Bears offensive coordinator John Shoop was a quarterback in college, but he was not throwing the ball deep Sunday. He simply called for a few deep passes that were not thrown by Shane Matthews.
“We all wanted to get the big one,” said Shoop. “Marcus [Robinson] played about 15 or 20 plays [without a catch]. We had some plays called with guys running downfield. You know, Shane, in an instant, can weigh the risks and the rewards of throwing the ball downfield. He had to force one there at the end of the game [that was intercepted by James Trapp].
“But you have to give the Ravens credit. We called some [deep] plays that went downfield and we just didn’t get any.”
Matthews completed 24-of-39 passes for 138 yards in the 17-6 loss.
“Shane did a lot of good things and he has a lot of things he has to improve on,” Shoop said. “We’re going to do it as a team. No one person lost this game for us. He will be better next week.”
Fast-paced: The Bears unveiled a no-huddle offense that proved successful until they got inside Baltimore’s 20-yard line.
“We had it designed for the Ravens,” said Shoop.
“We’ll be in and out of it throughout the year. We spent a lot of time conditioning last week. We’ve had this plan in store for a long time. We were moving the ball on them and we have to sustain it. Most of all, when we have a chance to score [a touchdown] on a team like this, you’ve got to do it.”
Vote of confidence: Matthews maintains the confidence of his teammates.
“Shane is our quarterback,” said tackle James “Big Cat” Williams. “Shane can get the job done. We have to protect Shane. We have hold on to the ball.”
So sorry: Bears center Olin Kreutz has something to say to his teammates after his costly personal foul in the first half.
“There was a little shoving after the play and I need to get back in the huddle,” he said. “So I screwed that up and I have to apologize to my teammates. I won’t do that again.”
Health watch: Left tackle Blake Brockermeyer left the game in the second half to receive an IV but was able to return and finish.
Seeing double: They Bears unveiled a once-popular, now rarely seen, look on special teams, dropping R.W. McQuarters and Glyn Milburn back in twin safeties on returns.
“It was about directional punting,” McQuarters said. “If they wanted to punt away from Glyn, then I’ll be there. Away from me, Glyn will be there. If it’s a windy day, you want to have more control of where the ball might land. If you have two guys back there, it helps out a whole lot.”
Sharpe as a tack: The Ravens’ Shannon Sharpe, who caught four passes for 34 yards, needs 92 receiving yards to pass Jackie Smith for second place on the NFL career yardage list for tight ends. With 154 yards he’ll pass Ozzie Newsome for first.
Right on schedule: The Bears, who were 5-11 last season, fell right into line with Baltimore’s other victims last season. The average number of points allowed by the Ravens to teams with losing records was 7.7.
Work to do: Defensive coordinator Greg Blache, always the perfectionist, thought the Bears’ defense could have been the deciding factor in Sunday’s loss to Baltimore.
“We missed tackles in some critical situations, we played some things too soft,” he said. “Honestly, we had enough opportunities defensively to win this football game for us and we didn’t get it done.”
