The Leonard Floyd revenge game was bound to happen.
Seriously, where has this been:
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1320900754874327040
Leonard Floyd with the jab/cross chop/club sack.
He closes the distance & baits the blocker with the jab step to make him shoot his hands/freeze his feet. Floyd now has the blocker lunging at him. That allows him to attack the hands & get by the OL! #passrush #larams pic.twitter.com/YOP2kNrHea
— DLineVids (@dlinevids1) October 27, 2020
Leonard Floyd putting pressure on the QB. Worked 1/2 man leverage & executed a beautiful jab/cross chop/club. If you beat the hands, you beat the man! #passrush #larams #rams pic.twitter.com/cAcIuq8bhL
— DLineVids (@dlinevids1) October 27, 2020
Tell me last night’s game didn’t mean the world to Floyd:
Rams OLB Leonard Floyd, who the Bears released this offseason, has a game ball and won't let it go during his postgame press conference. He had 2 sacks. pic.twitter.com/3MRISFt72H
— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) October 27, 2020
Remember when playing across from Khalil Mack was going to make Floyd better? Or that his work with Mack in the room would unlock the potential that rested within the long-limbed Uber-athlete from Georgia? Even Richard Dent offered his services. Floyd would have a big game here and there, but consistency never followed. So with that in mind, I expect a vocal segment of fans will rue the Bears’ decision to let Floyd walk after watching him show out last night. Floyd seems to have found some new tricks for his bag and I think Aaron Donald’s is rubbing off on him.
And yet, part of me doesn’t blame GM Ryan Pace for cutting ties when they did. Floyd had seven sacks in his final 32 games with the Bears. Just because he had two last night and already has four this season (or one more than he had all of last year) doesn’t nullify good process regarding the timing of parting ways. Although, it highlights what seems to be a core problem with the front office’s decision-making.
Because rather than re-allocating money saved into an offense that we knew needed help back in March, Pace continued to bankroll the defense by signing Robert Quinn. Sure, I still like Quinn as a ballplayer. And I understand the desire to fortify a pass-rush that could slow down quarterbacks in a pass-happy league. But I see what the Bears are on offense and wonder if that money could’ve been better spent elsewhere.
And to further drive the stake in my heart, Floyd’s breakout performance put another former Bears employee in the spotlight. Kudos to Rams Defensive Coordinator Brandon Staley for getting the most out of Floyd this year. If you’ll recall, Staley was Floyd’s position coach in Chicago. Then he followed Vic Fangio to Denver after the 2018 season ended. And now I’m wondering if the best DC candidate to replace Fangio wasn’t already right under the Bears’ nose. Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller hears from one NFL executive that Staley will be a head coach “very soon.” Take that for what it’s worth.
