Nicholas Morrow Holding Down the Fort

Without Roquan Smith, the Bears linebacker corps and the defense in general are trying to pull together under trying circumstances as a young, new group playing a different scheme.

It's only been one four-day segment of training camp with full pads yet to come but the Bears have to be looking at the possibility of Roquan Smith's absence holding back their defensive progress.

If Smith played a less significant role on defense like nose tackle or strong side linebacker, no one could get too concerned about the hold-in he is staging legally as a player on their PUP list with an unrevealed "injury."

It must be remembered Smith took part in all the offseason work, a shrewd calculation on his part if he was suspecting he'd need to hold out or hold in or hold back his services. It let him have exposure to the defense but now the real work has started and middle linebacker Nicholas Morrow acknowledged he's obviously unable to build a rapport on the field with Smith at this time after the two started to do it in offseason work. They are able to work off the field, though, since Smith is at Halas Hall in meetings.

"Get in the meeting rooms, watching the film, that's what we can do right now," Morrow said. "Just take care of that."

In other words, they can do nothing to offset his absence now.

Because Smith had some exposure earlier, it's not so much relationships with Morrow or learning the defense that could hold him back if and when he returns. Instead, it's learning his own position.

Why It's Different for Roquan Smith Now

He's no longer the linebacker leader in the middle like last year. He's the attacking linebacker, the weak side who wreaks havoc.

"Yeah, when you're in the middle this (holding hands wide apart apart) kind of this is your view and things can come from both sides," defensive coordinator Alan Williams said. "When you're on the outside this is your view (narrower) and things usually come from the inside out so that's probably the major difference.

"And then the other one is right now our (middle) linebacker, he's directing the fronts, he's directing the calls, he has most of the huddle presnap communication, not that the outside guys don't have any but he has most of it so we would say a little bit of, we'd say front row views, side, balcony views. So that would be the major difference for our guys."

Without Smith, they're using strong side linebacker Matthew Adams on the weak side and veteran backup Joe Thomas as the strong side.  Adams knows the system as a former Matt Eberflus Colts player, but hasn't started a game since his second year in 2019 and all nine of his NFL starts came in the less significant role of strong side linebacker. 

The Colts designated him a backup in 2020 and there he remained.

For that matter, Morrow is playing middle linebacker and according to official NFL game-day stat books he's only started twice at this position. 

The Leader on the Field Is Missing

Another problem is not positional but maybe best described as emotional. While Morrow might be the signal caller now as the middle or Mike linebacker, he is not someone who is going to fire up players. Smith can be a fiery type, so now who do they look toward for that vocal leader?

"I mean, you're probably asking the wrong person, because I'm not really a loud dude," Morrow admitted. "I think the most effective way to lead is to lead by example, right?

"When guys see it on tape, they have a vision. Talking about the vision again. So when the vision is in front of you, you see it on tape, you give an example and a guy and follow. Pregame speeches don't win games. That's just the reality of it, but effort is contagious and so when guys see that effort, they can follow that."

True enough, but in-game speeches can do wonders. Smith was the player who could ignite fires.

Whether it's Smith's absence affecting the defense or not, this is a conversion project. They've gone to the Tampa-2 style of a 4-3 from the old Vic Fangio 3-4. They're doing it without their best player on the field, but regardless of this Morrow honestly can't say they'll be an effective defense at season's outset.

"With training camp, you just don't know," Morrow said. 'I think it's so early. We haven't even had pads on yet, so you don't really know what you have. I think it's an early call.  

"Definitely gonna be young. We've got younger players out there, some of the young guys in the secondary, and we're all pretty much new. I'm new, got some guys in front that are new, so we'll see. It's definitely gonna be, I wouldn't say a work in progress, but it's definitely gonna be a process, right? It's still early."

Without Smith, they're lining up in a base defense sometimes with seven different starters on the field than they had last year.

With all the new players, it wouldn't hurt to have an experienced defensive star playing a critical position on the field, like Smith.      

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