After Jim Miller engineered the upset of the Indianapolis Colts last week, the Bears quarterback sent private, handwritten notes to members of his offense with some heartfelt thanks for what each had done. Sunday it was those teammates’ turns to offer wishes of a more depressing, different sort to Miller.
Miller’s season ended late in the second quarter of the Bears’ 20-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills when he rolled to his right intending to throw, saw no one open and tried to run for a first down. As he turned, his left Achilles’ tendon tore, and with it his hopes for a season just one week after what he and the Bears hoped had been the beginning of a turnaround.
“I knew it was serious as soon as it happened,” said Miller, who completed 9-of-13 passes for 40 yards before the injury. “I got up and tried to walk on it and I know something was seriously wrong with it. It’s just disappointing because you get your shot and it’s frustrating. Things like this have just happened in my career. They’re character builders and I know I’ll come back stronger. All I can do is heal up.”
While he does, Shane Matthews will start against Tampa Bay and until Cade McNown’s separated shoulder is deemed sufficiently healed, which may not be before the Nov. 26 game against the New York Jets.
The Miller injury, coming a little more than a year after a four-game suspension for a positive test for a banned substance, is not expected to be career-ending. Dan Marino tore his Achilles’ tendon in Oct. 1993, missed the rest of the Miami Dolphins’ season, then returned to lead the AFC in TD passes and quarterback rating the next season, playing all 16 games. Bears defensive tackle Jim Flanigan tore his Achilles in the last game of the 1996 season, had surgery four days later, and has not missed a game since.
“He’ll probably start doing things by mini-camp,” said trainer Tim Bream. “Probably by the end of May he’ll be ready to go, give or take a few weeks. It’s the same exact injury [as Flanigan’s].”
The injury costs Miller playing time as well as a chance for some incentives such as $50,000 for taking 25 percent of the Bears’ snaps and $75,000 for taking 55 percent, targets clearly within his reach.
The effects of Miller’s injury are significant in the short and long terms. It ended the Bears’ chances against Buffalo, sending Matthews in with a minute remaining in the first half. Matthews, with virtually no practice time this season, was overmatched against the Bills’ defense. He threw three interceptions in the final 16 minutes besides losing a fumble that was returned for a touchdown.
“I pride myself on being ready to play every week,” Matthews said. “I just went out there and stunk it up.”
Miller’s absence also ends any potential for a quarterback controversy the remainder of this season and removes the only real obstacle to McNown returning to the starting lineup. McNown was activated as the No. 3 quarterback Sunday but would have been able only to hand off had he been forced to play because of injuries to Miller and Matthews.
The Bears began last season 3-2 with Matthews starting, but lost to Washington and Green Bay in his later starts. For Matthews it is nothing less than a surprise audition for next year’s free agency, having made no secret of his wish to leave after this season.
Matthews can empathize with Miller. After a good start, his 1999 season was undone with a hamstring injury that knocked him out of the lineup twice. Then he developed a staph infection following off-season hernia surgery and was kept by the Bears only as insurance behind McNown and Miller.
“Who knows what the future holds?” Matthews said. “In my situation now I know I’m the guy that’s going be playing next week so I’ve just got to prepare like I do every Sunday. Not only myself, but everybody on this team is playing for a job. So I need to play well, much better than I did today.”
