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Gervon Dexter showing signs he can be the disruptive force the Bears need on DL originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Gervon Dexter literally looks like a new player this year, thanks to his reshaped body. After a few weeks of camp, Dexter also looks like a new three-technique tackle.
Dexter has been spotted in the backfield more often this training camp than he was at the same time last year. He’s picked up the slack with Montez Sweat and Andrew Billings sidelined over the past handful of practices and he’s been a noticeable disruptor in both the run and pass games.
When Dexter dedicated himself to losing body fat and replacing it with lean mass over the offseason, the hope was it would help him develop into an explosive three-tech tackle. It was unclear just how much his slimmed down frame would help, though. Every year players come to camp “in the best shape” of their lives, and it doesn’t always translate to the field. In Dexter’s case it’s helped his conditioning and his overall athleticism.
It’s also helped that Dexter has a much better understanding of the defense in year two than he did in year one. He also has a much better grip on what the Bears want him to do. In college, Dexter worked as a two-gap tackle who needed to read and react to an offensive play. With the Bears he’s a one-gap tackle who simply needs to create havoc at the snap. It’s a major mindset shift that Dexter grappled with last year, but now he says that’s all behind him.
“I know what to expect, I know the playbook, I know what it’s supposed to look like, I know where I’m supposed to be when I finish the play.”
One of the biggest adjustments when moving from a two-gapper to a one-gapper is the “get off,” and that was one of Dexter’s pain points last season. When the ball was snapped, it took a bit longer for Dexter to “get off” the ball, or make his move into a lineman and into the backfield. This camp, coaches see improvement in…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/gervon-dexter-showing-signs-disruptive-213222631.html
Author : NBC Sports Chicago
Publish date : 2024-08-07 21:32:22
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