Have Bears Solved the Robert Quinn Mystery?
One of the great Bears questions of 2020 was whatever happened to Robert Quinn.
They're trying now to make sure it isn't one of the great questions for 2021.
About 70 players are participating now in the conditioning aspect of the offseason program before OTAs begin, according to ESPN's Jeff Dickerson.
Making sure Quinn is in the shape they thought he'd be last year when they signed him to a $70 million deal seems to be something they can address now. Last year, they never had the chance before training camp.
This seems to be part of the problem that made Quinn show up on the side of a milk carton after the sack he made on his very first play as a member of the team.
Quinn hardly seems old enough to have lost his abilities. He turned 31 on Tuesday.
"Rob and I have a good relationship and obviously he would be the first to tell you that his production last year would not measure up to his standards," new Bears outside linebackers coach Bill Shuey said. "And so first and foremost he needs to take care of his body and be ready to go.
"I have confidence in Rob as a professional that he will be doing that."
The Bears have never elaborated on any physical problems or injuries Quinn had. A Chicago Tribune story last year suggested he suffered from "drop foot" resulting from nerve damage.
Shuey's comment about Quinn taking care of his body suggests some health or conditioning issue last year.
Defensive coordinator Sean Desai has been no more specific than Shuey, but from what he said it's easy to see Quinn didn't fit well within the scheme last year or mix well with the other players in it.
Former outside linebackers coach Ted Monachino on more than several occasions last season took responsibility for not having Quinn involved in situations where he could best use his skills.
Desai seems to go along with the thought more needs to be done in this area.
"So that's inclusive of Robert, kind of get him comfortable in what he likes to do as long as it fits within the defense and then the same with all the other guys in that front," Desai said. "We want to generate more pressure, whether it's QB pressures and obviously that ultimately leads to sacks and all that stuff. We want to do that.
"But it’s not just him. You know what I mean? The whole philosophy of rushing is when you're doing a four-man rush is be four as one just like when you're in coverage, they all got to work together and if one person fails that, that impacts everybody else. So that's going to be the big emphasis on the front end is to make sure we're all working together on the same page and that'll help everybody be productive."
The Bears had 35 sacks last year, which was actually three more than in 2019 but 15 less than their dominant 2018 defensive squad had. Quinn wound up with two sacks. He went 11 games without one, until making a big sack in the victory at Minnesota to help the Bears make their run to the playoffs. Then he wasn't heard from again. He finished the regular season with 20 tackles, two sacks, six quarterback hits. Considering he had three forced fumbles while making minimal impact, if they can harness his pass rushing talents then far greater things can be expected.
"I think there are some subtleties into his game that we can look into," Shuey said. "Obviously, a guy that has over 80 sacks in the NFL, it's not like there is something broke there, I don't think. He's got the ability, he has the clear production.
"Then my job would be to make sure he's put in a position where he can make more plays and I think he's looking forward to doing that. I also think it's going to be balancing out the reps and the timeliness of getting him into games in the right situations where he can be at his best, there is some work to be done there and Rob knows that."
While new to the position, Shuey isn't new to the team. He had been a pass rush analyst and assistant linebackers coach in 2019 and 2020 after serving as Matt Nagy's quality control coach on defense in 2018. So he's been around Quinn for a year.
Monachino said things very similar to what Shuey said, but couldn't get Quinn going.
"I think the relationship that we have together we can maybe just inch him a little forward and get him back to the production that he was accustomed to getting," Shuey said.
Anything close to what he was accustomed to getting could mean a complete turnaround for the defensive front, if not the entire defense after a year when they slipped to 11th in yardage allowed and 14th in points allowed.
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