Overcoming Emotional Letdown a Key for Bears

There are two concerns with how the Bears handle losing Robert Quinn.

One is the actual loss of a veteran, high-quality pass rusher and the other is the emotional drain within the locker room of a beloved friend and leader now gone.

Roquan Smith was one example when he broke down in tears Wednesday after announcement of Quinn's departure, and Thursday players who were in the defensive line room every day with the edge rusher like Trevis Gipson were able to describe the situation.

"We hung out yesterday and went over the memories that we have shared and had and all the memories that he has taught me," Gipson said. "He left me with a lot of tips and tendencies.

"You know, I'm just soaking up everything he gave me. It was sad. It was down. But it's also part of the business. I'm understanding of that."

It's easier to gauge the impact on production but not as easy to determine the emotional hit the defense took seeing Quinn. You have to wonder if they'll come out flat for the Cowboys game, but then again that wasn't the type of lesson they would have learned from Quinn.

"I mean, the emotional event, I would say the win (Monday) that we had was an emotional event," Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams said. "Losing Robert was an emotional event.

"The NFL, there are all types of emotional events. So what we would say was that our whatever it is, we go to work on Monday and you have 24 hours to move past that and then you lock it in and focus in, and I think that's one of the definitions of being a professional, is to be able have an emotional event, because that's what the NFL is, and still come out the next week and perform and perform well and improve."

As for the pass rush, it already had been struggling to achieve sacks. They are tied for 22nd in the league with 12 sacks with Quinn playing. Trevis Gipson has two sacks to lead defensive ends and both came in the Week 2 game with Green Bay. Dominique Robinson had 1 1/2 against the 49ers in the opener, and none since.

Coach Matt Eberflus called the pass rush one area they could have improved against the Patriots and made things even easier on themselves.

However, ESPN's analytical approach to pass rush win rate says they have been average in pass-rush win rate, ranking 16th through Monday's win.

Whether this can continue without Quinn seems uncertain because there's no doubt he took up double teams and it freed up others to rush better.

"Sometimes when you miss a piece, there's someone often steps up and does some things that you may not have expected because they have an opportunity," Williams said. "So, we'll see how that all shakes out."

Robinson figures to get his playing time upped the most as both Gipson and Al-Quadin Muhammad were regularly getting a big portion of play reps.

The Colts in Matt Eberflus' first year lacked an established edge rusher. Their rush was either from defensive tackle Denico Autry or from Shaquille Leonard blitzing as weakside linebacker, the same spot Roquan Smith plays in this scheme with the Bears.

So is it possible the Bears blitz Smith more? Williams likes Smith's pass rush traits. He currently leads the Bears with 2 1/2 sacks using rare blitzes.

"Thick body, has some power, looks like he has some wiggle at the top of his rush, and so far, he's been able to finish and has a natural feel for getting through and picking or not picking or he's just got a good feel," Williams said. "But ultimately, the production that we're getting from him has been good."

The Bears will meet up with Quinn again Dec. 18 when he comes with the Eagles to Soldier Field. In the meantime, younger players he impacted with his veteran leadership will try to pay tribute to him by using the techniques he taught them.

Quinn might even see how some benefited when he returns to play here.

"I mean, it's the NFL," Robinson said. "Things happen. You just have to adjust to the best of your ability.

"We love Rob, man. Like I said when (the trade) came through, he came in here, dapped us up, told us what happened. When I got the chance to talk to him after our meetings, one-on-one, I told him I appreciated him, I loved him for everything he did for me and that I was blessed to be able to sit back and watch him and develop a little bit and learn from him because he's, honestly, he's gonna be a Hall of Famer at some point. I truly believe that and hopefully he gets a ring to be able to add on to what he's done."

One way they can leave him a parting positive memory is by beating Dallas and not only helping Quinn's new team while also improving themselves to .500 on the year.

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