The Chicago Bears defense has four players on injured reserve who were starters this season and could be without three others who are listed as doubtful to play Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
And yet, Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio seems to be taking it better than most:
VIc Fangio on the number of injuries piling up on defense for the #Bears: "A good carpenter never blames his tool; he just finds a way to get the thing built."
— Josh Frydman (@Josh_Frydman) December 7, 2017
Injuries have piled up for a Bears team that really couldn’t afford them. And in the last two weeks, they’ve dealt with injuries to two of their best young players.
Adrian Amos missed the team’s Week 13 loss against the San Francisco 49ers because of a hamstring injury. Amos has been a revelation at safety in place of Quintin Demps, earning Pro Football Focus’ second highest grade among players at the position. Prior to missing some time starting in the team’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 12, Amos played 100 percent of the team’s defensive snaps in six straight games and missed just one snap dating back to Week 4.
Losing Eddie Goldman would be a significant blow to a defensive line that had been playing stellar ball for most of the year. Having already lost Mitch Unrein to a season-ending knee injury, Goldman looked to have finally shaken the injury bug that nagged him in his first two seasons. Goldman missed four games his rookie season and 10 more in 2016. He has started in all 12 games this season and played on 65.3 percent of the total defensive snaps.
After two lost years under Mel Tucker, the Bears defense seems to have found an identity under Fangio. Because even when his unit hasn’t been at full strength, the defense has performed admirably (or better) more often than not.
Fangio has plugged in Christian Jones, John Timu, and Nick Kwiatkoski in place of Jerrell Freeman and Danny Trevathan. He watched Amos re-emerge as a starter when Quintin Demps went down with an injury. Rookie Eddie Jackson earned his trust and stopped the revolving door at safety. Sam Acho has played well (especially against the run) in a pinch since Willie Young and Leonard Floyd went out with injuries. Kyle Fuller rewarded Fangio’s patience by playing well in place of Prince Amukamara, so well, he has unseated free agent Marcus Cooper at starting cornerback.
Head Coach John Fox is on the hot seat and his time in Chicago looks to be coming to a close. But it’s not the defense’s fault things have gone south as quickly as they have. Fangio has helped keep the Bears fighting when it would have been easy to throw in the towel weeks ago. No wonder he is expected to be a hot commodity when he becomes a free agent at season’s end.