ESPN analyst Booger McFarland who does work for Monday Night Football knows what good players look like. Especially on defense. He played alongside some great ones including Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, Ronde Barber, Dwight Freeney, and Robert Mathis. Those experiences led to two Super Bowl championships. One at the expense of the Bears in 2006. So when he speaks so glowingly of young defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris, it's worth taking note of.
McFarland spoke with Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic about the lead up to the Bears' visit to Washington to play the Redskins. It didn't take long for 41-year old to gush about the former undrafted free agent. He sees a player that is coming into his own. One that can be physically dominant whenever he decides he wants to. If this is the case, that Bears defense will become even more dangerous than they already are.
“Ninety-five, Roy Robertson-Harris, he’s physically dominant,” ESPN’s Monday Night Football analyst Booger McFarland said. “When he wants to turn it on, it is amazing to watch. … 95 would really be the guy who is under the radar.”
Robertson-Harris was utterly dominant in the opener against Green Bay. He sacked Aaron Rodgers twice, made a tackle for a loss and was generally unblockable for long stretches of that game. His problem isn't ability. The young man has loads of it. To this point, his primary issue has been consistency.
Roy Robertson-Harris must figure out how to keep the gas floored
The first two games of the season perfectly encapsulate this. Robertson-Harris was unstoppable against Green Bay. Then the next week in Denver he was almost invisible. No sacks or pressures on the QB with just one assisted tackle. This is reminiscent of last season. Bursts of strong play followed by absence the next week. It seems that Robertson-Harris has discovered his deeper recesses of talent, but hasn't figured out how to channel it every week.
This is where the Bears are trying to get him. If they succeed, then they have another stud up front for their defensive line that already features Akiem Hicks and Eddie Goldman. It would also be another feather in the cap of GM Ryan Pace who has done a tremendous job finding quality players in both the late rounds of the draft and undrafted free agency. It will be interesting to see how he responds on Monday night.
