Tarik Cohen admits he didn’t always know where the finish line was.
“Before I got in the NFL, I never really looked at the schedule and knew it was this long,” he said. “I just got in it and felt, ‘Oh we got another game left? No, we got like three more games left.’ ”
The Bears are down to one more game. When Cohen plays Sunday, he will have appeared in all 16 games, an accomplishment for any running back, much less one that stands 5-6 and weighs 179 pounds.
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Cohen credited veteran running back Benny Cunningham with helping him take care of his body — from using the ice tub after practice to relaxing his body on days off, when he tries to sit more than stand.
Cohen has been slippery enough to avoid jarring hits; the worst he took all year, he said, were in the season opener.
“Even though he might be viewed as undersized, he doesn’t experience too many direct hits,” coach John Fox said. “He avoided that pretty well. His football IQ is good in that sense. He doesn’t put himself in compromising positions.”
After becoming the first rookie since Gale Sayers in 1965 to record a rushing, receiving, passing and punt-return touchdown, Cohen has become a celebrity. Even trips to Wal-Mart, he said, turn into photo ops or autograph sessions. It’s awkward for Cohen, who said he sees himself as a regular person.
“Just taking pictures in the frozen-food section,” he said, “holding sausages and stuff, looking at the camera.”
He and his linemen share the same problem — their size is an identifier in public.
“They see a little grown man,” Cohen said. “There’s only one little grown man in Chicago right now.”
Loggains on future
Saying he believes quarterback Mitch Trubisky will excel, offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains said he’d like to return next season to coach him.
“Any time you get to be around one of these special quarterbacks,” he said, “you hope you can stay as long as you can.”
It seems unlikely the Bears let Black Monday pass without making changes, but Loggains said he’s been able to tune out whatever might be looming.
‘‘You can’t worry about things you can’t control,” he said. “The only thing I’m focused on is making sure we put together a really good game plan, to make practice as hard as we possibly can for Mitchell so the game is easy.”
Injury report
Right tackle Bobby Massie (knee) and left guard Josh Sitton (ankle) did not practice Wednesday. Offensive lineman Bradley Sowell (back) and tight end Adam Shaheen (chest) were limited.
Follow me on Twitter @patrickfinley.
Email: pfinley@suntimes.com
