Mitch Trubisky has drawn most of the anger from Chicago Bears fans this year and that's no surprise. His play, for the most part, has warranted such criticism. However, the focus of former Bears players? They've started to zero in on a different target. Brian Urlacher already called out the defense for their late-game collapses this year against the likes of Oakland and the Chargers. Then they came dangerously close to doing it again last Sunday against the Lions and a backup quarterback. Some believe a big reason for this has been the lagging impact of Khalil Mack.
There is no question the 28-year old pass rusher is still their best player, but he's also one who has been invisible for long stretches this season. Mack has just one sack in the past five games. A stat that is highly uncharacteristic of him and it's drawn the attention of former Bears defenders. Ed O'Bradovich and Dan Hampton, two former defensive line great for Chicago, were especially disgusted with his play after the game and called him out on WGN Radio.
A furious Hampton got things started with a bang.
"Where the hell is Khalil Mack? This guy has turned into a thief...Any team has got to have a certain leader, a guy that you look at and say that’s the guy we’re gonna emulate and follow (and Mack has not been that guy)."
O'Bradovich agreed and made clear how much is expected of Mack by breaking down exactly the kind of money he's getting paid.
"Can you have a bad game? Yes you can. You can't have five bad games. Not when you're making $141 million for six years, which if he plays about 50 plays a game brings it down to about $30,000 a play. He better walk on water, which he has not been doing."
Khalil Mack seems to really miss Akiem Hicks
The most biting words though came from former Bears receiver Glen Kozlowski. He called into the show and addressed every issue the team is dealing with. In regards to Mack, he mentioned something that should be genuinely concerning in regards to why he's not playing well.
"Khalil Mack. As good as he was last year, he's non-existent this year. Now I'm watching this guy take himself out on critical plays because he's tired. He's out of shape and that defense is out of shape."
Given how poor they look late in games, it's hard to argue with that point. It would be one thing if Mack were injured, but he has yet to appear on the injury report this season. No doubt a lot of his impact wasn't helped by the loss of Akiem Hicks, whose ability to demand double team didn't allow opposing offenses to constantly double or triple-team him. That said, defensive lineman Nick Williams now leads the team with six sacks, so it's not like the interior pass rush presence has completely vanished.
Mack has 5.5 sacks and three quarterback knockdowns this year. He had 12.5 sacks and eight QB knockdowns in 14 games last year. The Bears need him to be a star right now and he's creating enough impact plays. This doesn't mean he's been bad. There is still plenty of evidence that he's forcing offenses to avoid him, but it's not enough. The Bears need more.
