Adding to Bears History on Danny Trevathan's Mind
Even veterans need to figure out defensive changes when a new coordinator takes over, and Bears inside linebacker Danny Trevathan by midseason last year started to feel comfortable with the way Chuck Pagano wanted his scheme played.
Then came the dislocated elbow against the Detroit Lions and the Bears played their final seven games without their defensive leader after they were already playing without defensive line man-mountain Akiem Hicks.
"I was just touching the tip of the 'berg, I was starting to feel for the defense, get a feel for the inside backer for the defense," Trevathan said.
So Trevathan's goal this year at age 30 of adding his name to the great Bears linebackers tradition begins from a higher level than where it started last season.
The way Trevathan sees it, he's reached an optimum level mentally and physically to start leaving that legacy.
"Playing with my guys, I understand it," Trevathan said. "Now I understand football so well. I know how to play the game mentally and beat people mentally as well as physically. So I feel like I was definitely going to turn it up a couple notches last year."
Trevathan figures it's not going to be difficult to start at this level again but a couple of problems developed in the meantime to provide a challenge. One was the coronavirus, and the other resulted directly from it—nose tackle Eddie Goldman opting out of the season.
The best friend of Trevathan and inside linebacker Roquan Smith in the Bears' 3-4 scheme was Goldman, who occupied blockers and let them make tackles.
"To have him not here, we're definitely missing a key part," Trevathan said. "But I think the guys that they brought in and they're going to have to step up. They're going to have to step up and it's our job to push them each day to get to that level of play because it's going to be a key factor."
The Bears brought back John Jenkins, a former player in Chicago, and anticipate third-year defensive end Bilal Nichols will take some of the nose tackle snaps as well. Roy Robertson-Harris might even play some there as an undersized nose.
"Just the mindset of our defense is, you've got Bilal in there," Trevathan said. "He's done a tremendous job—young, gifted, hungry. Roy. So. I think we'll be all right.
"Me and Ro just need to adjust our game a little bit to get a feel for those guys and a lot of us have to play off those guys at times. So it's just to get that little vibe. I've played a little bit with them."
Trevathan understood the decision Goldman made to stay away because of his own personal situation.
"My fiancée, that's like my backbone," Trevathan said. "So when corona happened, she has chronic asthma and allergies that are crazy. So I really thought about her and all the sacrifices she made. I think she deserves all the credit in the world."
Like everyone, Trevathan is learning to cope. At Halas Hall, it means wearing a mask and going through a gauntlet of testing before entering the building each day.
"Shoot, I don't like getting stuff in my nose," Trevathan said. "That's weird to me."
Trevathan leads on the field and through the coronavirus.
"I think it's so important because I think at a time right now where there's so many different things happening in and outside this building, to have a guy like Danny who when he talks no matter what else is going on as soon as he talks everybody in the building is, boom, right there on him," inside linebackers coach Mark DeLeone said. "So to be able to have that calming effect, presence about him, I think is huge for our defense and for our team."
Trevathan was easily on pace for his Bears high in tackles before another in a series of injuries that have limited his playing time since coming to Chicago. Trevathan has missed 17 games with injuries in four years.
"There's things guys want in their careers," DeLeone said. "You want to win a Super Bowl. You want to get paid a lot of money. You want to make 100 tackles, you want to have all these different things, right?"
Trevathan has done those.
"I want to be remembered," Trevathan said. "Legacy lives on forever."
It's likely to take staying healthy, and getting in another Super Bo
"You always want to leave behind something that can be remembered of yourself," Trevathan said. "Like people talk about you playing for the name on the front of your jersey as well as the name on the back of your jersey.
"So I want to leave that out there because this is such a great tradition of linebackers the Bears have."
It's a big leap forward from missing the final seven games twice. The Bears have yet to win a playoff game with this defense they say is dominant.
"I have one Super Bowl but that's definitely not with the team that I'm with," Trevathan said. "But I feel like we're so close right now and to do it would add to that legacy."
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
