For the Chicago Bears, Gervon Dexter Sr. is gaining critical reps and using them.
Chicago, Illinois, The Chicago Bears had hopes of using Florida native Gervon Dexter Sr. to address some defensive line problems when they selected him with the 53rd overall pick. Despite a sluggish start to the season, Dexter Sr. produced one of his greatest performances to date in the Week 10 victory over Carolina. The former Gators product has intriguing skills in his arsenal for stopping the run and passing.
Additionally, as the weeks pass, the rookie feels as though he is improving further and further.
Dexter declared, “I feel like I’m getting better every week.” “I definitely haven’t hit my stride yet, I still have a lot to improve on and work on for sure.”
In the victory over the Panthers, Dexter nearly recorded his first sack of the season with three pressures and a QB hit toward the end of the game. He’s improving as a three-technique player, as evidenced by the fact that he played twice as many snaps (29 total) against the Panthers compared to just 14 in the defeat to the New Orleans Saints.
Dexter remarked, “It feels good to play a little more.” “To feel a little bit more trusted by my coaches. From last week to this one, he is liking what he is seeing. It is fantastic to know that they and my teammates beside me have faith in me.”
The Bears line has seen a shift since Montez Sweat joined the team as defensive end. And one of the first instances of that was the victory over the Panthers on Thursday.
Sweat had ten pressures during the game, and even though he didn’t record a sack, it gave Dexter and the other players on the line more opportunities.
On Thursday, the defensive lineman had some one-on-one pass rush opportunities and almost had a sack. He easily defeated the right guard to put pressure on quarterback Bryce Young. Young managed to get away from Dexter, but Yannick Ngakoue quickly brought him down to close out the play and earn one of the Bears’ three sacks for the game. It demonstrated how the defense had to take into consideration a player like Sweat in addition to Dexter earning his rep, which resulted in positive outcomes.
After the game, Dexter remarked, “I just knew that, when you get the slide or the slide away from you will get the one-on-one.” “When you have those one-on-ones, you have to win them. All I need to do is keep winning one-on-one matches, keep competing, keep learning, and keep improving as the year goes on.”
repeating as Bryce Young
This past Thursday night was the third time Dexter and Bryce Young had faced off since their SEC college days. The Crimson Tide prevailed in a high-scoring match between the two teams in the 2020 SEC Championship. The following season, they faced off once more in Gainesville, with Alabama winning that match as well.
Young was the first overall pick in the draft, so Dexter was eager to prove as a fellow rookie what he was capable of. He used what he learned from facing Young a few times in college for this game, and it was his chance to do it on primetime television as well.
Dexter responded, “Yeah, for sure it does,” when asked if he felt any additional motivation. “He plays the game well. Astute sportsman. It was a lot of fun to play against him once more. I recalled that he was a very basic player, though even as a college player he was a little more skilled at quarterback and had a quick release time. He can extend plays with his legs and get out of gaps if you let him.”
He added that after losing the first two meetings with Young in his career, he now has a victory over the man.
