Archives for September 30, 2002

‘This game wasn’t lost Sunday in overtime. No, it was lost last February, when Jerry Angelo and the Halas Hall brain trust determined Drew Bledsoe wasn’t worth the money or risk.’

‘Twenty-four seconds in an NFL game is a lot of time in the hands of the right quarterback. The Bears did not have a timeout. But they did have a quarterback. And they had a receiving corps that some are touting as one of the best in the NFL. And they were facing a team that leads the NFL in defensive penalties.’

‘Bills offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride tried to create a plan that would limit two-time Pro Bowl linebacker Brian Urlacher. The Bills tried to run at Urlacher, not away from him, in hopes of neutralizing his play-making ability.’

‘The Bears were trampled early as the Bills gained 126 yards on the game’s first 15 plays and went on drives of 75, 51, 41 and 76 yards the first four times they had the ball. Each of the possessions ended in points.’

‘What’s happening here is fairly simple. The Bears are getting a large dose of reality. They are part of the great maw of decent NFL teams that are beatable on any given Sunday, a group doomed to a season of bits of optimism and pieces of hope.’

‘"It’s clear that he was falling down. I was trying to drag my leg, he pushed me and kicked my leg out of bounds," Terrell said of Bills free safety Pierson Prioleau before teammate Olin Kreutz urged him to reconsider complaining about the officiating.’

‘When your defense allows 222 yards in total offense in the first half alone and your smash-mouth offense manages just 20 yards rushing in that same half, it would seem to be more than a case of details.’

‘"We’re a poorly coached, undisciplined defense right now," Blache said. "The onus is right here. We’ll go through the film, we’ll regroup the troops, see if we’ve got the wrong people on the field and what’s the problem. But right now we’re not getting the job done. There’s no way of candy-coating it.’

‘Bledsoe picked on every nickel and dime defender the Bears trotted out on the field. It was his 10th career four-touchdown game.’

‘You know what the Bills’ defense thought about Thomas and the Bears’ offensive locomotive after Buffalo’s 33-27 victory Sunday in Ralph Wilson Stadium? Well, they weren’t too impressed, actually.’

‘Robertson was flagged for a false start to take the Bears out of a fourth-and-1 at the end of the third quarter, and Colombo was at left tackle the next time the Bears got the ball. Robertson has been plagued by false starts in his first season of game action.’

‘Maynard has struggled with his consistency. His 27-yarder in the fourth quarter against New Orleans gave the Saints great field position for their winning touchdown. Maynard punted a 31-yarder that gave the Bills the ball on their 44-yard line, setting up their winning drive.’

‘The defense’s inability to get to Bledsoe, with the exception of Colvin’s 2 sacks, and repeated mistakes in coverage allowed the Bills to pile up 328 passing yards. That was 88 more than the Bears had passing and running combined.’

‘"He thinks we’re going to score every time the ball comes out of his hands, and you can see the confidence he brings in the huddle,” Bills coach Greg Williams said.’

‘"I made a catch, they made a call, it didn’t go in my favor,” Terrell said. "I felt I got pushed out of bounds on the play, but it didn’t go my way. You can see if you look at the replay I got one foot inbounds, was about to drag my right leg and his body hit my right leg and pushed it out of bounds."’