In the movie The Program, the coach asks his line backer what his assignment is on the next play as the team is studying game film. Alvin Mack, the line backer, regarding the first play response is, “Kill the Quarterback.” Then the next play response is, “Hit the tight end so hard his girl friend dies.” The final play response is, “KILL EVERYONE.”

The Chicago Bears last season let the quarterback live as they torched their defensive unit with an insane amount of points per game. The Bears as a group only had 20 sacks which is the lower levels in the deep waters of the NFL. The Bears had done a nice job improving their defense over the course of the season, adding big names to improve that terrible defense of 2022. Overall, the team has improved on both sides of the ball through free agency and the NFL draft. The defense was still missing one ingredient – a guy that actually can kill the quarterback on any given Sunday. The Bears finally addressed that missing ingredient by signing the best still available in defensive end Yannick Ngakoue.

Yannick Ngakoue last season played for the Indianapolis Colts and had a pretty good year wearing the blue horse shoe on his helmet. Ngakoue played in 15 games and tallied up 9.5 sacks with 16 hits on the quarterback and forced one fumble. Ngakoue is 28 years old and has played in the NFL for seven seasons as he started his career in Jacksonville. The Jaguars drafted Ngakoue in the 3rd round in the 2016 draft. In 2017, Ngakoue was part of that 2017 Jaguars defense that took that team all the way to the AFC Championship game. Ngakoue was all-pro that year as he led the league in forced fumbles with 6 and racked up 12 sacks. The Bears will be Ngakoue’s 6th team as he also suited up for the Vikings, Raiders, and Ravens. In 110 games, of which 102 of them have been starts, Ngakoue has 65 career sacks and 21 forced fumbles.

Last season, Jaquan Brisker led the Bears with 4 sacks as Matt Eberflus’ defense had to go through turnover as the GM Ryan Poles traded away many of the veterans he inherited from the last regime. The Bears added some talented line backers to the defense in free agency, as they gave former Bills defensive leader, Tremaine Edmunds, a big deal to come play in Chicago. The Bears did address their defensive line adding DeMarcus Walker, who had a career year playing his only season with the Titans. Walker had 7 sacks – by far his most ever he had in one season. You have to go back to 2020 when Walker wore a Bronco uniform & he tallied 4.5 sacks his last season he played in Denver. The Bears have been hoping Trevis Gipson has a rebound year. Then the Bears have a few other guys like Dominique Robinson and Rasheem Green in their rotation that are not guys known to get to the quarterback. Obviously, the Bears defense improved, but they still had kinks in the armor and bringing in Yannick Ngakoue gives this unit a threat that opposing offenses have to watch out for.

Why is Yannick Ngakoue still available when training camps are already in session? The first thought that comes to mind is that Ngakoue can be a cancer in the locker room. Maybe he wants way too much money? The Bears signed Ngakoue to one year deal for only 10.5 million which 10 was guaranteed. Ngakore has left money on the table in the past with the Jaguars. Everyone wanted to leave Jacksonville back then because the team quickly regressed the year after making it to the AFC championship and the team did not have a quarterback. Ngakoue tried the Ravens, Vikings, and the Raiders thinking they had a chance to win. Ngakoue waited for the team that he thought has a chance to win and could utilize his talents and that is the Bears, which might be the perfect marriage. This is a one year deal and an easy risk with high ceiling if it works out. I like the fact that Ngakoue has never missed more than two games in a season since he started in 2016 with the Jaguars. I think Ngakoue will work well with Matt Eberflus’ defense. The Bears have a wrecking crew at their linebacker positions. They have some nice things in their secondary. Ngakoue can do his thing and will not feel like he has to take the entire team on his back like Khalil Mack did a few seasons ago. Most importantly, Ngakoue has a track record in his career. You know this guy will get close to ten sacks and has the knack for forcing fumbles which my memory serves me well on. The Peanut Punch by Charles Tillman had some epic turnovers with those teams from the early 2000’s. Ngakoue’s presence will get the respect by opposing teams. If he does not actually get the sack, he can cause havoc with his pressure to force the opposing quarterbacks into mistakes. I can see a hit early in the game can cause the quarterback to think in his head, where is the guy. Ngakoue’s pressure can make others better like DeMarcus Walker on the other side of the line. The Bears have not used all their money for their salary cap as they are not looking to spend it like a drunken sailor, as in past years paying for stupid players you don’t need. A one year deal for Ngakoue’s talents is bravo and finally I’m glad the new regime realizes you need guys that can kill the other team’s quarterback.