Bears' Hicks credits secondary for team's improvement
Lineman Akiem Hicks was arguably the Chicago Bears' defensive MVP last year, and he's been even better this year.
But Hicks credits the secondary with the defensive improvement the Bears have shown while rising to No. 7 in the league in total yards allowed. The Bears are also No. 9 in passing yards allowed and No. 6 in average gain per pass play allowed.
"They're firing on all cylinders," said Hicks, who got his sixth sack Sunday, 1 less than last year's career-best 7. "They're getting after everybody; they're aggressive. The intensity that our secondary has been playing with has just been awesome."
Cornerback Kyle Fuller is playing the best football of his four-year career and displaying eye-opening physicality after missing all of 2016 with a knee injury. Fuller's 8 pass breakups lead the team and his 34 tackles are second to linebacker Danny Trevathan's 39.
"There was a play yesterday where Kyle came up and smacked Cam Newton's legs out from under him," Hicks said. "(Fuller) got up, and I saw this (look) in his eyes. I don't know what it was, but he was ready to go.
"I had never seen his eyes that wide. Cam's like 6-8 (actually 6-5) and Kyle's like 5-9 (5-11). You ever seen a Chihuahua fight a pit bull? Neither have I, but I bet it's not pretty."
More than takeaways:
A week ago, safety Adrian Amos (90) and nickel corner Bryce Callahan (52) combined to give the Bears 142 yards off interceptions, and Amos took his pick to the house.
Sunday, rookie safety Eddie Jackson contributed 151 yards with a 75-yard fumble return and a 76-yard interception return, both for touchdowns.
"Whether they're fumbles or interceptions, we practice that way," coach John Fox said. "We're scooping and scoring on incomplete passes now in practice. Working on that transition from defense to offense has helped us the last two weeks, and (we have a) better understanding of our packages and some of the schemes we're doing.
"You're seeing that comfort level executed better. Guys know where each other are supposed to fit and what they're supposed to do, particularly in the coverage element."
Conservative approach:
In 2006, when he was the Carolina Panthers' head coach, John Fox's quarterback Chris Weinke completed 4 of 7 passes for 31 yards in a 10-3 victory over the Falcons in Atlanta.
"We didn't get much credit for this, but that was when we kind of invented the Wildcat," Fox recalled. "We played a running back (rookie DeAngelo Williams) at quarterback a lot that game. You do what you have to do to win. We controlled the clock.
"It allowed us to run the ball pretty effectively, shorten the game and get a 'W.' We didn't call it the Wildcat. We called it 'Memphis' and 'Tiger' because (Williams) played at Memphis, (and) he had done that in college."
It's cold out there:
The Bears' 29th annual winter coat drive is under way, with a goal of collecting 25,000 winter coats for those in need, especially children.
New and gently used coats can be dropped off at any of 187 participating Jewel-Osco stores through Jan. 1. For questions on how to receive a coat, call the Salvation Army at 773-725-1100. Over 22,200 coats were donated last year. For more information, go to ChicagoBears.com/community.
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