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When Chicago Bears defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett went through the self-evaluation process after the team's 2025 season, he came away with three main goals for his players.
"Number one, we got to attack the line of scrimmage better," Garrett told reporters last Thursday. "We got to be more disrputive to create TFLs, create more opportunities for drop back passes so we can go rush, and then two, we talked about being more consistent. You can see flashes of good play, but we want to see consistent. If you can do it once, you can do it again. We want to see more consistency with the guys, and then we want to affect the quarterback. So, you know, pressure, hits, batted balls, any way to affect the quarterback. ..."
Garrett mentioned how he can help his players improve in those goals is to focus on the pass rush mechanics, and it starts with improving the get-off.
"If you don't get off the ball, it's hard to get there," Garrett said.
The Bears' defensive line coach also emphasized having better body lean, meaning the pass rusher can't stand up and try to work their move at the line of scrimmage and simply finish on the quarterback.
[READ:Bears 2026 OTAs: Top 3 Storylines Surrounding Dennis Allen's Defense]
Going back to the team's get-off, Chicago's defensive line was one of the worst units in the NFL last season.
According to Next Gen Stats, the Bears finished last in team average time to pressure (2.90) and team average pass rush get-off (0.93).
Diving deeper into some of the individual stats from last season, there are plenty of Bears listed for the slowest time to sack the quarterback. (Seconds)
It makes since why the Bears were so inconsistent rushing the quarterback in 2025 and why there is such an emphasis to improve the pass rush going this season.
The Bears didn't add any new edge rushers in free agency or the draft, and outside of a sixth-round pick that was used on Jordan van den Berg, it's primarily the same unit returning.
According to the Chicago Tribune's Brad Biggs, the Bears "brought in A.J. Epenesa for a workout last week." The Buffalo Bills defensive end had 2.5 sacks last season and had 21.5 sacks through his first five seasons with the team.
Regardless if the Bears bring in another edge rusher, the team must develop their internal talent, starting with finding ways to generate a quicker pass rush.
Continue reading...
"Number one, we got to attack the line of scrimmage better," Garrett told reporters last Thursday. "We got to be more disrputive to create TFLs, create more opportunities for drop back passes so we can go rush, and then two, we talked about being more consistent. You can see flashes of good play, but we want to see consistent. If you can do it once, you can do it again. We want to see more consistency with the guys, and then we want to affect the quarterback. So, you know, pressure, hits, batted balls, any way to affect the quarterback. ..."
Garrett mentioned how he can help his players improve in those goals is to focus on the pass rush mechanics, and it starts with improving the get-off.
"If you don't get off the ball, it's hard to get there," Garrett said.
The Bears' defensive line coach also emphasized having better body lean, meaning the pass rusher can't stand up and try to work their move at the line of scrimmage and simply finish on the quarterback.
[READ:Bears 2026 OTAs: Top 3 Storylines Surrounding Dennis Allen's Defense]
Going back to the team's get-off, Chicago's defensive line was one of the worst units in the NFL last season.
According to Next Gen Stats, the Bears finished last in team average time to pressure (2.90) and team average pass rush get-off (0.93).
Diving deeper into some of the individual stats from last season, there are plenty of Bears listed for the slowest time to sack the quarterback. (Seconds)
- No. 06 -- Andrew Billings (7.26)
- No. 21 -- Gervon Dexter Sr. (5.98)
- No. 30 -- Austin Booker (5.77)
- No. 75 -- Tanoh Kpassagnon (5.05)
- No. 76 -- Montez Sweat (5.04)
- No. 78 -- Chris Williams (5.04)
- No. 105 -- Grady Jarrett (4.81)
- No. 136 -- Dominique Robinson (4.53)
It makes since why the Bears were so inconsistent rushing the quarterback in 2025 and why there is such an emphasis to improve the pass rush going this season.
The Bears didn't add any new edge rushers in free agency or the draft, and outside of a sixth-round pick that was used on Jordan van den Berg, it's primarily the same unit returning.
According to the Chicago Tribune's Brad Biggs, the Bears "brought in A.J. Epenesa for a workout last week." The Buffalo Bills defensive end had 2.5 sacks last season and had 21.5 sacks through his first five seasons with the team.
Regardless if the Bears bring in another edge rusher, the team must develop their internal talent, starting with finding ways to generate a quicker pass rush.
Continue reading...
