Manning gets job done in secondary and on special teams

Danieal Manning is a man of many positions.

In less than three seasons with the Bears, the former second-round pick out of Abilene Christian has already been a starter at free safety, cornerback and, currently, nickel back. He's also the Bears' top kickoff returner and a contributor on coverage teams.

"He's played quite a few positions around here," coach Lovie Smith said. "And that's saying a lot about what we think about him. We'll ask players to do different things. Your role will change at times. Danieal has accepted every one, but now he's locked in at the nickel position."

Part of the reason Manning has moved around so much has been his own lack of consistency or the coaching staff's decision that another player is better.

On the other hand, he's versatile and athletic enough to have latched onto the extra defensive back spot in passing situations, which means he'll be playing most of the game Thursday night against the pass-happy New Orleans Saints and their prolific quarterback, Drew Brees.

Manning's progress at the nickel spot was evident Sunday against the Jaguars, when he picked off a pass in the opening minutes and returned it 42 yards to set up a 5-yard TD drive, giving the Bears an early lead they never relinquished. The pass from David Garrard was thrown directly to Manning, who was in the right spot at the right time.

"It was an early Christmas present," Manning said. "I was just playing good technique and (everything) fell in place. He threw it right to me. It was almost like a kickoff. I still can't get in (the end zone), but I'm trying."

On kickoffs, Manning has made up for Devin Hester's slump in the return game by taking over and averaging 28.0 yards per return, 6.1 yards more than Hester, and third-best in the NFL.

It seems strange, but Manning said there are similarities between playing nickel and returning kickoffs.

"You have to have instincts in both," said the 5-foot-11, 200-pounder, whose straight-line speed may be superior even to Hester's. "Sometimes you have to set things up. Jump a route one way (in pass defense) and do it another way the next time. Same thing at returning, you have to be able to set some defenders up and set your blocks up."

Smith was as disappointed as Manning that Manning came up 5 yards short of a TD last week, but the feeling is that a return TD is imminent.

"I told him he should have scored on it," Smith said. "A guy that can return like that should be able to get in. He shouldn't let an offensive lineman tackle him. But he's made a lot of progress, and he still has room to grow."