First and Final Thoughts: A chance to seal it at Soldier

Share

Welcome into First and Final Thoughts, one of our weekly columns with a title that's a little too on the nose. Here we'll have Insider J.J Stankevitz and Producers Cam Ellis and Paul Aspan give some insight into what's on their minds between games.

Final Thought on Week 14

J.J. Stankevitz: Can we give some love to Sherrick McManis for the work he put in on Sunday night? A guy who’s been labeled as a special teams ace, and not much else, stepped in for an injured Bryce Callahan and played well for 36 snaps against one of the best offenses in the NFL during the second half. The Rams targeted McManis four times, per Pro Football Focus, and he allowed three catches for 18 yards – and, notably, only one yard after the catch. McManis was sent on a blitz five times by Vic Fangio and pressured Jared Goff on three of those plays.

This isn’t the first time McManis has made an impact on defense this year – he had a tremendous game against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3 – but consider this: The 36 defensive snaps McManis played on Sunday were more than he played during the entire 2017 season (31). If the Bears are without Callahan for any period of time – Matt Nagy said the Bears should know more about his foot injury by Wednesday – McManis will have to take on an increased role the likes of which he hasn’t had since 2015, when he played 29 percent of the Bears’ defensive snaps. But after seeing what he did against the Rams on Sunday night, perhaps he’ll be up for the task.

Paul Aspan: Akiem Hicks is the absolute MVP of this team. He made the biggest play of the game, helping to force the INT to Kyle Fuller right after the offense committed a pretty brutal turnover of its own. Nothing new that Hicks is making key plays on a weekly basis but he might be the most unheralded DT in the league. With all due respect to Aaron Donald and the likely defensive player of the year season he’s having but what Hicks is doing in a mostly 3 technique & 1 technique this season is some of the most disruptive of a DT playing that far inside the line and me thinking shades of Warren Sapp.

Cam Ellis: We place some sort of arbitrary value on 100 rushing yards, as if it's *that* more impressive than 99 or 98 or 97. It's dumb. With that said, it's nice to see Jordan Howard get over 100 yards -- and against a stout Rams defense, no less. This year surely hasn't played out like Howard envisioned it would, and just because he didn't get moved at the deadline doesn't mean his future in Chicago is set in stone. If the Bears are going to roll into the playoffs with this defense-first mentality, they'll need a run game along side it. Watching Howard rumble between the tackles was enjoyable to watch. 

First Thought on Week 15

Stankevitz: The Bears know as well as anyone that if you give Aaron Rodgers an inch, he’ll take it a mile. Even after losing to the woebegone Arizona Cardinals and firing Mike McCarthy, the Packers still have that inch in the NFC playoff race – at 5-7-1, they’re only one game behind the current six-seeded Minnesota Vikings, who fired offensive coordinator (and former candidate for the Bears’ coaching job) John DeFilippo on Tuesday. While the Vikings have the tiebreaker over the Packers, it’s not inconceivable to see Minnesota’s season flame out along with the sagging playoff hopes of the Eagles (6-7), Panthers (6-7) and Washington (6-7). And you know who shouldn’t be counted out? Aaron Rodgers.

If the Packers are able to beat the Bears this week, their final two games are eminently winnable: At the Jets, and home against the Lions. Winning out means an 8-7-1 record and, potentially, a trip to Chicago for the wild card round of the playoffs. The Bears would do well to drive a stake into the Packers’ heart this weekend and remove the specter of Rodgers from playoff contention once and for all.

Aspan: No letdown. Sounds ridiculous after that performance but it’s still Aaron Rodgers in a place he apparently feels pretty comfortable in at soldier field. The Bears should drive a stake into the heart of the Packers for their own well being, especially considering what happened week 1. Factor in the Seahawks win over the Vikings you can start making your plans for a Chicago playoff game in January. The only question is how many. 

Ellis: Rogue Aaron Rodgers is the most dangerous Aaron Rodgers. Just ask the Falcons. 

Contact Us