Cohen’s Best Plays of the Season, Finding a Kicker, a Pro Bowl Defense, and Other Bullets

Feb 18, 2019

Maybe it’s just me, but it’s tough to get excited about snow when there isn’t football to be played in it.

Oh, you better believe I enjoyed the heck out of this:

Good morning! Time to enjoy the heck out of @TarikCohen. pic.twitter.com/n4mhQhupGQ

— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) February 18, 2019

Who needs coffee on a Monday morning when you have Tarik Cohen highlights?

There were at least five plays that left me saying” that’s my favorite Tarik Cohen play of the year.” The playoff catch against the Eagles, the wheel-route touchdown against the Lions, the punt return against the Bills, the wheel route that set up Oompa Loompa … it was all awesome. You can bet there are some we’re missing that didn’t make the list, but deserved to do so. Oh, and that screen pass reception against the Buccaneers deserves an honorable mention, if only because Kevin White delivered a vicious block that shouldn’t go overlooked.

I may or may not still be miffed about the catch against the Giants deep down the left side of the field where he was called down despite not being touched. That should’ve been a touchdown, but there’s no crying over spilled milk … so I’ll move on.

ESPN’s legion of NFL writers weigh in with their take on the biggest need for the team they cover. For the Bears, Jeff Dickerson believes signing a reliable kicker is at the top of the Bears’ to-do list because of course it is. Cody Parkey missed 11 kicks in 2018, which is probably reason enough not to bring him back to a team trying to make the most of the competitive window it created. So while I understand cutting Parkey carries a dead cap number of $5.1875 million, it’s a small price to pay in order to beef up a clear position of need.

Elsewhere in the division, Michael Rothstein believes the Lions need a star pass-rusher and Courtney Cronin chimes in noting the Vikings should bolster their offensive line. Again, no argument here. Part of the reason the Bears swept the Lions and Vikings in the season series was because of their dominance of the line of scrimmage. So it should come as no surprise that those needs are at the top of each of those teams’ respective lists.

As for That Team in Wisconsin … getting Aaron Rodgers and his new head coach on the same page (and getting Rodgers to buy in on a guy who’s younger than him) is the biggest hurdle facing the team this offseason.

Having a Pro Bowl player at every level of the defense really helped the Bears take off in 2018:

Pick your poison#Bears pic.twitter.com/jTqVcqCWZ7

— PFF CHI Bears (@PFF_Bears) February 15, 2019

The Bears’ defense was loaded last year and is scheduled to bring back nine of the 11 starters – including all five listed on the graphic above. Further, all five of those players above are either entering or already in the prime of their career. Akiem Hicks is the oldest guy … and he doesn’t turn 30 until November. So he’s really not all that old.

Because Chicago’s defense was as good as it was last year, there could be a line of thought that the team could move some players in order to create cap flexibility and spending room elsewhere. Over at Bleacher Report, Brad Gagnon goes through each NFL team’s best trade piece and lands on inside linebacker Danny Trevathan being that guy for the Bears. Sure, cutting Trevathan could clear $6.4 million in cap space, but it would also open up a hole in the middle of the defense. And for as good as Roquan Smith was as a rookie, he worked well in tandem with Trevathan. Why break that up?

Remember when Trevathan won the NFC’s Defensive Player of the Week award in Week 2? Fun times.

I thought the only no-look passes I’d see last night would be at the NBA All-Star Game:

https://twitter.com/BN_Bears/status/1097341659271102465

Steve Spurrier knows a deafening environment when he hears it:

“This was just as loud Rocky Top. I know the Swamp is maybe a little bit louder.” – @aafAPOLLOS coach Steve Spurrier on San Antonio crowd. Hm. Interesting. pic.twitter.com/uh2HKZLwoe
— Andrew Perloff (@andrewperloff) February 18, 2019

Big sale at Fanatics today, with up to 60% off and free shipping. Yo. Get that Mitch jersey now.

written by

Luis C. Medina

Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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