Cal Football: Top 10 most valuable Bears in 2009 - No. 3

June 19, 3:48 AMCal Bears ExaminerRob Calonge

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Bishop? Davis? Whoever takes Follett's job had
better play well.

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• No.   9 - Marvin Jones
• No.   8 - Tyson Alualu
• No.   7 - Place Kicker
• No.   6 - Syd'Quan Thompson
• No.   5 - Derrick Hill
• No.   4 - Kevin Riley

After naming two special teams players and two offensive players to the top 10 most valuable Bears list, we are at No. 3 - which ends up being the fourth defensive player named.

Rest assured that the offense isn't being neglected on this list.  All players on the team are important for the role that they have, but these players will need to either step up and excel at their roles, or the Bears, and especially their fans, could be looking at another letdown.

Zack Follett leaves big shoes to fill as he saunters off to the Detroit Lions to continue his career as a pro.  Bear Backers know how important Follett was to the team.  The transition to the 3-4 defense only allowed Follett to better showcase the tenacity that those who had watched him in the 4-3, already knew he had.  He'll be sorely missed, and that's not an indictment on his replacement.

That's why his replacement lands on the list of MVB's at the No. 3 spot.  Right now, that replacement is Devin Bishop, but he'll have to beat out JUCO transfer Ryan Davis this summer if he is to be the heir apparent to last year's Bears defensive captain.

The position that the two will be fighting over is the weak side outside linebacker spot, otherwise known as the 'Jack' linebacker.  The starter at this position will be the ever-important rush linebacker for the Bears.

This will arguably be the biggest question mark on the team going into the season.  Davis hasn't played at the FBS level and Bishop has played sparingly.  The stats below tell the tale.

Cal can't expect to get Follett-type numbers from this position in 2009, but if one of these guys can come close, the Bears defense could strike fear in the hearts of their opponents.  The Jack linebacker needs to make somewhere in the neighborhood of 70-plus tackles, and should be good for at least seven sacks in 2009.  Otherwise, the burden placed on the rest of the defense could be cause the opposite of 'fear' for their opponents.

This decrease in production may put added pressure on the rest of the defense, but since Follett held this position so tightly, nobody on the team has much experience playing in this spot.  That's a problem, (unless they find the next Follett), and it's also why this position / player is sitting at No. 3 on this list.

Poor play at the 'Jack' could change the entire look of the defense - and not in a good way.

~ Check back on Monday as we continue with the No. 2 MVB for 2009 ~

I couldn't pass up showing this after finding it on Thursday. I'm not really sure why Follett did this, but he doesn't seem tentative about it at all.