According to the old saying, you can’t teach old dogs new tricks.
The Bears and Jared Allen hope to disprove that in 2015. The arrival of defensive coordinator Vic Fangio means that the Bears are moving away from the 4-3 base defense that Allen has played defensive end in throughout his career. That will force Allen away from his customary role as a defensive end after a rough first year in Chicago, something that Fangio thinks will revitalize the veteran pass rusher even if the move isn’t as all consuming as it might appear.
“He did well in the minicamp we had here, and I think he was excited about it,” Fangio said, via ESPN.com. “Like I told him, I think he can have a rebirth to his career here playing a little bit of a new position. But in the NFL today, you play more nickel than you actually play base. For some teams they play nickel 65 to 75 percent of the time. He’ll be playing his normal position then. So it’s not as drastic of a change as you might think.”
If LaMarr Houston and Willie Young make complete recoveries from a torn ACL and Achilles, respectively, the Bears are going to have a variety of options off the edge along with Allen and Pernell McPhee. Chances are that Houston and Young need some time to ramp back up to full speed, which will make Allen’s quick transition all the more significant for Chicago.