Takeaway Opportunities Against Jimmy G
The San Francisco 49ers under Kyle Shanahan defy NFL logic.
Turnovers doom teams, and considering the 49ers have committed 121 turnovers in 70 games under Shanahan it might be surprising he is still their head coach. Other factors have saved the 49ers, however, like a great defense and production with big gains when they don't turn it over.
The Bears would love to have some of those turnovers about now.
"Our thing, I think, is to be able to consistently swarm to the ball in a relentless fashion," Bears defensive coordinator Sean Desai said. "I agree, takeaways are a huge thing."
The Bears haven't been the takeaway machine they thought they might be earlier in the year after they took it away from Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals four times. They've had eight takeaways, and are minus-2 in turnover ratio.
"We played two quarterbacks that don't give the ball away much," Desai said, referring to Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. "And so we've gotta be able to create those, and we will.
"I think our guys feel confident about that, and we've had some opportunities, even in the last two games, that we missed out where we could've created some takeaways. And we're gonna learn from those and try to continue to improve that."
Eddie Jackson had one in his direction from Brady early last week but was occupied with something else at the time of the throw and didn't have time to get his hands up for the ball.
However, as Jimmy Garoppolo comes to Soldier Field for a homecoming of sorts, the Rolling Meadows native has been very prone to giveaways. He has thrown four interceptions, all in his last three games. He has also lost three fumbles.
The Bears system for creating turnovers involves rush and cover, but the rush could be lacking with Khalil Mack's pass rush in question, at best, and Robert Quinn still lingering on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Mack's foot injury is bothering him enough that the Bears are considering sitting him, according to an NFL Network report.
"For the guys that step in to replace guys that are hurt or out with COVID or whatever it is, you know, it's their opportunity to go out there and prove why they should be here and continue to be out there on the field and stuff," said linebacker Alec Ogletree, who should know—his mere presence in the lineup is the result of doing this.
The likely starters would be Trevis Gipson and possibly versatile inside linebacker Christian Jones, although undrafted rookie Sam Kamara could also play. Kamara is a big enough surprise just being on the 53-man roster, let alone getting playing time.
From Stony Brook, he was an interior defensive lineman and the Bears somehow have turned a 300-pounder into an edge rusher by getting him a little lighter.
"He came in listed a certain way because that's what he played at in college," Desai said. "And then when we brought him in here and worked him out, we saw some tools that we liked with some position flexibility, and to the kid's credit he's been outstanding in terms of learning the jobs that we've asked him to do, whether it be the D-line or the outside backer position.
"He's trying to take advantage of his opportunity and we're excited for him to take advantage of his opportunity."
It's still a far cry from Mack and Quinn.
"Nobody is going to feel sorry for us because we don't have certain guys there," Ogletree said. "They're going out there to whup you just as bad as they were going to try to do the person in front of you (on the depth chart).
"So it's like I said, it's the next-man-up, you know, kind of deal. You just rally around those guys, keep them encouraged and hope that they get going."
Turnovers could depend on it.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
