Emotion still fuels Akiem Hicks vs. Saints

Bears defensive end Akiem Hicks (96) has 3 1⁄2 sacks, seven tackles-for-loss and 11 quarterback pressures this season.For a moment there, it looked like Akiem Hicks was going soft in his advanced NFL age, losing the deep-seated disdain for the Saints that provided the emotional fuel to become one of the best defensive linemen in the NFL.

“It’s always an emotional game,” the 30-year-old Hicks said of Sunday’s matchup against the team that drafted him in 2012, but discarded him in 2015 for marginal tight end Michael Hoomanawanui. “But there was an instance about six or seven weeks ago, I was on Instagram and I saw [the Saints feature] Marques Colston’s highlights — and it just brought back so…