On the mend: Left tackle Chris Williams, still recovering from a hamstring strain, said he wants to try and play against the Panthers. But Williams also wanted to play against the Giants.
Maybe Williams wouldn't have made a difference, with the Giants swarming the Bears to the tune of 10 sacks and quarterback Jay Cutler suffering a mild concussion. But at least he wanted to be out there.
"You don't want to see anybody get hurt," Williams said. "Of course, I want to get back as quickly as I can, regardless if Jay gets hurt or not."
Williams is not the only offensive line starter recovering. Right guard Lance Louis suffered a left knee bruise. Smith said he could not reveal any more details on Louis' injury until Wednesday.
TV ratings: More than half of Chicago households watching television Sunday night were tuned into the Bears' loss on WMAQ-Ch. 5, according to Nielsen Media Research. Locally, NBC's telecast averaged 39.7 percent of all households in the Chicago TV market -- more than 1.39 million homes -- and a 54 percent share of homes watching television between 7:30 p.m. and 10:15 p.m.
Overnight numbers from the nation's top 56 metered markets showed the game attracted a 14.2 household rating and a 22 percent share of those homes watching TV, the NFL's highest overnight TV rating for an October prime-time game in a decade.
Happy homecoming: Julius Peppers and Chris Harris won't be the only Bears having a reunion at Carolina. Left tackle Frank Omiyale played two seasons with the Panthers before signing as a free agent with the Bears.
"I'm still friends with guys like Jon Beason and Tyler Brayton," Omiyale said. "It should be fun."
Extra points: Linebacker Nick Roach should be fine after suffering a shoulder stinger against the Giants. … After coaches reviewed the film, safety Danieal Manning led the defense with 12 tackles while Corey Graham had three special-teams tackles.
Bears coach says QB seems fine after suffering concussion in Sunday's loss
By Brad Biggs, Tribune reporter
9:14 p.m. CDT, October 4, 2010
The Bears cannot say yet how Jay Cutler will respond after suffering a concussion on one of the nine first-half sacks by the Giants on Sunday night, but coach Lovie Smith is optimistic the quarterback will start Sunday at Carolina.
Cutler, who did not return after halftime, will have to be cleared for a return to practice by a team doctor as well as an independent physician.
"It seems like he's in pretty good shape right now," Smith said. "There are no visual signs or anything that I can tell. He seems like he's OK."
The Bears will proceed cautiously with Cutler and believe it's a mild concussion. Backup Todd Collins was also KO'd by the Giants with a neck stinger, but he is expected to be fine and the team doesn't practice until Wednesday
The real question is what can be done following one of the low points of the Smith era. The coach made the decision to pull Cutler from the exhibition opener at San Diego in August for fear the Chargers' pressures would leave the quarterback injured. Those fears became a reality at New Meadowlands Stadium.
But seven of the NFL-record nine sacks in the first half came on four-man rushes. There was nothing exotic about what the Giants did. The Bears simply had breakdowns across the board.
The first thing that needs to be examined is the play-calling by coordinator Mike Martz, who continued to call plays the offense could not execute behind a struggling line that was pieced together because of injuries.
Smith maintains he has a hand in all decisions made and surely he sought answers Monday because a modest offensive effort could have changed the direction of the 17-3 loss. The 10 sacks matched the most a Martz-directed offense has ever allowed. The Bears, who allowed more sacks in preseason than any other team, lead the NFL with 18, putting them on pace for 72.
When the subject of the sacks kept coming up at his news conference, Smith grew testy.
"Believe it or not I was at the game also," he snapped. "We're working to correct that. It happened one time. It's no more than that. We'll correct the things that we can, of course, and we have some different options to go with and we'll play better this week."
When he says different options, there aren't many choices. The hope is left tackle Chris Williams will return from a pulled hamstring soon. Guards Lance Louis and Roberto Garza are battling knee injuries. The team could promote a lineman from the practice squad, but wholesale changes won't happen.
Film review by the team identified four sacks were the responsibility of the line. Three were pinned on Cutler, who had at least that many chances to throw the ball away. It was his responsibility to avoid blitzing cornerback Aaron Ross just before halftime on the sack that Smith believes delivered the concussive blow.
Tight ends allowed three sacks in a poor display of blocking that might get Desmond Clark involved soon.
"It has nothing to do with Jay," center Olin Kreutz said. "We've got to block people and give him time to throw the ball. We are responsible when he gets hit."
Simply blaming the line misses the point. The Bears have to get back to finding ways to succeed with what they have.
Does Smith worry about his quarterback being leery upon return and losing his edge?
"I don't," he said. "He went through a lot, yes. You don't want your quarterback to go through that. But as far as him coming back, he wanted to continue playing (Sunday) night. I don't think that will be a part of it."
Cutler 'in pretty good shape,' preparing to start, Smith says
Jay Cutler attended meetings Monday at Halas Hall, and he's preparing as if he'll start Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.
Although Cutler and backup Todd Collins were knocked out of Sunday night's loss to the New York Giants, the Bears are not expected to sign any quarterbacks this week.
Bears coach Lovie Smith expressed optimism in his news conference Monday about Cutler's status after enduring an NFL-record nine sacks in the first half and leaving the game with a concussion.
''He's here, and he seemed like he's in pretty good shape right now,'' Smith said of Cutler. ''There are no visual signs or anything that I can tell, where I try not to be the doctor and leave it to our other people. But it seems like he's OK.''
Smith said Cutler showed symptoms after his ninth and final sack, just before halftime, when his head hit the turf at New Meadowlands Stadium. Despite the record number of sacks for one half, Smith said he never considered taking Cutler out of the game.
''We're trying to win a football game, and Jay gave us our best option to do that,'' Smith said. ''Jay wasn't thinking about coming out of the game. Everybody out there was trying to make a play.
''You have to keep in mind that it was a 3-0 game. Us taking out our quarterback during that time? No. That never crossed our mind, or any of our other players that I thought would help us win, that were healthy and ready to go. It will always be that way, too.''
Collins, Cutler's backup, left early in the fourth quarter with a stinger. But Smith isn't counting anyone out for practice Wednesday.
''First off, I'm hoping we'll have all three guys available for Wednesday's practice,'' he said. ''We didn't have two of our quarterbacks finish the game, but that's not to say they won't be ready to go for practice.''
The Bears have proved very diligent in dealing with concussions, placing veteran linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer on injured reserve after he showed symptoms following the season opener. But Hillenmeyer admittedly had several concussions before that one.
According to a league source, Cutler didn't have any red flags related to concussions.
''If a player has an injury, we're going to let him see whoever he needs to,'' Smith said. ''If there's an expert he needs to see, we don't quite feel good about our evaluation, we'll continue to let other people look at him. That's not the case. If anything, we go beyond the call of duty when it comes to our football players, making sure they don't go back on the football field unless we all feel good about them doing that.''
Film doesn't lie
Bears center Olin Kreutz didn't need the film session Monday to bolster what he already knew.
''We didn't block people. Football's not hard to figure,'' Kreutz said. ''They beat us time after time.''
Kreutz refused to pin the nine sacks on Cutler, who appeared to hold the ball too long in several instances.
''It has nothing to do with Jay,'' Kreutz said. ''We've got to block people, give them time to throw the ball and if we do that, we'll be fine.''
Smith acknowledged that it's ''not ideal'' to have Frank Omiyale moving positions so much.
''You want to get guys locked in at one. But sometimes the situations don't allow you to do that,'' Smith said.
Starting left tackle Chris Williams has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury. But Smith said Williams is progressing.
''He is doing a lot of things he wasn't able to,'' Smith said, ''but hamstrings take time. I don't know exactly when he'll be back, but we'll welcome him back with open arms when he does come back.''
In addition, starting right guard Lance Louis didn't finish the game because of a bruised right knee. He was replaced by Edwin Williams.
Tommie update
Smith said it was good to get Tommie Harris ''back in the mix.'' But Smith also added that Harris was willing but ''didn't' make a whole lot of plays.''
Jay Cutler seems like he's "in pretty good shape right now," Smith says
By Sean Jensenon October 4, 2010 5:26 PM
Jay Cutler attended meetings at Halas Hall today, and the Bears quarterback is looking on track to returning to the starting lineup Sunday in Charlotte.
Although Cutler and backup Todd Collins were knocked out of Sunday night's loss to the New York Giants, the Bears are not expected to sign any quarterbacks to the roster this week.
Currently, veterans Pat Ramsey, Chris Simms and Pat White headline a relatively thin crop of quarterbacks.
Bears coach Lovie Smith expressed optimism in his press conference Monday about Cutler's status after enduring an NFL record nine sacks in the first half Sunday and leaving the game with symptoms related to a concussion.
"Jay right now - I don't know if you guys saw him or whatever - but he's here, and he seemed like he's in pretty good shape right now," Smith said. "There are no visual signs or anything that I can tell, where I try not to be the doctor and leave it to our other people. But it seems like he's OK today."
Smith said Cutler showed symptoms after his ninth and final sack, just before halftime, when his head hit the turf at New Meadowlands Stadium. Despite the record number of sacks for one half, Smith said he never considered taking Cutler out of the game.
"We're trying to win a football game, and Jay gave us our best option to do that that," Smith said. "Jay wasn't thinking about coming out of the game. Everybody out there was trying to make a play.
"You have to keep in mind that it was a 3-0 game. Us taking out our quarterback during that time? No. That never crossed our mind, or any of our other players that I thought would help us win, that were healthy and ready to go. It will always be that way, too."
Backup Todd Collins left the game early in the fourth quarter with a stinger. But, Smith isn't counting anyone out for Wednesday's practice.
"First off, I'm hoping we'll have all three guys available for Wednesday's practice," he said. "We didn't have two of our quarterbacks finish the game but that's not to say they won't be ready to go for practice."
The Bears have proven very diligent in dealing with concussions, placing veteran linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer on injured reserve after he showed symptoms of a concussion following the season opener. But, Hillenmeyer admittedly had several concussions before that one.
"If a player has an injury, were going to let him see whoever he needs to," Smith said. If there's an expert he needs to see, we don't quite feel good about our evaluation, we'll continue to let other people look at him. That's not the case. If anything, we go beyond the call of duty when it comes to our football players, making sure they don't go back on the football field unless we all feel good about them doing that."
Smith on Zack Bowman's play: "None of us responded, so we can start with that blanket statement. Zack, of course, the strip, and the fumble recovery were big plays. I thought he was trying to play hard, and trying to make plays like all the guys were doing. But we're not giving a lot of game balls."
Smith on Tommie Harris: "It was good to get him back in the mix. Practiced hard last week. Was willing last night. Didn't make a whole lot of plays. But he was willing."
Smith on whether Harris can start again: "We're still evaluating. Tommie did some good things. A lot of things will go into that, before we decide who will start and who will dress."
Smith on left tackle Chris Williams: "Each day, Chris Williams, is getting a little bit more healthy to play. So hopefully before too long, we'll have a bigger group to choose from but that's just a part of it."
Smith on if Cutler should have had better pocket awareness: "Yeah, he could have. We could have blocked better, tackled better. There were a lot of things. I definitely could have done a better job coaching. There were a lot of things we could have done better last night."
Smith on running the ball more than seven times in the first half: "Any thought to trying to run the ball more? Sure, there was thought to it. We put a lot of thought in everything we do every play. What we thought we should go with, we did last night. Last night it didn't work. This week hopefully we'll have better results."
Smith on where things stand: "We've played four games and lost one. Let's not panic around here all right? The reality is, we're 3-1 right now with this group."
this makes sense and agree if passes process SHOULD play:
Cutler will play if he passes 'process' By Bob LeGere |
It's too soon to know if Jay Cutler will be cleared to play this week after suffering a concussion while being sacked an NFL-record nine times in the first half Sunday night against the Giants.
"He's feeling OK, as he also was (Sunday) night after the game," said Bears coach Lovie Smith, who was vague about the procedure used to determine concussions and what tests Cutler would have to pass before he was cleared for a return to the field.
"We have a process we go through if a player gets injured during the course of the game," Smith said. "Jay went through that process. We determined at halftime that he wasn't ready to go back in, and we kept him out. We'll monitor, and we'll continue to evaluate, still, with it."
Since Cutler spent most of the first half getting whacked around like a piņata, it was hard to pinpoint when he suffered the concussion.
"I don't know exactly when," Smith said. "We saw symptoms the last sack before the half, and we went in at halftime and of course made that decision."
Cutler did not speak with the media Monday, but he was at Halas Hall.
"It seems like he's in pretty good shape right now," Smith said. "There are no visual signs or anything that I can tell. I leave it to our (medical) people. But he seems like he's OK."
I got to say Manning is surprising me with his play. The improved pass rush is really helping those guys out. I thought Manning as the SS would be a disaster glad I was wrong about that.
If Cutler starts this week I would be very surprised. I hope the oline doesnt kill our season this sunday by letting Cutler get destroyed. The Panther defense is not a joke. It has been their offense that is a huge let down
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