Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010
10:42 AM
By John Mullin
CSNChicago.com
If the Bears lose to the Detroit Lions and the search begins for reasons, it likely will be necessary to look no further than Wednesday.
Not because of what happened Wednesday. Because of what didnt happen.
A loss to a 2-9 starting its third-string quarterback typically does not happen on game day. Thats simply when the tests are passed out and it is discovered, painfully, that not everyone was prepared for, studied hard enough for, was ready for, the pop quiz presented by the Detroit Lions.
Perhaps it was that extra tape not watched, or the extra look at a play design in a playbook.
It could just be that one or two plays that show up on Sunday, said cornerback Tim Jennings. But then if you go back to during the week, you see that you didnt really prepare yourself. And the difference between a good team and a great team is one or two plays.
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The Bears do not want to be Mike Tyson to Detroits Buster Douglas, or Rocky Balboa to the Lions Clubber Lang (the first fight), or the Titanic to Motowns iceberg.
When you see a better team that shouldve won, and you see it in college and every level, it happens more during the week than on game day, said safety Chris Harris. On game day everybodys usually up and ready to play.
But Michigan is, after all, the state where Appalachian State stunned the Maize and Blue. And the Bears are the division leaders at 8-3 facing a team that has lost four straight and likely its top two quarterbacks, depending on the state of Shaun Hills broken right index finger.
The Lions are coming off a potentially demoralizing fourth-quarter collapse Thanksgiving Day in which the New England Patriots scored 21 points, 28 unanswered in all.
But the Lions are also the team that on that short week got on top of the far stronger Patriots before New England rallied. The Lions also took the New York Jets into overtime.
And lest anyone forget (the Bears have not), the Lions were within an officials ruling of defeating the Bears in Chicago in Game 1, when wide receiver Calvin Johnsons apparent TD catch was ruled a drop after Johnson put the ball on the ground while getting to his feet.
I think a letdown happens getting prepared for the game, said wide receiver Johnny Knox. Going in you have a different mindset. But each week going in, we have that same mentality. We know that Detroits a 2-9 team but weve played them and they played pretty good ball against us.
The film of the first Detroit game, as long as players do their due diligence and watch it thoroughly, should be enough to preclude any letdown.
The Bears had more than twice as many yards (463-168) as the Lions ran for five times as many yards (101-20) as the Lions. But Detroit led 14-3 at one point, 14-13 at halftime and sacked Jay Cutler four times to the Bears two sacks.
The jolt should have stayed with the Bears and if it didnt, there are veterans to remind everyone that letdowns and upsets do happen.
Not here, safety Harris insisted. The group of guys weve got here, and the coaches, they wont let that happen. They wont allow it. Weve got a good group of veterans and we wont let a letdown happen.
The Bears are a significantly better team than the one that escaped the Lions in week one but so are they, quarterback Cutler said. Its going to be a good matchup for us, tough matchup, division game, on the road. Thats always going to be tough.
But this team is led by veterans, guys whove been there before, and I think everyone realizes this is not the time to let up.
John "Moon" Mullin is CSNChicago.com's Bears Insider, and appears regularly on Bears Postgame Live and Chicago Tribune Live. Follow Moon on Twitter for up-to-the-minute Bears information.