Veteran LB Positioning Made Simple

Analysis: Bears worry about scheme fits at some positions but apparently at linebacker it's not as important.

For a team so worried about the type of players they put at defensive tackle and offensive tackle, the Bears almost seem entirely unconcerned about the linebackers.

Perhaps it's simply the high quality of veteran player involved or maybe the simplicity of their required task.

The team long ago announced linebacker Tremaine Edmunds would be playing middle linebacker and T.J. Edwards the weakside spot. This distinction had to be made because both played middle linebacker before signing in Chicago as free agents.

"Well, Edmunds will be inside at the Mike linebacker, T.J. will be outside at the Will," defensive coordinator Alan Williams said Friday. "It's not something that he (Edwards) hasn't done before. They'll be fine.

"It's football. It's not rocket science in terms of what we’re asking them to do. Both of them are run-and-hit guys. Both of them are smart, they're intelligent, they understand schemes, they understand formations, they understand coverages, they understand run fits and they are instinctive."

Some speculation after the two signed had expected the opposite assignments, with Edmunds in the playmaking weakside spot which seems so valued by this scheme. It was Eberflus last year who said the three technique tackle is important and plays "to the hit" off the three technique tackle.

In both players, they apparently have similar enough skill sets that it may not matter. 

However, playing Edmunds in the deeper coverage position makes sense because of his 6-foot-5 height and long arms. This wasn't offered up as an explanation, though.

"Flus would say this, the No. 1 skill of a backer is to hit the football," Williams said Friday. "We don't make it any more complicated than that. If both of them do that, they'll be fine at those two spots."

In the run up to the draft, Bears GM Ryan Poles was asked about why they hadn't tried to sign tackle Orlando Brown Jr., who later signed with Cincinnati.

"Yeah I'm not going to get into the specific player, but the scheme match is a big deal there," he said.

So scheme apparently matters with a tackle but not so much linebacker.

The three technique tackle is another example of this, where they drafted Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens but some other different sized defensive tackles were available.

"I think when you have a scheme fit, a guy that has a skill set and then can turn into your scheme and you're asking guys to do certain things when they match up, that's when a guy can really flourish," Williams said. "So, you can be better than maybe what your talent can allow you to be.

"When you match up both, one plus one equals three. That's what you're looking for when you match it."

Williams thinks they have the defensive line fit with Pickens and Dexter for attacking three techniques.

"Ryan Poles has found, coach Flus has found great guys that fit our scheme," Williams said. "So, we think they'll be even better than maybe what they were before in terms of production."

As for the two linebackers?

Apparently it's pretty simple at the position: Run and hit. And Edmunds and Edwards can both do it.

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