what he wanted and what the team wanted. He finished his career with 10 sacks and 24 tackles for loss.

“Shoot, really, it was to get me drafted as high as I could possibly go, especially knowing that I could play anywhere on the line,” Turner said. “The biggest transition was playing double-teams and pass-rushing in there.

“Everything just happens so much quicker, guys are on you so much faster, so you have to throw your moves faster and as far as combos, you just get big and playing them and getting your foot in the ground and everything else like that. I would say those were two of the biggest changes of going inside.”

Now, the Bears would like to see another change to his game and that’s toning it down just a bit, while still maintaining an edge, whether he’s on the edge or not.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.