Jay Cutler and the underachieving offense may get all of the headlines, but it was the defense that was the main culprit of the Chicago Bears' disappointing 5-11 record last year. Chicago's secondary was shredded on a weekly basis, finishing 2014 ranked 30th in yards (264.4) and opposing completion percentage (66.8) and 31st in touchdowns (34) and opposing passer rating (101.7).
Unfortunately, the situation doesn't look much better heading into 2015. The Bears chose to address the front seven with their second-round pick (defensive lineman Eddie Goldman) and invested free agent dollars into Pernell McPhee, Mason Foster, Jarvis Jenkins and Ray McDonald. That could prove troublesome this year.
"...that means the Bears will bring back virtually the same secondary that spearheaded the 29th-ranked pass defense in 2014, according to Football Outsiders' DVOA Rating," Sterling Xie of Football Outsiders wrote. "Kyle Fuller was a legitimate defensive rookie of the year candidate at the end of September but tailed off significantly after tallying three interceptions in his first three games. By the end of the year, our charting ranked him as the most-targeted cornerback in the league, and his 9.6 adjusted yards allowed per pass ranked 68 out of 77 qualifying corners."
Unsurprisingly, Xie highlights Chicago's secondary as the team's biggest weakness. I'm pretty sure you're going to need a decent pass defense when you play Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford and Teddy Bridgewater twice a year.
Chicago's current crop of defensive backs are either aging or ineffective. Antrel Rolle and Tim Jennings may have something left in the tank, but both of them are on the wrong side of 30. The same goes for Ryan Mundy and Alan Ball. Demontre Hurst and Brock Vereen are younger but neither is a consistent contributor. All in all, the Bears need to start investing in long-term players for the secondary if they want to compete in the NFC North.
"Even if you want to chalk up Fuller's second-half struggles to the injury cocktail he played through, the 2014 first-rounder might be the only defensive back on the roster worth keeping past 2015."
