Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson won the NFC’s Defensive Player of the Week award. Special teams ace DeAndre Carter is getting his flowers for an excellent return that set up a Bears scoring drive. And Darrell Taylor announced his arrival on the scene with a great performance in his debut with Chicago’s football team.
So much so that he was the focal point of Tom Thayer’s weekly playbook segment:
Nothing captures the essence of being a Bears fan like being hyped about a rookie quarterback’s debut only for it to be hijacked by the efforts of Chicago’s defense and special teams. At this point, all you can do is laugh. For whatever it’s worth, laughter is good. And while I’m sure that the day will come when rookie quarterback Caleb Williams has to put on a Superman cape to bail out the defense, we can cross that bridge when we get to it. In the meantime, let’s just enjoy having a defense that can save the day while QB1 tries to get comfortable. At a minimum, we should be sure to not take it for granted.
Darrell Taylor amazes in Chicago Bears debut
Every year, I get excited about Thayer’s Playbook on the Bears’ YouTube channel. Thayer, who was a superb offensive lineman for the Bears from 1985 to 1992, is the long-time radio analyst alongside play-by-play voice Jeff Joniak. And when he breaks down game film, he does it in a way that is simple to understand, digest, dissect, and share with others. In short, Thayer’s insight allows anyone who watches it to become a smarter and better fan. And I definitely felt better and smarter after watching his breakdown of Darrell Taylor’s impact on Chicago’s Week 1 win against the Tennessee Titans.
One of my favorite parts of this particular breakdown is how Thayer highlights Darrell Taylor’s impact on a pass rush helped set up his teammate Gervon Dexter Sr. to make a splash play. Re-watching this play with the accompanying breakdown helps make sense of what the Matt Eberflus defense wants to do to opposing quarterbacks. It also helps put into perspective how much of an impact a quality defensive end can have on this unit. There has been so much obsession about finding a game-disrupting 3-technique defensive tackle. But who is to say that it can’t be a game-wrecker doing it from the outside? Darrell Taylor sure looked the part in Week 1 coming off the edge.
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Teamwork makes the dream work isn’t just some snappy saying I like to throw around for funsies. When it comes to the defensive line, we’ve seen so often how one player’s presence can truly aid others in their attempts to make a play. It’s like that cliché about how a high tide raises all ships. One impactful defensive end can lift the profiles of their teammates at defensive tackle, the other defensive end spot, linebackers, and even the secondary. It all goes hand in hand when you sit down and think about it.
As for my favorite part of the video: The reminder of how awesome Darrell Taylor was in his debut. Remember, Taylor missed some time during practice last week due to an injury. There was concern going into that game about how much Taylor could play and what type of impact he could have with a potentially limited snap share. But when the dust settled after Week 1, Taylor ended up playing on 59 percent of the team’s defensive snaps and stuffing the stat sheet to the tune of 2 sacks, 2 tackles-for-loss, 2 quarterback hits, and a forced fumble. Now, that is how you make a good impression.