{"id":143135,"date":"2023-07-29T16:55:09","date_gmt":"2023-07-29T20:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=143135"},"modified":"2023-07-29T16:55:42","modified_gmt":"2023-07-29T20:55:42","slug":"bears-robinson-gipson-edge-eberflus-poles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/07\/29\/bears-robinson-gipson-edge-eberflus-poles\/","title":{"rendered":"Bears EDGE Rushers Sound Off Amid Calls for Upgrades"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Chicago Bears boasted an anemic pass rush last season, <a href=\"http:\/\/pfref.com\/pi\/share\/Qs9jT\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">recording just 20 sacks<\/a> with only six of them coming from the EDGE position.<\/p>\n<p>This offseason, they added <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/07\/29\/bears-rookie-ol-gets-honest-about-mean-streak\/\" target=\"_self\">Rasheem Green<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/07\/28\/brisker-sounds-off-different-vibe-bears\/\" target=\"_self\">DeMarcus Walker<\/a> in free agency to incumbents <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/02\/06\/potential-bears-offseason-cut-candiates\/\" target=\"_self\">Trevis Gipson<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2022\/10\/26\/bears-trade-robert-quinn-eagles-draft-pick\/\" target=\"_self\">Dominique Robinson<\/a>. But, even with those additions, there have been calls for an upgrade either via trade for free agent signing to beef up what was the NFL\u2019s 32nd-ranked pass rush. And general manager <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2022\/05\/01\/chicago-bears-gm-ryan-poles-sends-strong-message-about-plans-for-roster\/\" target=\"_self\">Ryan Poles<\/a> and head coach <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2022\/06\/16\/matt-eberflus-message-to-bears-come-back-lean-fit-and-strong\/\" target=\"_self\">Matt Eberflus<\/a> freely said they will add if things align properly.<\/p>\n<h2>Young Bears Get Honest About Calls for Pass Rush Upgrades<\/h2>\n<h3>Dominique Robinson: \u2018This is a Business\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cThat don\u2019t bother me at all,\u201d Robinson said on July 29. \u201cI understand that this is a business, man. I was here last year when they was bringing a dude in almost every other week. So it is what it is. If they want them in, they want them in. If they don\u2019t, they don\u2019t. I know what I need to do to be here, and I\u2019m gonna continue to do that. So it is what it is \u2013 I\u2019m not in that discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robinson, 25, is a converted wide receiver, though he insists that part of his game is gone.<\/p>\n<p>He did note that he was getting by on athleticism rather than technique last year as a rookie fifth-round pick (No. 174 overall). And that he was disappointed in his 1.5-sack effort.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">How &#39;bout those rookies?! \ud83d\udc40 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/domrob_22?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@domrob_22<\/a> records his first NFL sack <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/daETqXsbFW\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/daETqXsbFW<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChicagoBears\/status\/1569015444127744001?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 11, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Similarly, Gipson enters the season as the longest-tenured lineman. But one who is also admittedly coming off a disappointing campaign. Gipson, 26, seemed on the verge of a breakout after recording 7.0 sacks in 2021. He was the third end behind established veterans <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2022\/09\/12\/khalil-mack-against-las-vegas-raiders\/\" target=\"_self\">Khalil Mack<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2022\/01\/02\/the-chicago-bears-close-out-home-schedule-with-robert-quinn-making-history\/\" target=\"_self\">Robert Quinn<\/a> who set the Bears&#8217; single-season sack record the year before.<\/p>\n<p>Mack was traded last offseason, and Quinn at the deadline. Gipson responded with 3.0 sacks. That tied with defensive tackle <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2022\/09\/27\/chicago-bears-al-quadin-muhammad-trevis-gipson-dominique-robinson\/\" target=\"_self\">Justin Jones<\/a> for second behind safety <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/07\/28\/brisker-sounds-off-different-vibe-bears\/\" target=\"_self\">Jaquan Brisker<\/a> which offers a glimpse into just how maligned this group was last season and why there is such little faith in their ability to improve enough to consistently make a positive impact.<\/p>\n<p>Gipson said he hasn\u2019t paid attention to the chatter on social media about himself or the team\u2019s need for another pass rusher.<\/p>\n<p>He also added that he is excited about how the new additions will help the team.<\/p>\n<h3>Trevis Gipson \u2018Appreciative\u2019 of Last Season\u2019s Struggles<\/h3>\n<p>But the biggest thing for Gipson as he heads into the final year of his rookie contract will be how he bounces back. He graded his sophomore season as a \u201cD\u201d. To that end, he\u2019s also entering the season with confidence in his offseason work.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel really good,\u201d Gipson &#8212; a former fifth-round pick (No. 155 overall in 2020) &#8212; said. \u201cHonestly, I\u2019m more confident\u2026I\u2019m appreciative for the parts of my game that got exposed, as hard as that is to say. But I\u2019m an honest man, and that\u2019s how it is. When you get a weakness exposed, you have no other choice but to strengthen it, and that gives me confidence going into this year, knowing, especially, that I put in the work.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Do your thing, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/trevisgipson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@trevisgipson<\/a> \ud83d\ude08<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcfa: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CHIvsGB?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#CHIvsGB<\/a> on NBC <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kDBGKn8rqz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/kDBGKn8rqz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChicagoBears\/status\/1571659558778437632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 19, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Working in Gipson\u2019s favor, Green, 26, is coming off a 3.5-sack campaign with his career-high of 6.5 sacks coming in 2021. Meanwhile, Walker\u2019s 7.0 sacks last season were a career-high mark &#8212; his previous best was 4.5 sacks in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>There is an opportunity for anyone who seizes it during the preseason, and there are plenty of question marks for the Bears in that EDGE group right now. Only then, during live game action, will they truly be able to tell who can do what when called upon.<\/p>\n<p><em>Main Photo: Jeff Lange \/ USA TODAY NETWORK<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two young Chicago Bears EDGE rushers opened up about the calls for the team to upgrade their position and the upcoming season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2879,"featured_media":143137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[54,23],"tags":[7657,7544,1666,9474,3923,8823],"class_list":["post-143135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials","category-bears","tag-bears-featured","tag-chicago-bears-roster","tag-demarcus-walker","tag-dominique-robinson","tag-rasheem-green","tag-trevis-gipson"],"modified_by":"Josh Buckhalter","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2879"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}