Without Roquan Smith, Linebackers Step Up
When a defense gives up 35 points, it's not easy to find a player who actually played good ball.
Bears defensive coodinator Alan Williams found a pair of them playing alongside each other, in of all places, linebacker. How much they missed Roquan Smith can't be measured but Jack Sanborn and Nicholas Morrow both stood out.
Considering it was Sanborn's first NFL start, it had to be encouraging for the defensive staff.
"Yeah, Sanborn, yeah, you know, first start, he looked like he belonged," Williams said. "Didn’t have errors, tackled well, ran around well. So you come out of that ballgame going, 'OK, step forward, now let's take one more step forward.' So that's the one that comes to mind when you have a guy that, hey, first start in the NFL and he looks like he belongs."
Sanborn had seven tackles, one less than Kyler Gordon's team-high total of eight. He was at middle linebacker with middle linebacker Morrow moving to weakside following the trade of Roquan Smith.
Morrow made four tackles, with their only tackle for loss and one of the two pass breakups.
"Nick did a nice job at his spot because we moved him from playing Mike since he's gotten here, and then we moved him to Will, so he did a nice job too," Williams said. "Just pleased with both of those guys being in different spots and still functioning at a high level."
Sanborn, the undrafted free agent from Wisconsin and Lake Zurich High School, admitted to jitters before his first start.
"I was a little nervous leading up to it, but then we got to the stadium, I felt pretty good," Sanborn said. "Kind of what I expected, but you never know. First NFL start. Kind of a big role, but I was proud of how I handled it."
It was that very aspect of it which Sanborn called the most heartening.
"I think just how the moment wasn't too big," he said. "Stay relaxed out there. Stayed calm. I did my best."
Sanborn learned a thing or two.
"Yeah, I think just you gotta be on top of your job on every play," he said. "One little thing can kind of cause a big problem for not only you but the defense.
"That's who you're doing it for out there. You're doing it for not only your job and yourself, but the guys around you, the whole defense, the whole team. You just gotta be on top of everything."
Williams pointed out one way Sanborn can improve, but it's more of a trait acquired with experience.
"Just the quick twitch part, getting back to his spot, seeing the quarterback and go ahead and go," Williams said. "Sometimes when you have a rookie guy it's, 'Hey, I want to be perfect. I want to please the coach.' Nope, just go out and play. So he did a nice job at his spot."
Williams was less surprised about Morrow's performance because it wasn't the first time the former Raiders linebacker played weakside in a game. He probably played there as much with the Raiders as in the middle.
"Nick has some speed to him," Williams said. "Nick has some playmaking ability to him, so that (weakside) is the playmaking position in the defense. I like that part where he was.
"The one play he turned and ran and got the ball out with the deep over. Amazing play, good play, a play that we repped. It was a play that the linebackers coach, coach (Dave Borgonzi), went over with him and ultimately made the play he was supposed to make. We just want to see him do that more consistently."
They also had to find out whether Morrow could handle the defensive calls like Smith used to make.
"That he relays them correctly, that he knows the defense and so I can start the call and he can finish the call," Williams said. "That helps when you have a smart guy like that and he goes, 'OK, boom!' And he gives it to them before it comes out of my mouth.
"And a guy that can problem solve. So that if an offense goes fast, he goes, 'I know what coach is going to call. I know what we practiced. I know what the call sheet looks like. Boom.' The guys have it and that helps out tremendously because we are on the same page and when we're on the same page that means he's relaying that message to the defense and then they can get in out of the huddle, look at the offense, diagnose all the keys and tips that we give them and then ultimately they play much faster and much better."
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