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The Chicago Bears have a lot of new faces on the defensive side of the ball. However, one of the more intriguing players to watch this training camp is linebacker Jared Allen.
Allen has dominated offensive tackles for over a decade. He’s accumulated over 130 sacks during his career and has earned himself five Pro Bowl appearances and four All-Pro selections. Allen earned all those accolades as a defensive end in a 4-3 defensive scheme.
With Marc Trestman out, former defensive coordinator Mel Tucker was shown the door with him. Enter new head coach John Fox, as well as new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. With Fangio, the Bears are switching to a 3-4 defense which is going to affect Allen, as well as the other edge pass rushers on the team. With Fangio, they now shift to the outside linebacker position.
Allen had always been adamant throughout his career that he had no interest in ever rushing the passer in a 3-4 defense. Back in 2011, the Minnesota Vikings were considering switching to a 3-4 scheme. Allen went on record to say that he had no interest in playing on such a defense and went as far to say that he hoped the Vikings had enough respect for him that if they made the switch, they would allow him to leave for another team without any issues. The Vikings never switched and it never became an problem.
Things have changed for Allen. Coming off his least productive season of his career, Allen is set to make $12.5 million this season, all of which is guaranteed. Based on his age (he’s 33), and his production last season, he has no trade value at all. He is going to be a Chicago Bear in 2015 whether he likes it or not. Allen protesting the switch to a 3-4 defense would have been futile and only put him in a bad light with the new coaching staff.
To Allen’s credit, he hasn’t complained one bit about the switch. Allen has stated he’s excited about it and is looking forward to a resurgence this season, not only for himself, but for the entire Bears’ defense. Allen has embraced the fact that his body will take less of a pounding this year rushing from the outside linebacker position and now realizes that the switch is something that could substantially help him at this point in his career.
Fangio is very excited about how Allen looks from his new position. He’s excelled at OTAs and at minicamp and Fangio is expecting big things from him in 2015. Allen will be interesting to watch in training camp, especially when we get to preseason games. How Allen handles game action from his new position is something that all Bears fans should keep their eye on. This is the final season with any guaranteed money on Allen’s contract, so if he doesn’t perform, this will be his final season in Chicago. But if the early returns are any indication, look for Jared Allen to recover and perform well in 2015.
Bill Zimmerman is a featured writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter or like him on Facebook.
