A day after using words that can’t be printed in a family newspaper to describe the officiating in Sunday’s 24-17 loss to Seattle, rookie Charles Tillman reacted in a way that reflects his personality: He didn’t back off one iota. Tillman, who has blasted officials after two of his three NFL starts, said, “I’m not going to tone things down.” The cornerback has been flagged four times in the last two weeks. A pass interference call against Tillman on Koren Robinson during Seattle’s game-winning drive–on second-and-20–still upset Tillman, even after he watched the game film. “Completely bogus,” he said, shaking his head. “You couldn’t have played it any more perfectly than I played it.” . . .
Talking as if he had studied self-confidence at the Deion Sanders Academy, Tillman dismissed the notion that constant public criticism of officials will earn him a reputation that could cost him on Sundays. “I’m not worried,” he said. “If they’re going to throw those flags, keep throwing them. I’m going to keep [playing].” Apparently he will do so with coach Dick Jauron’s blessing. Jauron worries more about Tillman’s pass coverage than press coverage. “At some point you become concerned with it if you thought he was overly concerned with it, [but] he’s fairly open, he’s aggressive on the field, and that hasn’t changed his play,” Jauron said. “You ask them questions and they respond. Sometimes it gets them in trouble.” …
In the season opener, rookie Bobby Wade muffed a punt return inside the 10-yard line and lost his job the next week to R.W. McQuarters. But McQuarters muffed a punt inside the 10 Sunday and will keep the job. The difference? “We know what R.W. has and what he can do [while] all we had going on Bobby was his college performance,” Jauron said. “A veteran who has performed will have a little more leeway.” … Monday’s injury report didn’t have any players ruled out for Sunday’s game against Detroit. The list of Bears who could return reads like an opponent’s scouting report of whom to stop: Anthony Thomas, Marty Booker, Kordell Stewart, Warrick Holdman, Keith Traylor, Corbin Lacina, Adrian Peterson, Desmond Clark and Ahmad Merritt. … The Bears converted 38 percent of their third downs (6-of-16) Sunday, an improvement on their season average of 29.5 percent. …
A third of the Bears who played Sunday–15 of 45–were rookies or second-year players. … Seahawks cornerback Willie Williams paid the Bears a compliment on their way out of town. “Chicago has a great football team,” he said. “They just had a bad start, but you can tell they’re starting to get better.”
