Bear Digest

What Ryan Poles and Bears liked with Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and now need

Analysis: Getting a ton of sacks from their new edge rusher might be wishful thinking but the Bears have something they really need from him as well as other young edges.
Gene Chamberlain|
Joe Tryon-Shoyinka attempts to bring down Bijan Robinson of the Falcons. Tryon-Shoyinka was a Tampa Bay first-round pick who was just watching in Cleveland and the Bears need pressure from him on the QB.
Joe Tryon-Shoyinka attempts to bring down Bijan Robinson of the Falcons. Tryon-Shoyinka was a Tampa Bay first-round pick who was just watching in Cleveland and the Bears need pressure from him on the QB. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

In this story:

Chicago Bears

The pressure is on Austin Booker now. It will be on Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, too.

They need to make sure it's not on Montez Sweat, at least to a greater degree than normal.

Obviously the Bears need an edge rusher who is going to rush the passer opposite Sweat, and to date the efforts of injured Dayo Odeyingbo probably have impressed no one.

In Tryon-Shoyinka, GM Ryan Poles said he was impressed in the past from a game with Tampa. Tryon-Shoyinka had six pressures and two sacks in that game.

"Just the athleticism, the length, really more of the tape in Tampa," GM Ryan Poles said Wednesday. "we didn't get a lot of the tape in Cleveland but really the that you saw in Tampa there's a lot of traits both in the run game and pass gam. Love the effort, the range and the motor that he has.

"Very similar style style, probably a few more traits than Dom (Robinson) but like a similar style to like Dom, reliable and dependable."

Odeyingbo's season ended with one sack and six pressures. Those numbers for eight games scare no one, but there was one thing he did that the Bears are going to find it difficult to replace. At least according to Pro Football Focus grades, it wasn't defending the run as the Bears claimed he did well when they signed him because Odeyingbo is graded  worse at this (94th of 119 edge players) than he was at rushing the passer (89th of 119).

Odeyingbo, at least, drew some double team attention from opponents. The Bears need someone who can do this because the focus of everyone's pass blocking is always Montez Sweat.

According to a PFF assessment of double-team and chip blocks being thrown, Sweat gets chip-blocked 12.37% of pass plays and double-teamed on 41.94% of his 186 pass rushes.

This was with Odeyingbo healthy and playing.

While this might seem like a lot of attention devoted to Sweat, he wasn't exactly highest among edge rushers in percentage of double-teams faced at 41.94%.  He ranked 24th.

Still, he had the most total double-teams total and one thing they sold everyone on was how Odeyingbo could help take some of those off of Sweat. He actually did this because he was double-teamed at a 38.95% rate according to PFF.

Whatever Tryon-Shoyinka and Booker do, they need to start absorbing some of the blocking attention themselves even if they don't pile up sacks. The same is for Dominique Robinson when he returns from what was called a high ankle sprain.

The Bears won Sunday's game with a miracle pass but a strip-sack by Booker gave them the chance for three points that loomed large in a close game.

Sweat had a big sack earlier in the game, and has three in the last three games.

If the Bears want the pass rush to continue making this kind of contribution, they're going to need those double-team blocks and chips absorbed more by their new acquisition and Booker so it occurs.

"I feel really good about the move we made," coach Ben Johnson said. "I think our guys will step up as we get going here in the second half of the season.

"I think Sweat is starting to come on. I thought Book had a good start there to the second half with that first game (back from injury). And so I think we're going to be in a pretty good spot here up front."

More Chicago Bears News

Sign Up For the Bears Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Chicago Bears Newsletter

X: BearsOnSI

Published | Modified
Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.