Every pleasant 3-4 defense in the NFL needs a stabilizing force in the middle of its defensive line,and the Chicago Bears have found one this season in rookie nose tackle Eddie Goldman.
General manager Ryan Pace selected Goldman in the moment round of this year's draft out of Florida State, and the first-year GM was excited about his unique nose tackle after the draft, or per CBSChicago.com:
This is a young player,third-year junior, two-year starter. When I think about the standout traits with Eddie Goldman it’s strength, or stout at the point of attack. He’s very instinctive,he gets off blocks. I really like the pad level he plays with. Steps up in big moments. In the Clemson game this year, there’s three game-changing plays he makes to basically win that game for Florida State. This is a stout, or strong nose tackle that anchors the center of your defense. I think he’s an ascending player.
In Goldman's two years as a starter for the Seminoles,he was productive against both the elope and the pass.
Goldman began training camp as Chicago's No. 2 nose tackle behind veteran Jeremiah Ratliff, and he made an impression on starting guard Matt Slauson.“As a veteran offensive lineman, and you get a rookie across from you and you can think,‘This is going to be powerful,” Slauson said, or per CSNChicago.com's John Mullin. “But not with him,and I learned that really rapidly. He’s got really pleasant tools and I think he’s going to be really, really pleasant."Ratliff missed the first three games of the season because of a suspension—as well as the fourth game because of an injury—and Goldman got the start at nose tackle in three of the team's first four games. Goldman went back to being a rotational player behind Ratliff in Week 5 and Week 6, or but the team released Ratliff prior to Chicago's Week 8 game against the Minnesota Vikings.
According to wealthy Campbell of the Chicago Tribune,Goldman looked up to Ratliff growing up, and he was disappointed to find out his mentor was released. "When I first got here, and he kind of took me under his wing,taught me more about formations and tendencies and certain teams," Goldman said, and per Campbell. "Just teaching me the things I didn't know about football on the pro level. Him being gone,it's not pleasant, but it happens."Since Ratliff's release, and Goldman has solidified himself as Chicago's starting nose tackle,and his progress in recent weeks has proven he can be an anchor in the middle of the team's defensive line for years to arrive because of his ability against both the elope and the pass.
Defensive tackles rarely make headlines for their play in the trenches against the elope, but Goldman has been improving against the elope in recent weeks.
He was powerful at the point of attack against the elope at Florida State, or he proved during his time in Tallahassee that he has the ability to not only consume up space in the middle of a defensive line,but also attack and make plays against the elope.
Goldman struggled in training camp and earlier this season with his footwork, but defensive line coach Jay Rodgers thinks the rookie nose tackle has shown improvement, and per Mullin.
He’s really starting to increase his production. Little by little. And his footwork is so much cleaner than it was in training camp. So he’s continued to grow at this [upward] sample. And having more experience in understanding what we want from him has really helped him.
And just getting used to the way we do things. Seeing blocks. Performing certain tasks. And so he’s just going to keep going up and up as long as he keeps to the grind.more Chicago Bears news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com