The countdown is on, Chicago Bears fans. Training camp is just around the corner. The practices will officially be underway come July 30, and this year will be quite different than years past for several reasons.

Most notably, the Bears have switched from their traditional 4-3 defense to a 3-4, under new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Chicago brought in Fangio, formerly of the San Francisco 49ers, in order to build the unit back up to an elite group like years past. One of the very first orders of business for Fangio, is to find out who will anchor the Bears’ defense up front.

Fortunately for Fangio and the Bears, they should be all set going into training camp. Veteran defensive tackle Jeremiah Ratliff returns to a team that gave him a second chance after his abrupt ending with the Dallas Cowboys. Ratliff has performed well for Chicago when on the field, and is exactly the type of player Fangio is looking for to hold down the line up front.

The one thing Ratliff will need to improve upon is the lack of playing time he’s been able to give the Bears. Over the past three seasons, Ratliff has missed 26 games — five last season due to two separate injuries. When on the field, though, Ratliff has produced. In 11 games last season, Ratliff registered 6.5 sacks but was one of the only guys who had anything to do with stopping the run — if you could call it that.

Chicago’s defense was miserable a season ago, and that’s the reason Fangio was brought in. Fangio has had top 10 defenses quite often in his career, most recently of course with the 49ers. Ratliff is enjoying his system thus far during his offseason program and is excited to get on the field in September.

“The best thing to me is it’s all about being aggressive and making this our defense,” Ratliff told Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune. “Playing this scheme is enjoyable to me. As a player, you always want to be able to put your stamp on things and make it your own within the structure of the defense. And this system definitely allows for that.”

Aside from Ratliff, Chicago has rookie second-round pick Eddie Goldman out of Florida State to rotate in when the veteran needs a breather. Goldman was regarded as one of the better pure nose tackle prospects in this year’s NFL Draft, and Ratliff can already see a future star.

“He came in with great feet for a big man, great speed,” Ratliff told Wiederer. “And his hands? You don’t have to say anything to him about that. He knows what he’s doing there.”

Fangio also had a hand in drafting Goldman, putting in his two cents on the 320 pound rookie. Some close to the organization even said that Fangio “hand picked” Goldman in the second round, and that he was actually hoping Goldman would drop to Chicago. It looks like Fangio got his wish, and Goldman will be a guy who can come in right away and give the Bears solid time at the nose.

Among many position battles in this year’s camp, nose tackle shouldn’t be an issue. The Bears have two solid guys up front who are essentially a lock to make the roster.

Ryan Heckman is a writer for www.RantSports.com covering the NBA and NFL. Follow him on Twitter, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.

 

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