The Reasons Bears See Different Side of Khalil Mack

Khalil Mack is showing a somewhat different side with his little brother at training camp, and also because he hasn't been a player looking to rebound in the past

A very unique dynamic is playing out at outside linebacker for the Bears.

It's the Mack boys, Khalil and Ledarius, or Big Mack and Little Mack.

The Bears have seen Khalil Mack at his best in 2018 and last year when the support around him decayed due to injuries his production declined. Now they have Mack with his little brother on hand and it's a situation outside linebackers coach Ted Monachino enjoys witnessing.

"To see those two together, they have tried not to be Khalil and Khalil's little brother or Ledarius and Ledarius' big brother as much as they have been teammates, which has been kind of cool to watch," Monachino said. "It's not like a dad and a son. It's two guys that are both fighting for the same things, and it's awesome. It's been fun to have."

Ledarius is 5 1/2 years younger and nothing like Khalil in terms of body type, although they both play the edge rusher spot.

"First of all, Ledarius is not a very big player, but he walks around here like he's 10 feet tall, which is exactly what you'd expect," Monachino said. "He's got plenty of juice. He's explosive. He's got really heavy hands. He's done a lot of things that are really impressive, and he's an easy learner, and so that part has been great.

"From a personality standpoint, he's got a lot of the best traits Khalil has. He's a little snarky every now and then, so he's got some funny things to say. He also is very attentive in what his job is. It's been a joy to have him."

The Bears' outside linebacker spot is wide open after Khalil and Robert Quinn so Ledarius theoretically could vie for a backup role but Monachino said based on past experience in Indianapolis he has no problem with veteran Barkevious Mingo in a pass rusher role even if it isn't his strength.

"We were in a situation in Indy when Erik Walden got hurt, that Barkevious had to play a ton of defense and he played winning defense for us—made plays; sound, solid defense for us," Monachino said. "So not at all nervous or afraid of putting Kiki in the game at any point in any situation and asking him to do anything. Coverage. Rush. Run game. We can do all that with him."

Monachino classified Mingo, Isaiah Irving and James Vaughters as being in the battle for that next spot, with Ledarius Mack and rookie fifth-rounder Trevis Gipson not really mentioned much at this point.

While depth isn't proven at outside linebacker, there's no question quality is.

Khalil Mack's status did take a hit after last year's 8 1/2 sacks, though. He had gone three straight years as Pro Football Focus's highest-rated edge rusher. 

Now Mack and Robert Quinn are not ranked among the top five edge-rushing tandems in the league by Pro Football Focus, and last season he ranked just 12th among edge defenders in overall PFF grade. He was only third in his own division.

Mack hasn't spoken with Chicago media since the final week of last season but Monachino sees a player determined to put last season's step back into the rear-view mirror. Then again, he doesn't think Mack has necessarily altered anything because of last year's lower sack and pressure numbers.

"Blinders on, he has blinders on."

-Outside linebackers coach Ted Monachino on Khalil Mack

"Blinders on, he has blinders on," Monachino said. "And I think that it would be safe to say that every year Khalil Mack has something to prove. And I would say that the volume has been cranked to about a nine or 10 in terms of that this year.

"I don’t see anything that surprises me. I don't see lackadaisical attention. I don't see somebody that's not supremely focused on what he wants to get done. And just so everybody knows, the better he plays, that's good for everybody, right? That guy's an impactful player."

Monachino enjoys the thought of turning Mack loose on offenses, now with some pass rush help.

"This is a guy that we can play that way, right? 'Go get 'em; go sic 'em, big fella' because when he does, we get off the field on third down; when he does, people don't run the ball on us; when he does, our whole team feeds off of that," Monachino said. "So I think he’s completely focused on playing the best football of his career and there were times last year where he was able to do that and times that he wasn't able to do that.

"Some impactful players will come based on a lot of different factors and I think that he knows exactly what those factors are and where he has to get better to finish some of those opportunities that he had."

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