Gervon Dexter is a new man. Truly.
The Bears are asking a lot of the second-year defensive tackle this season by making him the de facto starting three-technique tackle. It’s an essential piece in head coach Matt Eberflus’ defense and Dexter knows it, so he fully transformed his body to ensure he’s as prepared as possible for the challenge.
“I just tried to get in marathon shape,” Dexter said.
That included running both on hills and on the track, going through a “strongman” workout and improving his eating habits. The results are instantly noticeable. Dexter looks trimmer and more athletic this year and says he replaced body fat with lean mass. He also says he feels a difference on the field.
“I can move around easier, I can go longer… being leaner helps me get off the ball faster. Being leaner helps me penetrate faster.”
That’s key for what Eberflus wants out of his three-techniques. As soon as the ball is snapped, Eberflus wants the three-tech in the opponents’ backfield ASAP. That was a pain point in Dexter’s development as a rookie last year. At Florida, Dexter played a read and react type role. He was responsible for two gaps. Here, he’s asked to just pin his ears back and disrupt a single gap.
There was a bit of a learning curve as Dexter made the transition last year, but he says all of that is behind him now. His teammates agree.
Chicago Bears
“I’ve seen his get off change,” said nose tackle Andrew Billings, who lines up right beside Dexter. “He’s really improving on his get off.”
The next step for Dexter is to develop into a consistent force. That’s why he picked up the marathon training, and it’s also why he opted to participate in the defensive end conditioning instead of the defensive tackle conditioning.
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“(The DEs) run a little longer with less time, so I felt like my body was ready to do that.”
Eberflus and the rest of the defense repeat the word “finish” a lot throughout the year. It was something they struggled to do in the ends of games in the early parts of last season. The Bears might’ve gotten out to a lead, but too often they let an opponent snatch victory away in the waning moments. Dexter hopes that with his new body type he’ll be able to finish better individually. That should help the team finish as a whole.
“The good ones can do it one or two plays, but the ones that go down as great ones are consistent in being able to play one through the fourth quarter.”
