New Bears Beast Used to Be a Frog
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For a relative neophyte, Justin Jones seems to have this position of three technique defensive tackle figured out.
At least in theory it seems that way. Executing it will require actual games played by the Bears, but understanding it all and playing it properly is a key to their defense.
"Honestly, I wanted to play three technique," Jones said. "If I could play three technique every year that's what I would do. That's a position I feel like I was born to play."
Jones wasn't the first choice to be the disruptive force on the defensive interior, and his signing met with more than its share of skepticism. He nearly signed with Indianapolis first. However, they are seeing playmaking potential in practices when it comes to rushing the passer and, also now that pads are on, stuffing the run.
"That's just kind of what it is," Jones said. "I'm an explosive athlete. I get off the ball. I knock guys back. I disrupt plays. I can rush, you feel me.
"All the guys know that and this gives me the opportunity to be the beast that I know I am."
First beast failed. That was Larry Ogunjobi and he didn't get past the physical. Finding Jones required some imagination because he had been somewhat buried last year in a 3-4 and prior to that in a 4-3 that didn't always use the three technique attacking.
However, GM Ryan Poles and Eberflus saw enough Chargers plays on film of Jones lining up in essentially the same three technique spot between guard and tackle and playing as a disruptor rather than a player who stacks up blockers so others could get tackles. They quickly pivoted to Jones after the Ogunjobi debacle and he is now doing what he loves.
'Man, I put the hand in the dirt and it's man-on-man then," he said. "This is all those reps in the weight room, those sprints, those get-offs, those bag drills. This is everything that we're working on.
"My last year, I was in a frog stance. I'm not a frog-stance player. I'm trying to put that foot down and get in the first and get off. That's what I'm on. That's what the guys expect out of me. That's what I'm going to bring."
The "frog stance" and different approach under former Bears linebackers coach Brandon Staley with the Chargers continued the trend of keeping down Jones' stats. He never had more than one sack in a year until getting three last season. He has 4 1/2 for a four-year career.
Now he thinks it can be different with a little time.
"Oh man, like I said I'm just finding my way in this scheme, trying to figure out how all the moving parts work," Jones said. "You feel me. Not just moreso on the run side, in the pass side with the D-line, just moreso on the back end, too. Because certain coverages mean certain blockers will last a little longer."
It's not a case where everything in the scheme is geared to simply letting players get into a gap and attack, even if Jones sounds like he's blowing the bugle on every play to attack. They need to be mindful of situations.
"If we're in man coverage, you know the quarterback, everybody's back turns, so we have to have the quarterback, so our rush is a little bit different," Jones said.
They're using this time to fine-tune their approach.
"It's more so the communication thing," he said. 'For me, like, I know just for instance if I line up in a three technique and I see there is a tight end on the line, right, and I know my end is not going to have the best rush because of the tight end right there or if there is a tight receiver here and I know he (defensive end) is not going to have the best rush, I'm going to do my best to make sure I really, really get up the field.
"You know what I'm sayin? So he can work off that chip and maybe get inside. Or we can run a game to get him off that to make sure he can have a better rush or better quality rush so we're not losing him cause it's four equals one when it comes to pass rush."
The attacking three technique is no novel concept in Chicago.
The Bears worried about it constantly under Lovie Smith in an earlier version of the Tampa-2 defense. They had a brilliant three in Tommie Harris, but he tore his hamstring off the bone in 2006 and they never had him available for the Super Bowl, a game in which the Colts perfectly attacked this weakness on the interior.
Jones lacks the experience factor to expect he can be a smash hit at this spot, but if the Bears are right about his talent level then they could be coming away with a bargain rate success story at a difficult position to find.
They have found three techniques in far more unlikely places than a 6-foot-3, 309-pound defensive tackle.
Henry Melton had been a fullback at Texas and eventually wound up being the three technique they had to replace Harris. He was also a success until a torn ACL disrupted his progress.
Jones was in a 4-3 prior to last year and wasn't as productive, but this came when the Chargers were very effective as a top-10 defense and used him a bit differently under Gus Bradley than the Bears will now. In the old Chargers 4-3 scheme, they had linemen who attacked as Jones will but also some who played two-gap run support. Assignments varied.
Jones had no sacks and just two tackles for loss in 2019, his second year and first starting. Then he managed a sack and five tackles for loss in 2020, Bradley's final year as defensive coordinator with a 4-3 defense. Last year in the 3-4 was when the Bears saw his promise in a three-sack, five-TFL effort.
Now he's combining his own natural explosiveness in a scheme with players who also attack gaps.
It's a defense that might even look far more ferocious up front when the threat of a weak side linebacker like Roquan Smith is added, if they ever get around to paying him and ending his "hold-in."
"These guys play hard, man. I like that," Jones said. "They play hard, everybody's flying to the ball. You know everybody wants to be around, you know, if we were live, people would be wanting to top off the pile.
"You know, bodies to the ball, that's kind of what we're going for here and that's what everybody's trying to focus on. I like that, a lot. That's kinda been the history of the Bears, everybody flying to the ball, being real aggressive and real physical when it comes to those (defensive) tackles and everything."
It was a successful history when they had someone who could be the disruptor up front, and with Jones they're counting on it happening again.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
