Bears Blitz - Roy-Robertson Harris, Eddie Jackson, Akiem Hicks, Prince Amukamara, Cody Whitehair, Sam Acho, Roquan Smith, Bilal Nichols

Roy Robertson-Harris - Defensive End

D: What's your favorite NFL memory so far?

Roy Robertson-Harris: Beating the Packers!

D's Follow Up: That was my old favorite football team. I was happy the Bears beat them because the Bears usually lose to them. 

 #39 Eddie Jackson - Safety

D: What are your favorite fruits and veggies?

Eddie Jackson: Pineapples and carrots.

D's Follow Up: I used to like pineapples, then I stopped liking them, now I like them again. I always pick carrots when they are a choice for lunch for me at school.

J: What’s the best part of being in the NFL?

Eddie Jackson: The games. I love playing against the the top players in the league.

J's Follow Up: I think that's a challenge for him to go up against the top players and it makes Eddie get better.

#96 Akiem Hicks - Interior Lineman

D: What's your favorite NFL memory so far?

Akiem Hicks: Sacking Aaron Rodgers.

D's Follow Up: Aaron Rodgers is good and it's good to get a sack on him.

#20 Prince Amukamara - Cornerback

D: Who’s the toughest wideout you’ve ever gone up against?

Prince Amukamara: Davante Adams 

D's Follow Up: Davante Adams is a hard receiver to go against. He's as good as Antonio Brown.

J: What’s the pregame meal of choice?

Prince Amukamara: Salmon or chicken.

J's Follow Up: I like chicken but I don't like fish. My dad says fish is good for me but I see why he eats it.

#65 Cody Whitehair - Center

J: Who was your favorite football player growing up?

Cody Whitehair: That's a good question. I watched a lot of the Cowboys. I'm from Kansas.

J's Follow Up: I'm sure he liked the Cowboys because they were good. They have 5 Super Bowls.

D: What's your favorite healthy food?

Cody Whitehair: My favorite healthy food? I like salmon. What do you like?

D's Follow Up: I've never tried salmon but my dad has made me fish before. I don't think I will like salmon but I don't know. 

#93 Sam Acho - Outside Linebacker

J: What's your favorite football memory?

Sam Acho: In seventh grade, I scored a touchdown on defense. I intercepted a pass and ran it back 52 yards for the touchdown.

J's Follow Up: Nice job Sam! It was probably fun to score when he was playing defense.

#58 Roquan Smith - Linebacker

D: Who was your favorite NFL player growing up?

Roquan Smith: Patrick Willis.

D's Follow Up: Patrick Willis was awesome. I have two action figures of him. 

#98 Bilal Nichols - Defensive End

J: Who were the best players that came out of Delaware, where you went to college?

Bilal Nichols: Joe Flacco. Coach Nagy. Nick Boyle is a good tight end who has been in the league a while too.

J's Follow Up: Joe Flacco was the best so far but hopefully Bilal becomes the best one ever from Delaware. 

It's been an incredible 2018 for our playoff bound Chicago Bears and we've been on so many fun adventures to see our football heroes in person. The #vincentsgo3on3 boys have been asking their questions to learn more about each player along the way and are we are excited to share this Bears Blitz with Bears fans. 

On Monday nights, you could find us at WhirlyBall in Vernon Hills for live tapings of the Chicago Huddle. It's a family tradition going on 6 years plus and this season we met Roy Robertson- Harris, Akiem Hicks, Cody Whitehair, Sam Acho, and Bilal Nichols, who were each guest hosts of the show. I flew solo to the Deerfield Jewel to meet shutdown corner Prince Amukamara on December 17th and we met Roquan Smith at Bergie's Sportscard Dugout in Highland Park on December 11th. 

This season has been an exciting ride for us as fans and we look forward to watching the Bears in the playoffs for the first time since 2010...or J and D's first time being old enough to understand. We are thankful for all of the memories this season has brought us and we hope that the Monsters roll all the way into February for a showdown in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. #BearDown

Akiem Hicks - Chicago Bears

1) Akiem Hicks is a defensive lineman wearing #96 for the Chicago Bears.

2) Entering his second year with the Chicago Bears, Akiem was drafted by New Orleans in 2012 and played his first 3 years for the Saints. He also played 1 year with the New England Patriots after being traded from New Orleans early in the 2015 season.

3) As seen on week 1 of the Chicago Huddle television show, Hicks shared that inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman and outside linebacker Willie Young are among his best friends in the Bears locker room...although the fact that Willie Young has never invited him fishing (Young's favorite pastime) has him reconsidering Willie as one of his best friends.

D: Who's your favorite quarterback to sack?

AH: Aaron Rodgers! I like Matt Stafford too though but definitely Aaron Rodgers.

D's Follow Up: I was mad at Akiem Hicks when he said he likes to sack like Aaron Rodgers. He's on my favorite team in the NFL, the Green Bay Packers. I wore the Bears hat because my dad made me wear it. I'm not wearing it again. I love that he wants to sack Matthew Stafford. I don't like his team the Lions and I always want the Packers to beat them. 

J: What's your favorite part about living in Chicago?

AH: The food. I never knew I loved deep dish pizza but I do. Also Italian beef. I never knew I loved Italian beef so much either. I bet you eat at Portillo's too, don't you? Do you like the beef?

J's Follow Up: I like deep dish pizza but I don't like the beef at Portillo's. The hot dogs are my favorite to get at Portillo's. My favorite deep dish pizza is from Silo (in Lake Bluff). Maybe I'll see Akiem at Portillo's soon?

The boys and I were excited to make our 2017 Chicago Huddle debut after the Bears week one loss to the Atlanta Falcons. This is our 4th year as regulars to the weekly tapings on Tuesday nights at Chili's in Vernon Hills and we make it to most tapings throughout the season. Danny still wants to join in on the fun and be there when we meet the Bears but his love for Green Bay runs deeper than ever and he is clearly a Packer for life...and yes, I told him to wear the Bears hat but I also apologized to him and said from now on he can just wear what he wants : ). We still love him and hope he continues to join us when we meet our favorite Bears players.

We found out early Tuesday morning that Akiem Hicks would be the guest on this week's show and we decided this was a can't miss opportunity. We have met many of the members on this year's team but this was our first opportunity to meet Akiem Hicks. Akiem has been the best Bears defensive player up to this point this season and was the biggest difference maker for the Bears defense throughout the 2016 season. He has been so impressive that the Chicago Bears recently signed him to a 4-year contract extension for $48,000,000. We are excited that we get to see #96 causing problems for NFC north teams for at least four more seasons in a Chicago Bears uniform.

Danny was up first with his question and he asked Akiem about his top quarterback to sack in the NFL. Jordan and I both knew this was a great question to ask but we also thought we knew what the answer would be. Danny didn't think twice about it and his face was priceless when Aaron Rodgers came out of Akiem's mouth. Danny clearly wasn't thrilled with the response but Jordan and I heard what we expected and hoped to hear from a player on the Chicago Bears. 

The Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers is the oldest rivalry in the NFL dating back to 1921 with over with 194 career games played. Although the Packers have dominated this rivalry over the past few years, the all-time series between these two teams is tied at 94-94-6. We will admit that the Packers have been a consistently great team since Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers started playing QB but each year we look forward to these rivalry games regardless of record and we always hope to see the Bears defeat the team from the north. With the Bears-Packers game coming next Thursday night and the players wearing their Thursday night color rush jerseys, we hope to see Aaron Rodger's jersey full of grass stains from sacks recorded by Akiem Hicks.

Jordan was excited to hear about Akiem's favorite part about living in the Chicagoland area. After living in New Orleans for 3 seasons and the Boston area for a season, he was curious to know what he loves about Chicago. Akiem's response was immediate when he told Jordan he loves the food. Akiem didn't know he loved deep dish pizza as much he does and I understand where he's coming from personal experience. Growing up just north of Rockford, IL, I never had much experience with deep dish pizza until I moved to the north suburbs after college. Once I got a taste of Silo pizza in Lake Bluff and Lou Malnati's pizza, my life was changed forever. I love pizza any way I can get it but my favorite pizza in the world is a large deep dish sausage pizza from Silo. There is nothing better. 

We want to thank Akiem for taking the time to answer our questions after the taping of the Chicago Huddle. Akiem, if you have the opportunity to read this post, we'd love to invite you to meet up with us at Silo on a Tuesday night and introduce you to the best deep dish pizza in the world. Bear Down!