Q. Did the Packers prepare to face Kordell Stewart or Chris Chandler in practice last week?
A. While Bears coach Dick Jauron did not formally announce that Stewart would be the starter against the Packers until Friday, Green Bay coach Mike Sherman said he was not misled by any late decision.
“The way Kordell played last week [against Arizona], it would be certainly difficult to sit him down,” Sherman said. “I would have done the same thing–play Kordell. I didn’t know the status of Chandler, but I thought Kordell played well enough that he would play this week, and we prepared that way.”
Stewart completed just 17-of-40 passes for 256 yards and one touchdown. He was intercepted three times and had a quarterback rating of 41.2.
“We really didn’t care which quarterback they threw out there,” said Mike McKenzie, who intercepted Stewart twice.
Q. Why does Brad Maynard continually punt the ball into the end zone? What ever happened to the coffin-corner kick?
A. Maynard apparently feels more comfortable and confident trying to land the ball inside the 10-yard line and relying on a teammate to try to down the ball. It didn’t work out that way Sunday. In one instance, the Bears had a fourth-and-14 from the Green Bay 42, trailing 27-14 with 7 minutes 50 seconds left. Maynard’s punt sailed into the end zone for a touchback, giving the Packers the ball at their 20. With that result, the Bears might as well have gone for it on fourth down.
Q. What was your preseason prediction for the Bears’ record this season?
A. It was 8-8, which means the Bears would have to win their remaining three games. I’m not feeling especially confident about that at the moment.
Q. What is your opinion of the Bears’ young receivers?
A. David Terrell had one of his better games Sunday, catching five passes for 48 yards, including a 21-yard reception. But he has yet to prove he can be the big-play receiver you expect from a first-round draft pick. Justin Gage had several passes thrown his way but made just one catch for 28 yards late in the game. If he had made a catch-able over-the-shoulder reception in the end zone in the first half, the outcome might have been different. McKenzie said he was impressed with how physical the Bears’ young receivers played. Gage was whistled for his second offensive interference call in two weeks.
Q. Why did the Packers call a timeout with five seconds left in the half when the Bears had the ball?
A. It was a poor decision by Sherman. The Bears were out of timeouts and had an outside chance to score on a fourth-down play.
“It was a mistake on my part,” Sherman said. “I was hoping I could block a punt, and being a little too greedy there … it ended up backfiring. It will never happen again.”
Stewart’s fourth-down pass was intercepted by Darren Sharper and returned 50 yards as the half ended.
“I was pretty happy because he bailed me out of a bad situation that I put us in,” Sherman said.
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Have a question or an idea for Fred Mitchell? E-mail: AskFred@tribune.com
