[CBFF] Bears don't pack it in for "U-Haul" game :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Bears

[Tom Shannon]

Bears don't pack it in for "U-Haul" game :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Bears

Bears don't pack it in for "U-Haul" game



December 30, 2007
BY MATT BOWEN

Editor's note: Matt Bowen retired this summer after seven seasons as
an NFL safety. The former Glenbard West star earned a journalism
degree from Iowa and put it to use this season for suntimes.com by
analyzing Bears games.

 Maybe I was a little too impressed with the Bears today, or maybe I
am just using my own experience of the dreaded "U-Haul Game" of days
past. I have been on teams who packed it in during the last week of
the season. Teams who were beat even before the National Anthem was
finished.

» Click to enlarge image
Matt Bowen
(Brian Kersey/Sun-Times)



 In 2003, on the heels of a 5-11 season, my Washington Redskins played
the Philadelphia Eagles on the last Sunday of the season. We could
have headed to the locker room after pre game warm-ups, because we
laid an egg en route to a 31-0 beat down. We played flat, looked like
garbage and embarrassed ourselves on prime-time television.

 Not this team, not this year. In an age when pro athletes are
chastised for each and every move they make on the field, this team
decided to play the game the way it is supposed to be played. It
wasn't the year the fans, the players and the front office wanted, but
at least they provided us with a glimpse of what could have been, or
even better, what is yet to come.

 I felt like I was watching the 2005 Bears. It wasn't pretty; the
Bears looked like they were having fun on the field; Kyle Orton was
the quarterback and the defense looked exceptionally fast. This team —
which everyone ripped apart — sort of stuck it back in our faces.

 Football seasons in this league hardly ever go as planned, but when
you are a professional athlete, it is nice to show your sense of pride
down the stretch. They could have packed it in, could have had their
plane tickets sitting in their lockers for some island in the
Caribbean, however, they decided to play some of their best, most
entertaining football of the season, and send the Saints home with out
their playoff invitations.

 Devin Hester became the player every Bear fan had hoped he would be
become when the stories surfaced last summer that he would line up at
receiver. We all know he can return kicks better than anyone ever, but
it was the deep post route he ran against man coverage, outrunning the
corner, and skipping by the safety, which is on tape, that will make
corners stay up late worrying next season.

 Orton, who two weeks ago looked like another mistake in the Bears
on-going quarterback saga, took chances, made some plays, and in my
eyes set himself up to make a run at the starting job next year. He
wasn't perfect, and sometimes his throws were downright ugly, the
out-route that was picked in particular, but at least he gave the
Bears a chance.

 Someone must have lit a fire under Ron Turner, as the Bears went from
looking like the three yards and a cloud of dust with a check down
passing tree, to the team that runs some exotic plays every once in a
while and plays to win.

 The halfback pass from Adrian Peterson was a great call. Run that
play in the red zone and you can bet on someone falling for it. It was
a great call at a great time. We always say players are ''playing for
jobs'' at this point in the season, well, the same can be said for
coaches. Turner took most of the heat for his lackluster offense all
season, but he called a pretty good game today. He had the right blend
of power running and a deep passing game that provided enough spark in
this offense to keep the fans happy, and more than likely, ensure him
another year calling plays.

 In the end, however, we all know this is a defensive town, regardless
of all the excitement provided by Hester. Throw in last weeks beating
of the Packers, and this is 2005, or maybe a little like last year.
Brian Urlacher, who finished the year with three interceptions in his
last three games, looked like the guy we all thought he was. He is the
reason the Bears run Cover 2, and the same reason they can call all of
those zone blitzes, as he again dropped into the throwing lane of Drew
Brees, setting the stage for the rest of the game. This entire defense
played hard all game long. They ran, they hit, and they caused
turnovers. Sound familiar? Well, it should, because no matter how
impressive or downright awful the offense is in this town, this team
will hang their hats on the defense, and it will be as good as
Urlacher allows it to be.