Getty DL Akiem Hicks has been battling a groin injury this season.
Dan Hampton has seen enough from the Chicago Bears, particularly the defense.
The Hall of Fame defensive tackle and member of the vaunted 1985 Bears defense, like many fans, hasn’t liked what he has seen from the team over the last several weeks, and on the October 31 episode of his weekly in-season podcast, “Hamp & O’B,” Hampton singled out some players for what he perceived to be poor performances.
Hampton and his co-hosts, former Bears defensive end Ed O’Bradovich and WGN’s Mark Carman, broke down Chicago’s 33-22 Week 8 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, and while they were encouraged by the performance of Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields, it was the defense and coaching staff that elicited some pretty intense criticism.
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Hampton Blasts Hicks, Bears Defense After Loss to 49ers
The Bears have lost three straight, and their defense is a big reason why. Against a struggling 49ers team that hadn’t won in 42 days, they let San Francisco’s offense score on literally every offensive position other than the final one, which was a kneel down to end the game. Starting safety Eddie Jackson left the game early with an injury and didn’t return, and it was downhill from there.
The Niners gashed the Bears for 465 total yards and gained nearly 9.0 yards per play on offense. Hampton, who knows a thing or two about stuffing the run, was not pleased with the effort he saw from his former team.
“Eddie Jackson left the game early. How much of a void did that leave? I don’t know. He hasn’t been playing pretty good football for us for a long time,” Hampton said, before noting that Chicago’s ‘D’ also had to compensate for the absence of superstar pass rusher Khalil Mack, who was out with a foot injury.
“Khalil Mack wasn’t on the field, but at some point, the rest of that core … you know, you’re gonna think that some how, some way, Akiem Hicks would make some plays. The only two plays he made all day was when he chased down running backs 30-yards down field in the fourth quarter. We didn’t get the pocket collapsed, we didn’t get turnovers.”
Hicks had four tackles (three solo, one for loss), but that’s it. The team didn’t get a single sack or QB hit, letting 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo — a guy whose job security has been questioned for much of the season — do pretty much whatever he wanted.
“We need other players to step up, and they didn’t,” Hampton added. “(Linebacker Robert) Quinn? Zero today. Akiem Hicks, OK, he’s nicked up a little bit, but the only thing he did was jump on a running back down the field 25 yards. We need more impact at the line of scrimmage.”
Hampton also blasted the team’s coaching staff, which he says is “putrid” with or without the presence of head coach Matt Nagy, who also missed the game after testing positive for COVID-19. “We don’t have bad players, we have bad game plans,” Hampton said, noting he was criticizing the effort and execution, not the players themselves. “We just keep doing stupid thing after stupid thing,” he said, pointing the finger directly at head coach Matt Nagy and his assistant coaches.
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Hicks Has Been Limited By a Groin Injury This Season
Hicks injured his groin Week 4, and he has missed two games since as a result. He has battled through it, but regardless of injuries, the recent porousness of the team’s defense has become an issue.
For his part, Hicks was asked what happened on defense against the 49ers after the game, and he said this: “Going into the half, we felt like we had the game under control. I think that when we came back out, we loosened up on some fundamental things, some techniques, some just overall playmaking, right? We let some of that slip and they took advantage of it. Credit to them, they capitalized on our faults.”
Hicks was also asked what discussions amongst defenders are like on the Bears’ sideline when they aren’t playing well.
“They’re aggressive,” he said. “It’s a ‘want-to,’ right? I think for guys that have played this game for a considerable amount of time, I think you know what’s going on and you feel it. And I think we have several veterans on the team — I’ll speak defensively — that when they feel that moment, they recognize it and they try to get everybody to come along, bring everybody in and we’re about to fight, we’re in the match right now. Although we play some really good defense, we’re not perfect, and we’re going to have to take our lumps and get back at it.”
The season is half over, so the team has time and opportunity to improve. How it utilizes that time will have a huge effect on how the rest of the season goes.