Whatever happened to Dennis Allen's blitzing Chicago Bear defense?

In fact, the opposite happened and there are reasons.

Bears blitz rate

According to Stathead/Pro Football Reference, the Bears have blitzed 12% of passes. That's the next-to-lowest percentage of blitzing in the league. Even Matt Eberflus used to blitz more often with his Bears DBs and linebackers.

Pro Football Focus broke it down to Jaquan Brisker being the player who blitzes most, even though he had appeared to agree last week on social media with a fan comment saying they needed to turn him loose.

Brisker blitzed only nine times on 112 pass plays. Slot  cornerback Nick McCloud blitzed three times on 96 passes, safety Kevin Byard three times in 112 plays, cornerback Nahshon Wright three out of 98. Jonathan Owens' high percentage of three blitzes in 16 plays is mainly because he's playing on short yardage and goal line.

Tremaine Edmunds and the linebackers mug the the A-gap blitz all of the time, but Edmunds actually then blitzed only three out of 109 plays and Noah Sewell three out of 94 plays.

Allen hasn't suddenly become timid. Part of the pressure idea is their man-to-man  coverage. Press coverage is pressure just like a blitz is. They have played man-to-man coverage about a quarter of the time and even that is low.

However, the blitzing abstinence can be explained a few ways.

The blitzers are still nursing hamstrings. Their replacements need to focus on playing the position rather than getting carried away with adding pressure.

Linebacker T.J Edwards blitzed 49 times and slot cornerback Kyler Gordon 48 last year, by far the most of all the player who were not defensive linemen and part of the regular pass rush. Edwards blitzed 77 times and Gordon 40 the previous year.

This was in a scheme known for keeping players in zone coverage and not pressuring. The Bears were actually 19th at blitzing last year but that was a high point for Eberflus.

Reputation exaggerated?

The truth is, Allen only really blitzed at a higher rate prior to when he took over as head coach in New Orleans. The Saints ranked in the top half of the league in blitzing from 2018-20 when he was the defensive coordinator. After Sean Payton left and Allen took over, the blitzing dramatically dropped and the Saints even blitzed less than the Bears did in three of the last four seasons.

It's all enough to make you think hype doesn't match reality, but 12% is an abnormally low amount. Anticipate it rising once the two blitzers are back to full health.

The Bears have gotten by defensively by taking away the ball but also with a strong third-down defense. At 30.3% on third down, they are second in the NFL.

Until they can improve the run defense from next to last in yards allowed per attempt at 5.5, they'll always be struggling to an extent.

If they solve this problem, then anything is possible, even more blitzing.