Gervon Dexter thought he had a fair idea of how different defenses could look. He played in a system that prioritized stopping the run at Florida, looking to control two gaps. However, things changed once he joined the Chicago Bears. Head coach Matt Eberflus wanted him to go forward, attacking the line of scrimmage and shooting into the backfield. His approach was simplistic, meant to help his players think less and react faster. It certainly worked in a sense. Dexter had five sacks and 19 quarterback hits last season.
One would think he'd be reluctant to shift schemes at this stage, just as he's coming into his own. That was before he got a taste of what Dennis Allen brought to the table. He admitted the new Bears defensive coordinator operates on a completely different level from what he thought possible.
"Coach Allen's defense is a lot of different, you know what I mean? He throws in a lot of different fronts, a lot of different ways to get after the quarterback and stuff like that. So I think being the type of guy I am, I can play in a lot of those different fronts. So just being in it and he'll move guys around the way, and the offense - he'll switch it up on the offense. It’ll be good for not only me, but everybody on the defensive line and on this defense."
Where Eberflus trained his players to play with maximum effort and win their one-on-one battles, Allen aims to play the chess match, finding them advantageous matchups to exploit.
Gervon Dexter should be thrilled about Allen's arrival.
The defensive coordinator is at his best with players who are versatile. Nobody can argue that the young defensive lineman lacks that. His size and power allow him to battle inside with the guards and centers, while his length enables him to shift outside to the edges. Allen is no stranger to players of that type. David Onyemata made a killing in New Orleans for years playing a similar style. Gervon Dexter is considerably more talented. The interesting part will be how the Bears plan to move him around this season. That was something Eberflus only did in spurts last year. Perhaps Allen will increase the frequency, moving Dayo Odeyingbo inside at the same time.
