Smith To Get More Snaps This Week

[Bearfacts]

I would hope so but this also brings up a question. Which ILB position does Smith play?

Against GB Kwiatkoski played the "Jack" ILB position generally off the line and on the left side of the offensive formation which is typically a coverage and pursuit position. Trevathan played the "Mike" typically assigned to specific gap between the NT and the DE. IMHO this should be reversed but that's another story.

If Smith replaces Kwit does he play "Jack" or "Mike"? When we drafted him my belief is that he would play as "Jack" ILB off the line and in a similar role to that which Briggs played in a 4-3 as a WLB where he was a coverage and pursuit guy. But all spring and summer long the Bears seem to indicate he would play the "Mike" spot.

Because of his size and with his speed and his pursuit and tackling ability I'm having a tough time reconciling this in my mind. Anyone wanna chime in on this with their own thoughts. Where was he spotted later in the game? I didn't notice. When he replaced Trevathan for a few plays it was at the "Mike" position.


https://bearswire.usatoday.com/2018/09/ ... -seahawks/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Matt Nagy: Roquan Smith in position to 'definitely play more' vs Seahawks

By: Lorin Cox | 3 hours ago

Roquan Smith is getting closer and closer to the starting lineup.

Matt Nagy won’t give the eighth-overall pick the job yet, but he did indicate that the Chicago Bears rookie linebacker will have a bigger role in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks.

Last week against the Green Bay Packers, Smith played only eight snaps, but he sacked DeShone Kizer on his first ever play in the NFL, earning himself a bigger role moving forward.

Nick Kwiatkoski will still get the start next to Danny Trevathan, but Smith could take the field in more passing situations. He was not on the field for a running play in Week 1.

The Bears are taking it slowly with their first-round pick, so it may still be another few weeks before Nagy hands over the keys to the middle of the defense.

[GSH]

read the thread title and thought 'is whitehair THAT inaccurate?'

[Bearfacts]

read the thread title and thought 'is whitehair THAT inaccurate?'

Aw damn, never thought about "snap" being confusing but you're right.

[GSH]

haha, no its obvious what you meant i was just trying to be funny.

Ill get my coat.

[Bearfacts]

haha, no its obvious what you meant i was just trying to be funny.

Ill get my coat.

[Bears Whiskey Nut]

Trevethan needs to be the Mike. He's going to make all the calls for the defense. Smith has all the speed in the World to play sideline to sideline.

[Bearfacts]

Trevethan needs to be the Mike. He's going to make all the calls for the defense. Smith has all the speed in the World to play sideline to sideline.

Those are my thoughts as well but after the draft and OTAs there was all this talk about Smith learning the defense and calling signals like he had at Georgia. It's been confusing so why I ask what others take on it is.

[DaSuperfan]

More snaps as in Smith will get the start? Because that's needs to happen if his conditioning is ready.

[Bears Whiskey Nut]

Trevethan needs to be the Mike. He's going to make all the calls for the defense. Smith has all the speed in the World to play sideline to sideline.

Those are my thoughts as well but after the draft and OTAs there was all this talk about Smith learning the defense and calling signals like he had at Georgia. It's been confusing so why I ask what others take on it is.

Here's my thing. When Trevethan was calling the plays last year, our defense was really solid. When he was out, the D dropped off significantly. Danny is the QB of the defense right now. There is NO reason to heap that responsibility on Roquan right now. Let him go out and play fast and loose.

[Bearfacts]

Trevethan needs to be the Mike. He's going to make all the calls for the defense. Smith has all the speed in the World to play sideline to sideline.

Those are my thoughts as well but after the draft and OTAs there was all this talk about Smith learning the defense and calling signals like he had at Georgia. It's been confusing so why I ask what others take on it is.

Here's my thing. When Trevethan was calling the plays last year, our defense was really solid. When he was out, the D dropped off significantly. Danny is the QB of the defense right now. There is NO reason to heap that responsibility on Roquan right now. Let him go out and play fast and loose.

I'm hoping that's how they play it especially since it's Kwiatkoski he's replacing and Nick has no business playing in the "Jack" role in coverage and pursuit. I expect to see Smith and Iggy as our two ILBs eventually provided Iggy works out as well as I believe he can. He's another guided missile type.

[Mikefive]

It just seems obvious that Smith should play the Jack. Let DT call the plays and be the more of a run stopper. Let Smith use his speed and run around. The odd thing is that we're starting two guy right now who seem better as Mikes than Jacks.

[Middleguard]

Trevethan needs to be the Mike. He's going to make all the calls for the defense. Smith has all the speed in the World to play sideline to sideline.

Those are my thoughts as well but after the draft and OTAs there was all this talk about Smith learning the defense and calling signals like he had at Georgia. It's been confusing so why I ask what others take on it is.

I can't find anything now to back myself up, but shortly after the draft I remember talk that Smith was to be groomed to eventually replace Trevathan and be the play caller and Iyiegbuniwe would be groomed to play along side him as Jack. But this year I understood that Smith would play Jack and Iyiegbuniwe would play Bench.

[Bearfacts]

It just seems obvious that Smith should play the Jack. Let DT call the plays and be the more of a run stopper. Let Smith use his speed and run around. The odd thing is that we're starting two guy right now who seem better as Mikes than Jacks.

Exactly which is why all the previous talk about Smith learning to call signals has been confusing.

Although he weighed in at 236lbs at the Combine the Bears have him listed at 225lbs vs Kwiatkoski and Trevathan who are around 240lbs. The best spot for him now seems clear based on that alone.

[Bearfacts]

Trevethan needs to be the Mike. He's going to make all the calls for the defense. Smith has all the speed in the World to play sideline to sideline.

Those are my thoughts as well but after the draft and OTAs there was all this talk about Smith learning the defense and calling signals like he had at Georgia. It's been confusing so why I ask what others take on it is.

I can't find anything now to back myself up, but shortly after the draft I remember talk that Smith was to be groomed to eventually replace Trevathan and be the play caller and Iyiegbuniwe would be groomed to play along side him as Jack. But this year I understood that Smith would play Jack and Iyiegbuniwe would play Bench.

That makes some sense for now but even long term I can envision Iggy more as a "Mike" ILB.

[Moriarty]

[*] We haven't seen much of him, but I suspect Iyegbuniwe's niche is backup Will & special teams ace
https://www.nfl.com/prospects/joel-iyie ... 4b27f70999" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[*] Roquan is in no way a Mike. He got mauled by traffic at the college level.
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[*] Kwitkowski isn't starter material

[*] A lot of people seem all in on cutting Trevathan before his contract is up (and believe me, I don't like how much we're spending at ILB), but I don't see anyone on this roster currently who is a remotely adequate replacement.

[Sugashane]

[*] We haven't seen much of him, but I suspect Iyegbuniwe's niche is backup Will & special teams ace
https://www.nfl.com/prospects/joel-iyie ... 4b27f70999" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[*] Roquan is in no way a Mike. He got mauled by traffic at the college level.
" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[*] Kwitkowski isn't starter material

[*] A lot of people seem all in on cutting Trevathan before his contract is up (and believe me, I don't like how much we're spending at ILB), but I don't see anyone on this roster currently who is a remotely adequate replacement.

Agree. I think Iyegbuniwe's speed might be used to replace Kwiatkoski in passing situations. He might be viewed as a nickel LB as well. If DT does down next year, he and Nick might rotate based on down situations.

[Bearfacts]

[*] We haven't seen much of him, but I suspect Iyegbuniwe's niche is backup Will & special teams ace
https://www.nfl.com/prospects/joel-iyie ... 4b27f70999" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[*] Roquan is in no way a Mike. He got mauled by traffic at the college level.
" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[*] Kwitkowski isn't starter material

[*] A lot of people seem all in on cutting Trevathan before his contract is up (and believe me, I don't like how much we're spending at ILB), but I don't see anyone on this roster currently who is a remotely adequate replacement.

I've always been seeing Smith as a "Jack" ILB playing off the ball. But remember, much like Floyd, Smith played very light at Georgia. He was less than 220lbs but weighed in at 236lbs at the Combine and still ran a 4.5/40. If they expect him to play "Mike" he'll most likely need to be somewhere around 235-240lbs.

Kwiatkoski could handle the "Mike" role but at present he's out of position. Once Smith replaces him IMHO he'll back both spots for now 'til they see where Iggy fits. One of them or Smith may eventually replace Trevethan but when is the question. He's still in his prime years and even in 2019 $7.65 mil isn't a cap killer as long as he's healthy.

[HisRoyalSweetness]

Interesting Sun Times article on Smith.

Key comments from Fangio:

" really liked the way [Smith] played [against the Seahawks]. [He] had some really nice plays. Good tackler. Obviously, he can run, and we're thrilled to have him."

However, Fangio pointed out that Smith had "a couple missed tackles we didn't like", which he said was a result of Smith missing training camp and also had this to say about the Seahawks late TD drive:

"We started playing a coverage there at the end of the game [that] when we put it in and worked on it the most, [Smith] wasn't there in training camp. Smith didn't execute [the coverage] like we wanted him to at the end of the game there, which allowed some of those completions. That's more on me than him because I should have realized that he wasn't there when we worked on it and made sure he was honed up on it."

Smith's holdout has hurt this team, but Mack's arrival and impact has mitigated it. Hopefully as the season progresses Smith will catch up on what he missed in camp and in the meantime the high standards being set by those around him will cover for his mistakes. He's clearly got talent and should be great in time, he's just behind where he should have been.

With Floyd's club coming off and being replaced with a brace this week, Lynch showing up against the Seahawks after a poor effort against the Packers, Robertson-Harris making his presence felt, Trevathan playing the best he has since he arrived in Chicago, and more to come from Smith... this defensive front could get even better as the season progresses. Isn't that an exciting prospect!

[G08]

Smith's holdout has hurt this team

*cough* UOK *cough*

[Bearfacts]

I expected coverage would be an issue for Smith until he practices and plays more. He's giving up too much room in the zones but save for one missed tackle I saw at LOS in the open field his closing speed is much greater that Kwiatkoski's and he's a very sure tackler.

Hopefully we have another Lance Briggs in him only even better.

[Bears Whiskey Nut]

I had posted this link previously. I think it was in the War Room right after the pick. It's a great video, explaining Smith's strengths and weaknesses. It explains the type of defense that he would excel in, and where he would struggle. After back to back double digit tackle performances, I think we know which defense he is in. Kudos to Hicks, RRH and Goldman for keeping our ILB's free to roam and wreak havoc. Roquan Smith is in the perfect place to exploit his talents.

Roquan Smith