The dust settled on the Chicago Bears trade sending Roquan Smith to the Baltimore Ravens. Two names drew the most attention to take over his vacated spot on the weak side of the defense. First was veteran Nicholas Morrow who has manned the middle of the Bears’ defense since arriving this offseason.
Smith is now gone, however. And the Bears chose to shift Morrow from middle linebacker to the WILL backer in Sunday’s loss to the Miami Dolphins.
That put the other name, undrafted free agent Jack Sanborn, in at middle linebacker.
Sanborn is a native Illinoisan and former University of Wisconsin standout. He finished the game with seven tackles while playing 88% of the defensive snaps. After the game, Morrow and head coach Matt Eberflus spoke out about Sanborn’s starting debut.
Bears Matt Eberflus, Nicholas Morrow Sound Off on Rookie Jack Sanborn
Sanborn’s Day in the Sun
“I thought he played really well,” Morrow said. “He made some good plays. I mean, shoot, he got the first tackle…I thought he played well. Got us lined up in some of the fronts. I thought he did a good job.”
For Sanborn, it stands to reason that he will be better in his second start than his first thanks to experience alone. The 6-foot-2, 236-pound Sanborn was far from being perfect – not that anyone was expecting it to be.
But Eberflus’ words after the game could be sending a strong underlying message.
“The run defense was better [than last week],” Eberflus said. “Wasn’t perfect. We had some runs come through there a couple times but overall I thought it was better. I thought Sanborn did a nice job where he was and where he needed to be in the run game. And same thing we moved, obviously, Nick over to WILL so that was an adjustment for him. So I thought they did a nice job with that.”
One week after getting gashed on the ground for 200 yards by the Dallas Cowboys, the Bears posted their second-best rush defense grade of the season, per Pro Football Focus. They held a Dolphins ground attack that ranks 28th on the year — but was coming off of back-to-back 100-yard performances and three such games in their last four outings — to just 77 yards between two runners.
“He’s an instinctual player and he’s physical,” Eberflus said. “And I thought he was around the ball in the run game for sure.”
Sanborn’s individual grade was not great. But he also had the unenviable task of defending Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle in space on more than one occasion.
He’s got some things to work on but I think Jack Sanborn played pretty well for his first NFL start. I’m encouraged. #DaBears #Bears #ChicagoBears pic.twitter.com/JbLuHFk3rW
— Clay Harbor (@clayharbs82) November 8, 2022
Tua Tagovailoa completed 12-of-15 passes between the line of scrimmage and 20 yards down the field. That includes two of his three touchdowns though those did come in the red zone. Still, that’s primarily the linebackers’ responsibility. Asked how they sure it up next time out, Morrow first gave credit to the Dolphins for making the requisite plays.
But he added the Bears linebackers just have to make better reads as the hook defenders.
Sanborn is stepping into a role manned by some of the greatest to play the game. It is a lofty standard to live up to but the rookie is already doing just fine creating a legacy of his own.
Old Faces, New Places
Smith made his Ravens debut against the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football. He notched five tackles – two solo stops and three assisted – and helped guide Baltimore to its sixth win of the season.
The trade may have been difficult for many from fans to teammates. But it could work out for the best for Smith, the Bears, and specifically Sanborn.
Smith is a tackling machine but is on the smaller side at 6-foot-1, 232 pounds.
He could benefit from having bigger bodies in front of him in the Ravens’ defense than the penetrating line the Bears are going for while Sanborn’s (slight) additional length could help him shed or simply reach around defenders easier. One game in and the results are encouraging but skewed by the effectiveness of the Miami passing attack.
Sunday’s tilt against the 2-6 Detroit Lions could prove a similar test.
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