NFL Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears’ 3-4 Scheme Will Bring Challenges For Defensive Ends

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By @ClydeASpeller

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What many speculated when John Fox and Vic Fangio became the Chicago Bears’ new head coach and defensive coordinator duo was confirmed yesterday — the Bears will switch to a 3-4 defensive alignment to start the 2015 NFL season. This change will alter the responsibilities of many players in Chicago’s front seven, including defensive ends Jared Allen, Lamarr Houston and Willie Young.

Last year, Chicago acquired the trio of defensive ends via free agency in attempts to revamp a defense that was historically bad. As a result, Allen finished the season with a disappointing 5.5 sacks, and Houston tallied just one of his own before tearing his ACL in a blowout loss in Week 8. Young was the lone bright spot of the three, ending the 2014 campaign with 10 sacks before injuring his Achilles.

This transition will definitely be a challenge for all three players for different reasons. In addition to being highly familiar with the 4-3 scheme, both Houston and Young are recovering from gruesome injuries. At this point, no one knows how healthy they will be for organized team activities and training camp. If a switch to linebacker is what Fox and Fangio have in mind for Houston and Young, then they will not only have to fight back against injury, but also against potential free agents and rookies from this year’s draft.

As for Allen, the 32-year-old has spent his entire 11-year career as a 4-3 defensive end. Making a transition as an outside linebacker may be difficult for the NFL’s ninth all-time leading sacker. Furthermore, Allen has shown some reluctance in the past to switching to an outside linebacker in a 3-4. While playing for the Minnesota Vikings, Allen stated that he wanted to end his career as a defensive end. That was in 2012. However, recently Allen said that he was optimistic about what Fox had planned for Chicago’s defense. So with the 3-4 now set in stone, we’ll see if Allen is all in or not.

Overall, I feel that the Bears’ choice of playing a 3-4 is a great one. The scheme is something both Fox and Fangio are familiar with, and both have proven to have significant success under it. But will Allen, Houston and Young benefit from this change? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Clyde A. Speller is an NFL writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClydeASpeller.

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