MON BEAR NEWS-Bowman,clark,cutler,peppers,olsen,manu,D.A.,harris

Bowman doesn't sulk, just plays hard

Bears CB makes big play in 4th quarter, forcing fumble and recovering it

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Zack Bowman could have sulked about losing his starting job to Tim Jennings. Instead, Bowman went out and made a big play Sunday night.

The Bears cornerback stripped Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw just before Bradshaw made it to the end zone in the fourth quarter. Bowman also recovered the fumble at the 1-yard line, giving the Bears a long-shot chance to tie the game.

"We were all preaching on the sideline that we needed a turnover,'' Bowman said. "I saw the opportunity to make a play, and I made it.

"I didn't care about starting. I wanted to win. We're a team, whether I'm in there or Tim's in there.''

Unfortunately, the celebration over Bowman's play didn't last long. Giants quarterback Eli Manning hit receiver Hakeem Nicks with a 30-yard pass in front of Bowman, setting up Brandon Jacobs' game-clinching 2-yard score.

"I felt like I was in good position,'' Bowman said. "It was an underthrown ball. When I turned around, he kind of got underneath me. At the end of the day, that's a play that I have to make.''

Comfort zone: The Bears fell into a comfort level after reaching Super Bowl XLI, according to general manager Jerry Angelo, and three non-playoff seasons later they're operating under different rules — or they're choosing to apply their rules now.

"It's always been our mantra," Angelo said during the pregame show on WBBM-AM 780, "but maybe more so this year than maybe in years past because coming off that '06 year — having all the success — we kept the football team together so maybe there were some assumptions being made in our evaluations that weren't necessarily accurate and maybe some players got into a little bit of a comfort level."

"Things just didn't go the way we thought they would go, so this year we put more teeth into that, got back to the basics. Players had to earn their jobs all over again."

Clark inactive: Veteran tight end Desmond Clark was inactive. His role continues to diminish, although he remains a favorite in the locker room. A dropped touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line against the Packers probably didn't help his cause, but coaches told Clark numbers were the reason he sat.

Through three games, Clark played only 14 out of 167 offensive plays. The Bears have opted to use Greg Olsen as their pass-catching tight end and newly acquired Brandon Manumaleuna as the primary blocking tight end.

Missing in action: After not dressing against the Packers, receiver Devin Aromashodu dressed Sunday night but did not play.

Aromashodu fell out of favor after missing a handful of blocks and dropping a few passes in the season opener against the Lions. He played just one snap at Dallas the following week.

Defensive tackle Tommie Harris, who was inactive against the Packers, played about 20 snaps Sunday.

Extra points: Defensive tackle Marcus Harrison was inactive for the third time in four games. Also inactive for the Bears were safety Major Wright (hamstring) and tackle Chris Williams (hamstring), cornerback Joshua Moore and running back Kahlil Bell. … Some of the Bears wearing pink for breast cancer awareness where Julius Peppers, Devin Hester, Matt Forte, Johnny Knox and Earl Bennett, to name a few.

vxmcclure@tribune.com

Bears-Giants postgame: Biggs, Pompei on loss

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com...i-on-loss.html

BEARS IN BRIEF: This time, no one has answers for pass rush

Since decision on Harris, Lovie gets everyone's attention

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Not even offensive coordinator Mike Martz could save Jay Cutler this time.
When the Dallas Cowboys staggered Cutler with a relentless pass rush two weeks ago, Martz made an adjustment to the game plan, and Cutler made Martz look like a genius.

But against the New York Giants on Sunday, the Bears had no answers -- and it was costly. Not only did they lose 17-3, but they lost Cutler indefinitely with a concussion.

What was the difference?

''We did make adjustments,'' coach Lovie Smith said. ''You know, sometimes they just don't work. Sometimes we're pretty critical of what we did, but you have to give the Giants a lot of credit, too.''

Cutler took so many hits that the Bears don't even know which one knocked him out.

''He took some hits, so it's hard to say exactly when,'' Smith said. ''Right now I don't have all that information. But we need to protect him more. You can only take so much, and tonight was a little too much for him.''
Smith said he didn't know what Cutler's status would be for the game Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.
''We know what type of competitor he is,'' Smith said. ''If he's healthy and ready to go, he'll be out there.''
One of those nights?

Cutler's injury puts even more heat on the Bears' beleaguered and banged-up offensive line. Frank Omiyale committed a motion penalty on the Bears' first play from scrimmage, and it was all downhill from there.
Smith seemed at a loss about what to do next.

''Well, we only have so many new guys we can bring in,'' Smith said. ''We do have to do a better job. We will be evaluating what we're doing and try to come up with a plan.

''We have given up a few sacks, but nothing like tonight. Tonight is one of those games, and you have those every once in a while, I guess. ... But we will make the necessary corrections.''
Blame game

While Cutler never really had a chance, he also put himself at risk by holding on to the ball for too long. Isn't that right, Lovie?

''It would be hard to say,'' Smith said. ''You saw the pressure he was under. When you get [sacked], it's a combination of things. Tonight it [was] all of the above. We need to get rid of the ball quicker. We need to block better. We need to have better situations. None of us did a good enough job to win the game.''

On a positive note

Cornerback Zack Bowman obviously got the message to take advantage of every opportunity.
Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw appeared to be on his way to a 36-yard touchdown that would have all but clinched the game at 17-3 with seven minutes left. But Bowman poked the ball out from behind at the 10-yard line and recovered it at the 1.

''I saw he was pushing the ball to his right arm,'' said Bowman, who was benched last week for Tim Jennings. ''I saw the ball hanging out and saw it was an opportunity to make a play. ... I stuck my hand in there, and the ball came out. And I just had to recover it.

''I don't think he saw me coming. If he would have seen me coming, he would have changed the ball [to the other arm].''

In Harris' absence in Week 3 against the Packers, Marcus Harrison was active for the first time this season, but he was not credited with a tackle against the Packers and was inactive again Monday night.

• Cornerback Tim Jennings, who replaced Zack Bowman when Bowman was benched in the second quarter last week, got his first start as a Bear and played most of the first half. Bowman got in for one series in the first half but started the second half and wound up splitting time.

• Edwin Williams replaced Robert Garza at left guard late in the first quarter for one possession. Garza was limited by a knee injury during the previous week's practice, but he returned on the next series.
Right guard Lance Louis did not return after halftime because of a left knee injury. He was replaced by Edwin Williams.

Night moves: Devin Hester can't explain why 6 of his 12 kick-return touchdowns have come in prime time.
"For some reason that just happens," he said. "I want to play like that every game, regardless if it's a Sunday morning game or (at night). I just want to be consistent with my play. Whenever the lights are on or whoever's on the field, I want to be able to make big plays.

"I want to do that every week. I don't want to be (just) a prime-time player and whenever it's a Monday night game or Thursday night game I show up. I want to be a show-up player every week."

The last time the Bears played in New Jersey, at the old Meadowlands, Hester returned a missed field goal 108 yards, but according to NFL rules, that doesn't count as one of his 12 career return touchdowns.

Hester had a 34-yard return erased by a holding call in the first half Sunday night. Because of that he finished with just 6 yards on 2 returns.

More pressure: The Bears' defense entered Week 4 dead last in the NFL in sacks per pass play with a total of 2, both of which came in the season opener. But coach Lovie Smith said he wasn't discouraged by the overall pressure.
"We feel good about that, but we still need to get more sacks," he said. "The guys realize that. Most of the time you judge defensive linemen you do a lot of it based on the amount of sacks. I think everybody around here knows it's a little bit more than that, but for some guys we have had opportunities to make more."

Julius Peppers and Israel Idonije each had a sack in the first half, but the Bears were blanked in the second half.
Peppers was more impressed with the Giants' pass rush Sunday night.

"You have to tip your hat to them," Peppers said. "Because those guys can really rush the passer."
Giants defensive ends Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora each had 3 of the Giants' 10 sacks.

Running in place: Running back Matt Forte is still struggling to get the running game going, and he had only 12 carries Sunday night which produced 26 yards, but he wouldn't second-guess offensive coordinator Mike Martz's play calling.

"It doesn't matter to me," Forte said when asked if he would like to carry the ball more. "Whatever Mike calls, I'm fine with. But we have a lot of stuff to look at and we have to get a lot better."

Forte did admit that the Bears' play-action passes would work better if the ground game were established.
"It always works better when you're running the ball well," he said. "They were pretty amped up, we just have to step up."
Stepping up: Last week the Bears got contributions from players who normally don't start, like defensive tackle Matt Toeaina and cornerback Tim Jennings, but linebacker Lance Briggs said they shouldn't be referred to as backups.
"We're getting production from guys that people aren't familiar with," Briggs said, "and that's important for us to win games. That's a big credit to coaching and having the right guys on our squad."

Bowman made a strong play to get his starting job back from Jennings by forcing and recovering a fumble late in the game that kept the Bears' slim hopes alive.

"I saw him switch the ball to his other hand, and I just poked it out," Bowman said. "Then I saw it on the ground and just fell on it."

Sitting it out: Tight end Desmond Clark was a healthy scratch Sunday night, but he has just 1 catch for 12 yards while Greg Olsen and Brandon Manumaleuna received extensive playing time. Also inactive for the Bears were offensive tackle Chris Williams and safety Major Wright, both of whom have hamstring injuries; defensive end Corey Wootton, running back Kahlil Bell and cornerback Joshua Moore. Caleb Hanie was the emergency quarterback.

If needed, Collins can play in Carolina

October, 4, 2010 Oct 4
12:50
AM CT


By Jeff Dickerson


EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Depending on the availability of Jay Cutler, veteran backup quarterback Todd Collins feels like he can play in Carolina if necessary.

Collins left the game Sunday night with a stinger suffered a fourth-quarter hit by Giants linebacker Michael Boley.
"My neck is a little stiff, but other than that, I'm okay," Collins said after the game. "I don't see why not. My neck is not an issue."

Collins finished 4 of 11 for 36 yards and one interception, while emergency quarterback Caleb Hanie fared better during his short stint.

"I played poorly," Collins said. "They dominated us on offense this game."

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dabears54

Cutler took so many hits that the Bears don't even know which one knocked him out.

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Ladies and gentleman, the quote of the day!

No holding Kreutz back

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Veteran center Olin Kreutz didn't mince words after the Chicago Bears surrendered 10 sacks to the New York Giants and had two quarterbacks knocked out of a 17-3 loss.

The NFL is a humbling business, it always has been, those guys are great players across the way," Kreutz said. "Sometimes you get your [expletive] kicked, and we did tonight.


"We just have to [expletive] block people, period. Excuse my language, but that's what we have to do. This is nothing on [Bears offensive coordinator Mike] Martz's play-calling. We know what system we are in. It's buck up or get out period."

Kreutz has anchored excellent offensive lines the past five seasons, especially during the back-to-back division title years of 2005-06. The performance Sunday night, however, conjured up memories of 2004, when the Bears allowed a staggering 66 sacks during Lovie Smith's first year at the helm.

"I played in a lot of games like this, I've played 13 years," Kreutz said. "One off the top of my head, we played Green Bay the last game of the year in [2004], and we gave up 15 (9) sacks that day. I've been in games like this before. The great thing is, that game against Green Bay in [2004] with Chad Hutchinson at quarterback, that was the last game of the year. The great thing about this time, we get to come back and play next week."

Bears notebook: Collins feels he let team down

By John Mullin
CSNChicago.com

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Todd Collins learned when the team got into the locker room that he was replacing Jay Cutler after Cutler was found to have suffered a concussion from one or more than one of the nine sacks and other hits he took in Sunday’s first half.

Collins’ last regular-season pass was thrown in a 2009 loss to the Giants while Collins was a member of the Washington Redskins. He started the final preseason game against the Cleveland Browns but the backup quarterback takes virtually no snaps in practice during the week, particularly a shortened practice week like the Bears’ this week.

Never the less he was very unhappy with his showing, which consisted of completing 4-of-11 passes for 36 yards and an interception before he suffered a stinger and was forced to leave the game in the fourth quarter.

“Just a poor effort, just evaluating myself,” Collins said. “I’m disappointed and we feel like we let the team down, wasted a good defensive effort. We had some chances and just didn’t capitalize.”

Collins may be moved in as the starter against Carolina depending on Cutler’s comeback from the concussion. He managed to avoid being sacked in the third quarter but threw an interception with the ball at the New York 35 early in the fourth quarter in what was the Bears’ best scoring opportunity of a dismal game on offense.

One series later Collins and the offense were given the ball at the New York 29 on a fumble by Eli Manning. But Collins threw two interceptions and the Bears were forced to settle for a Robbie Gould field goal.

Lining up

Tim Jennings’ plays vs. the Green Bay Packers when he replaced Zackary Bowman were enough for him to keep Bowman’s starting position at left cornerback, the job given to Bowman during the offseason because he was judged to be the Bears’ best cornerback. Bowman was in for Jennings on New York’s third possession in the first quarter.

“We rotated every two series,” Bowman said. “There were times where coach just told Tim to stay in, a change of possession or quick turnaround. If one of us had a hot series, you stay with him. It’s no big deal. We support each other and as long as we get the win, that’s all that matters”

Defensive tackle Tommie Harris apparently had a good enough week of practice to earn a uniform for Sunday’s game but not good enough for him to retake his starting job from Matt Toeaina. And Harris was not in on the first series even on third down, when Toeaina stayed on the field and was joined by Henry Melton in the nickel rush package. Harris began working into the rotation late in the first quarter.

Israel Idonije started his third straight game at defensive left end over Mark Anderson.

O-lining

Right tackle Kevin Shaffer, who was beaten off the edge by defensive end Justin Tuck, and left guard Roberto Garza, who allowed a sack to defensive tackle Chris Canty, were both replaced in the first quarter. Rookie J’Marcus Webb went to right tackle and recently signed Edwin Williams took over at left guard.

Shaffer was flattened on a personal foul due to a late hit by linebacker Jonathan Goff following a turnover. “I haven’t gotten hit that hard in a long time,” Shaffer said, shaking his head.

Garza returned on the next series. Shaffer returned in the second quarter in a line shuffle that left more questions than answers, or solutions. Right guard Lance Louis subsequently went down with a knee strain and left the game, replaced by Williams.

Well said Kruetz

And Collins, you didn't let us down. One has to believe you can lead the come back in order to be let down.

really hope we hear today from martz, WHY he didnt, like did against Dallas- switch to 2-3 step drops and short slants and screens/dump off's to forte/taylor, to take the pressure back from the Giants. by the 2nd quarter they just pined their ears back, and yet jay still taking 5-7 step drops,, and also do have to blame Cutler for twice in 2nd having once forte and once taylor wide open for quick dump offs and room, and instead looked downfield, and ended up with sacks