One Way Chuck Pagano Will Handle Khalil Mack Differently

Vic Fangio got 12.5 sacks out of Khalil Mack in 14 games. That should be considered a success in every way. It’s the highest sack total a Chicago Bears defender has had since 1993 when Richard Dent had that same amount. With that said, Fangio did come under some minor criticism last year. Hard to believe given he had the #1 defense in the NFL.

It centered around the ways in which he used Mack at times. Specifically in regards to dropping the superstar into coverage in certain key passing situations. A key example was the loss to the New England Patriots. Despite facing off with Tom Brady, Mack dropped into coverage 18 times. He only rushed the passer 16 times.

Brady was only sacked once and threw three touchdowns in the game. It was a puzzling decision by Fangio that never got a direct answer as to why he did it. Was he protecting Mack’s injured ankle? Was he trying to to keep Brady guess? Whatever it was it didn’t work, and it frustrated a lot of people. Pass rushers are supposed to…you know…rush the passer.

So will things be any different under Chuck Pagano? Data says it should be.

Chuck Pagano likely will dial down times Khalil Mack goes backward

Keep in mind this is still a 3-4 defense. Having the outside linebackers drop in coverage from time to time has its advantages. Still, Mack is who he is. He’s one of the best pass rushers in the NFL. Period. It makes far more sense to have him doing that. Below is a small chart that notes how often Mack rushed the quarterback on passing downs vs. dropping in coverage. Then it shows the notable pass rushers Pagano has coached and how they were used.

• Khalil Mack in 2018: Dropped in coverage 12.02% of the time
• Terrell Suggs in 2011: Dropped in coverage 10.32% of the time
• Robert Mathis in 2013: Dropped in coverage 7.26% of the time

Fangio had Mack rush the quarterback 505 out of 574 chances last year. The other 69 he dropped into coverage. Now a drop of 1.7% might not sound like a lot, but it would equal out to an extra 9-10 snaps that Mack would’ve rushed the passer. Remember that Mack had at least a pressure on the quarterback every 6.91 times he rushed. So the odds favored him getting at least one hurry, hit, or even sack on the quarterback.

Conversely he had one interception and four passes defended in the 69 times he dropped into coverage. That’s an impact play once every 13.8 snaps. It’s clear that Mack is far more effective when he’s allowed to hunt the quarterback. So expect Pagano to let him do that.