Chicago Bears: Why Roquan Smith needs to play big on Sunday

As the Chicago Bears get ready to take on the New Orleans Saints, they will need their star middle linebacker to step up.

The Chicago Bears have high expectations for Roquan Smith, their starting middle linebacker. After leading the team in tackles last season with 121, excitement ran wild at the thought of how good he could be in just his second year in the league. Add to that the dynamic, attacking style defense brought in by Chuck Pagano, and the sky seemed to be the limit.

While he’s still second on the team in tackles this season, despite missing a game, it hasn’t felt like he has impacted the game so far this season in the way fans might have hoped. Granted, much of that could very well be attributable to the personal issue he is dealing with that caused him to miss Week 4. In Week 5 against the Oakland Raiders, he appeared a step behind, which is uncharacteristic of what fans have seen from him thus far.

However, with an extra week of rest for both his body and mind, the hope is he will come out strong against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday — and boy are they going to need him to play big.

That’s because of how the Saints’ backup quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater, likes to attack the defense. So far this year, he is only attempting 6.9 yards per pass attempt, which is good for 23rd in the league.

In addition, the team may be without their star running back, Alvin Kamara, who is dealing with a high ankle issue. Even if he does play, expect him to be somewhat limited.

As a result, that will place even more of the burden on Bridgewater, who will try to dink and dunk his way down the field, using those short passes as long handoffs.

Therefore, it’s imperative that Smith is on his game and flying all over the middle of the field, taking those types of throws away, or limiting them to minimal gains. It was the same game plan that crushed the Bears against the Miami Dolphins and Green Bay Packers (in the second half of game one) last year, and to a certain extent, what Derek Carr did to them in Week 5.

If Smith isn’t active, making plays, it could be a death by a thousand paper cuts for the Bears, especially without Akiem Hicks to provide pressure up the middle.