Staley Da Bear
Well-known member
- Mar 16, 2019
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That's exactly how Nichols approached his offseason conditioning work after being limited by an injury last year. The 6-3, 313-pounder broke his hand in a Week 2 win in Denver and missed three games. He recorded one more tackle in 2019 than he had as a rookie in 2018 (28-27) but produced fewer sacks (0-3), tackles-for-loss (1-5) and quarterback hits (2-7).
"This offseason, I just grinded," Nichols said. "I didn't have the year I wanted to have last year. I dealt with injuries. So I just grinded, grinded, grinded. I kept my head down and I went. No matter the circumstances—whether there was a pandemic or whatever—I was going to find a way to make things happen. That's really the reason why I'm able to play at a high level right now. I didn't cheat the grind. I didn't cheat myself in the offseason. I think it's starting to show."
It is indeed. Nichols has emerged as a force against both the run and pass this season, already establishing career highs with 39 tackles, 5.0 sacks, 7.0 tackles-for-loss and 12 quarterback hits. He registered his first NFL interception in a Week 13 loss to the Lions and set a career high with seven tackles in last Sunday's 33-27 win over the Vikings. He also split sacks versus Minnesota with Khalil Mack and Brent Urban, giving Nichols a full sack in each of the last three games.
"I feel like I'm playing the best football of my career right now," Nichols said. "I feel like just lately I've been super locked in. I've been locked in all season, but I've been able to really, like, hit a groove right now. I feel like everything is coming together.
"I feel like it all starts in the way I practice. I try to come out here each week and practice as hard as I can. Doesn't matter who we're playing. Doesn't matter how many plays I think I'll get. It doesn't matter if I'm playing end or nose. Doesn't matter where I'm at, I'm going to practice as hard as I possibly can. I feel like it's just all translating over to Sundays on the field."
Nichols credits much of his success to the knowledge he's gained from a veteran teammate. As soon as Nichols joined the Bears in 2018, he affixed himself to defensive tackle Akiem Hicks like Velcro.
"I've always been eager to learn," Nichols said. "When you're coming into a building with so many great defensive players, I feel like you would be a fool if you weren't eager to learn and take things from them.
"The first day I came in here, I was eager. I told myself, whenever I did drills, I was going to work with Akiem. I wanted to have a career just like his: Dominant guy, respected in the league. All-Pro caliber. I told myself every day I'm going to find a way to work with him, some way, somehow. Still to this day, I work with him every single day.
"Nothing about me has changed. I think that once he had seen that, I gained a lot of respect from him. It's just staying on top of those things. That's just how I am. That's never going to change. I'm always going to be receptive, even when I'm in my eighth, ninth year in the league, I'm still going to be eager to learn and figure out how I can get better."