Gabriel: Important Questions For Bears Defense Entering Training Camp

By Greg Gabriel--

(CBS) While the Bears' offense has multiple questions to answer when training camp opens this week, it's not close to the many questions the defense has. The defense includes serious personnel questions at all three levels.

The Bears have played basically the same scheme for the last 10 years. It's been a form of Tony Dungy's Tampa-2 scheme, which is an attacking one-gap defense. In 2015, the Bears will be playing a base 3-4 scheme, but new coordinator Vic Fangio's defense isn't the same as some 3-4 defense, such as the one used by the Ravens.

When Fangio was in San Francisco, his defensive linemen were much smaller than the defensive linemen used in Baltimore. While Fangio's scheme has the linemen utilize a two-gap technique at times, they're also utilizing some one-gap principles. Because of that, the scheme uses some smaller, more athletic linemen.

That being said, some of the Bears' defensive linemen from last year should be able to play in this year's scheme.

Defensive line

The big question going into training camp with the defensive line is simple: Are there enough quality players on the line to play this scheme effectively?

During free agency in March, the Bears signed troubled former San Francisco defensive lineman Ray McDonald. Regardless of his off-field problems, McDonald was a quality NFL player and a perfect fit in this scheme. His signing may have changed the strategy the Bears used in the April draft. They drafted only one defensive lineman -- nose tackle Eddie Goldman form Florida State. Had McDonald not been in the fold at that point, the Bears would most likely have drafted another defensive lineman in a strong defensive line draft.

In late May, the Bears released McDonald after he was again arrested on a domestic violence charge.

Until it proves otherwise, this position group is short on talent. Going into camp, Jarvis Jenkins is in line to be a starter at end. Jeremiah Ratliff is a projected starter as well who could play end or nose tackle, where he does have some experience playing in such a scheme. If Ratliff is at end, Goldman figures to be at nose tackle. The main backup will be second-year man Ego Ferguson, whom I feel will play well in this scheme. Ferguson also has the versatility to play nose and end.

While that group gives the Bears four better-than-adequate players on the line, six linemen are needed to have a strong rotation. The other players in the mix all have question marks. Last year's third-round pick, Will Sutton is good fit in the previous scheme but may not be a good fit now. He's a quality football player, but we will find out in camp if he has the skill set to play in this scheme. It wouldn't surprise me if free agent rookie Terry Williams makes a statement in camp to be the backup at nose.

While Lamarr Houston is listed as an outside linebacker, my feeling is that when he's cleared to play in his recovery from a torn ACL, it will be as a defensive end. He has experience in playing end in this type of scheme. If that happens, that could answer the depth question on the line.

Two players who may come on during camp are third-year man Cornelius Washington and the recently signed David Carter. When Carter was at Arizona, he started games and played in the rotation of a similar defense. The light was starting to come on with Washington last year -- but like with Sutton, he may not be an ideal fit.

Linebacker

At linebacker, the big question is who will be the starters? Two spots are locked up, with one being inside linebacker Mason Foster and the other being outside linebacker Pernell McPhee. Both were free-agent acquisitions this spring. Those two give the Bears quality players at two of the four linebacker positions.

Who lines up next to Foster inside is a question mark. It could be Christian Jones, in his second year out of Florida State. It could also be former first-round pick Shea McCellin, who has done nothing to justify his lofty selection. It also might be Jon Bostic.

In my mind, Jones is more of a 4-3 Sam linebacker. He surely has the physical traits needed, but is he instinctive enough? Bostic is similar to Jones in that he has the physical skill set required, but there are questions as to his instincts and reactions.

Opposite McPhee, there are some solid football players. In the case of Jared Allen, he easily can play on his feet from an athletic viewpoint. The question is does he have much left and will he buy into the move to linebacker after years of playing defensive end? He says he has -- his play will let us know for certain. His main competition will be from Sam Acho, who as a rookie at Arizona in 2011 looked like a future star before injuries hurt his development.

A player to watch when he gets cleared to play is Willie Young, who was having a career year last year as a defensive end before injuring his Achilles. When Young returns to form, he could be an interesting guy who plays both up and down in this scheme.

Secondary

Over the last 10 years, we have asked the same question about the secondary going into camp. Who will play safety, and can they play the position well?

In the previous scheme, a lot of pressure was put on the safeties. When Lovie Smith was here, he wasn't satisfied with anyone at the position. In fairness, when Smith moved to Tampa Bay last year, he brought with him dissatisfaction at the safety position and has already gone through multiple starters.

In this new Fangio scheme, I don't think the safeties will be asked to do as much as they were in the Tampa-2 scheme. That will help. Still, we don't know if the Bears have quality players to play the position. Free-agent signee Antrel Rolle has been an excellent player his entire career, but at 32 years of age, how much is left in the tank? I feel certain he can play well this year, but as for the future, who knows.

Ryan Mundy showed flashes last year, but is he really a starting NFL safety? The good news is that he has experience playing with Rolle, as they were teammates in 2013 with the New York Giants. The familiarity will help.

Rookie Adrian Amos has outstanding physical traits, but many in the scouting community felt he was an inconsistent hitter while at Penn State. Over the years, I have found that once a player reaches the NFL, he becomes more aggressive because that means he will earn a paycheck. We will find out shortly if that applies to Amos.

Second-year pro Brock Vereen was highly thought of coming out of Minnesota a year ago but didn't perform well as a rookie. He has to find a way to get noticed early. Free-agent rookie Anthony Jefferson is similar to Amos in that he has good physical traits, but is he a hitter?

Greg Gabriel is a former NFL talent evaluator who is an on-air contributor for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @greggabe.