Olsen: Bears still have 'untapped potential'
Olsen: Bears still have 'untapped potential'
January 17, 2011 1:20 PM
By Fred Mitchell
The best is yet to come from the Bears as they prepare to host the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game Sunday at Soldier Field.
At least, that is the assessment of Bears tight end Greg Olsen.
"We're not even close to where we can be," Olsen said Monday morning at Halas Hall. "We're still kind of going up. I think we have a lot of untapped potential that we're still kind of trying to get to. Throughout the rest of this year ... hopefully we can go all the way."
All the way would be to the Super Bowl in Dallas, and the rest of this year depends on how the Bears do Sunday. The Bears and Packers split two regular-season games, losing the regular-season finale, 10-3, at Lambeau Field after the Bears already were locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC and the Packers were playing for their playoff lives.
The Packers have since beaten Philadelphia and Atlanta on the road, while the Bears enjoyed a first-round bye before dispatching Seattle, 35-24, on Sunday.
Olsen set a playoff yardage record for Bears tight ends when he caught three passes for 113 yards against the Seahawks, including a 58-yard touchdown reception on the opening drive.
The Packers' secondary is known for playing tough, aggressive man-to-man coverage against opposing wide receivers. The emergence of Olsen as a viable threat over the deep middle might free up some wide receivers and give Green Bay pause.
"It all goes hand and hand," Olsen said of the Bears' receiving corps. "And that's the thing we've said all along. Game-in and game-out, week-in and week-out, it could be anybody. And every guy is prepared when the play comes to make it. Whether it be block or run or catch, whatever the case may be...be ready when your number is called. And the more guys you have capable of impacting the game, the harder it is and the more pressure you put on that defense.
"Next week, I could have zero catches but the (wide) receivers could go off. All's well with us, just because the more guys you have who are capable of playing, the harder it is for a defense."