Early in Dave Wannstedt’s head-coaching career, the Bears were one of the least penalized teams in the league. But now they rank among the top 10 in the league in number of penalties and yards penalized.
In Sunday’s 31-8 loss to Washington, the Bears were called for seven penalties for 68 yards, many of them significant. So is the team less disciplined than it once was?
“Our first three drives, penalties backed us up,” Wannstedt said. “We have officials out at practice. It’s not one individual.
“The pass-interference penalties, we’re going to keep having those guys play like we are. We’re not going to back off because I think they’re covering pretty well on the deep balls. But every time they run a deep ball on you, there’s going to be a decision to be made if it’s pass interference or not.”
Fumbles too: And speaking of discipline, what about the three fumbles, two of which were lost? “Well, Chris Penn got knocked out and spent the night in the hospital with a concussion,” Wannstedt said, “so I don’t even think he remembers fumbling. Another one, Erik (Kramer) pulled out quick and fumbled the snap (then recovered). He was just antsy, and he has to sit in there a little bit longer.”
And the fumble on the attempted fair catch by Tyrone Hughes in the second quarter, leading to a Redskins field goal? “You tell me,” Wannstedt said. “We catch punts every day. I don’t have an answer for that one.”
Fabien Bownes is now fielding kickoffs, but Wannstedt said Hughes will retain his job on punt returns.
Wrong, Bryan: In his tirade Monday against the Bears for fining receiver Curtis Conway, linebacker Bryan Cox criticized the fact that fine money goes to Bears Care, a charity arm set up by the organization in 1995. Among Cox’s complaints was that Bears Care does nothing for minorities. Bears Care has in fact made 26 grants in the last two years, totaling about $1.7 million, and all have gone to support projects for minorities or disadvantaged individuals.
Mirer report: With Steve Stenstrom getting his first shot at quarterback this season in one series Sunday, and still obviously needing more work, where does Rick Mirer stand?
“We haven’t given up on Rick,” Wannstedt said, “though when and how we’ll get him in, I don’t know.”
