Wolfe finding a 'special' role
No Bear has accomplished this season what Garrett Wolfe did last week against the Philadelphia Eagles, when he had 4 solo tackles on special teams.
And no one on coordinator Dave Toub's NFL-best special teams made more tackles in a single game all of last season.
The Bears' special teams will no doubt play another key role in today's game against the Detroit Lions, and Wolfe could lead them again.
Pretty impressive for a neophyte who, before last season, hadn't covered a kick since he was a freshman at Oak Park's Fenwick High School. He transferred to River Grove's Holy Cross High School for his final two years, where he was rushed for 4,311 yards.
At Northern Illinois, Wolfe began his career as the sixth-team tailback but became the first player in Mid-American Conference history to lead that league in rushing, scoring and all-purpose yards for three consecutive seasons. His career per-game average of 156.5 rushing yards at NIU has been surpassed only three times in NCAA Division-I history - by O.J. Simpson, Herschel Walker and Ed Marinaro.
You usually don't ask a player with those credentials to cover kicks. But the NFL is different, especially for a 5-foot-7 running back who is generously listed at 186 pounds.
Wolfe may carve out a specialized role as a ball carrier, but he likely will never be a featured back in the NFL.
But special teams? In high school and college, that was for players who weren't good enough to start.
"Being the third running back on the depth chart, (specials teams) was something that was mentioned to me last year, and it was something I didn't want to do because I had never done it before," Wolfe said. "But as the season progressed, I wasn't doing anything, and I wanted to help this team win and be a part of the team winning."
Funny how carrying the ball an averaged of two times a game and catching a pass every couple weeks can change a guy's attitude about special teams. You just have to get your mind right.
Said Wolfe: "The hardest part was just the 'want to.' With football, everything's about want to, just like blocking in the pass game. If you don't want to do it, you're not going to do it. You have to make sure you understand what's needed of you, and you have to want to do it. It's about an attitude. I want to go out there and make plays."
But Wolfe is honest enough to admit that he didn't immediately throw himself completely into the task the first time he was asked to cover a kick.
"Last year against the Texans, it was absolutely foreign to me because I hadn't done it," he said. "I wasn't attacking, I was getting attacked because my whole mind-set was totally different than it is now."
The result was predictable.
"I think it was about three or four times I ran down," Wolfe said. "One time the return actually came to us, and I didn't make the play. Back then it was just like, 'Well, I didn't want to be out there anyway, so it wasn't a big deal.' That was a preseason game by the way, make sure we clarify that. But now I'd be very upset if I didn't make the play."
The change in Wolfe's special-teams play in just over a year and his ability to tackle when he's spent most of his football life avoiding tackles has been remarkable.
"It's a little surprising," Toub said. "But I never questioned his toughness, and he never makes the same mistake twice. When you've got a guy like that it's a plus."
Toub hasn't forgotten Wolfe's early efforts at kick coverage, though.
"It might have been the first time he'd ever done it," the special-teams coordinator said. "It looked like it last year. But he's really stepped it up for us, and he doesn't miss a tackle."
Wolfe, who credits everyone on special teams for making his job easier, takes pride in doing whatever he can to help the team. And he downplays his recent accomplishments.
"I consider myself an athlete, and I'm just going out there making what's coming to me," he said. "It's not like I'm going above and beyond. These are plays that are coming to me and I'm just doing my job."
And doing it extremely well for the new guy.